African Cultures?

[celebathien]

I'm wondering if anyone has any knowledge or sources on African cultures? I know there are many, but I'd love to find some starting points with real, researchable sources that will lead me to other sources. I have access to a library, but I'm not sure where to start looking.

I have a short story with what should be African elements to it, recognizable as such, but I'm not African and I want to do right by the cultures and languages. If that makes sense?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Jabrosky]

What part of Africa are you interested in?

I do know of one source that works wonderfully as a general overview of pre-colonial African history: Christopher Ehret's The Civilizations of Africa. It doesn't go into depth with any particular culture, but I would recommend it as a starting point.

 

[tlbodine]

I haven't read it (though i did just download it for curiosity) but this may be of some help: http://www.amazon.com/Literature-Africa-World-Series-ebook/dp/B00993QQ9

It's all about African oral tradition, including songs, dance, myths etc. I love going to primary sources for inspiration whenever possible

 

[celebathien]

I'll see if I can't get hold of the book in question. But tlbodine: the link tells me it's not working? Or not there? "Not functioning on our website."

 

[tlbodine]

Bah! That's what I get for trying to shorten the link. Here, try this one: Amazon.com: Oral Literature in Africa (World Oral Literature Series) eBook: Ruth Finnegan: Kindle Store

 

[Ophiucha]

Are you looking for something large or more of a tribal African thing? Africa has had its fair share of larger nations - the Mali Empire and, of course, the dynasties of Egypt to name a couple. The Mali Empire has a lot of the cultural points we consider 'African' in the vague way we refer to the continent, in terms of the art and architecture we associate with the region, but it was also quite bustling and would make for a great basis for a fantasy culture. Timbuktu alone could hold a few fantasy sagas, so I'm sure it'd make for a good starting research point for a short story.

This is a fantastic website to start looking for solid ideas. Very thorough and full of references, so if you see something you like you can just check the citations. It's definitely the most pro-Africa source I've ever found online, as well, which offers a stark contrast to my next recommendation: the BBC has a lot of fantastic documentaries on African history; they can be a bit over-exotifying (it is Britain), but they are very informative. A lot of them can be found on YouTube. I'd also recommend reading some fantasy from African authors. My absolute favourite is Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, a Nigerian-American woman, which many have called 'Harry Potter in Africa', which under-sells it in my opinion, but it's fair. Worth a read for the worldbuilding alone, though it's a favourite of mine because of the characters.

 

[Thom]

On languages:
African Voices; an introduction to the languages and linguistics of Africa - edited by Vic Webb and Kembo-Sure

On cultures and history:
Perspectives on Africa; a reader in culture, history, & representation - edited by R. R. Grinker and C. B. Steiner

Something slightly more specific and mythological:
Tongnaab; The History of a West African God - J. Allman and J. Parker

The Sunjata epic might be worth looking into as well.

As to (fantastic) literature: anything by Ben Okri.

 

[CupofJoe]

A couple of years ago there was a BBC series "The Lost Kingdoms of Africa" that ran for two series.
1.1 Episode 1: Nubia
1.2 Episode 2: Ethiopia
1.3 Episode 3: Great Zimbabwe
1.4 Episode 4: West Africa
2.1 Episode 1: The Kingdom of Asante
2.2 Episode 2: The Zulu Kingdom
2.3 Episode 3: The Berber Kingdom of Morocco
2.4 Episode 4: Bunyoro & Buganda
I remember liking them when I watched them
As it was BBC I'm sure there were DVDs and books as well...