Friday, 21 November 2014

AFRICAN HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION



AFRICAN HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION
BY
MUOGBO MICHAEL IZUCHUKWU
SS/PP/2368

TERM PAPER:
Africa was a cultural wasteland before the Europeans sowed the seed of civilization on her cultural barren shores. Comment.

Being a Term Paper submitted to the Department of Philosophy, Seminary of  Saints Peter and Paul, Bodija, Ibadan, in Affiliation with the University of Ibadan, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Award of the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy (B.A. HONS.).
COURSE
AFRICAN HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION

COURSE CODE
SS/AFR/101

LECTURER
MR D.O. AJAYI

DATE: APRIL, 2013.

INTODUCTION
African history is a course introduced in Africa, in high schools, pioneered by the Ibadan school of history, Nigeria to teach students about Africa and its history after many years of questioning and condemning the existence of an African history by the westerners. [1]Just as S. Ademola Ajayi said in his article titled the concept of culture, that “Africa just like all other peoples of the world, are inseparable from their history, culture and civilization”.
It is ignorantly stated by some Europeans who claimed to be scholars, like Trevor Roper that “history in Africa can only be traced back to European activities in Africa, the rest is darkness and it is not a subject of history”. His counterpart, A.P Newton also made a fallacious statement saying “History only begins when men take to writing, so since Africa has no culture of writing, they have no history”, showing his ignorance about the fact that history can be transferred to generations through oral tradition and can be preserved not only in writing but also in art works just as the Africans did. Other erroneous statements were made by Philip Mitchell, G.W Hegel, and Margery Perham etc
Historically, Africa was a continent unknown to the Europeans and had been existing before the Europeans stepped their feet on it when need arose for human labours. [2]For a long time, Africa has been erroneously condemned about having any history, culture and civilization before the Europeans came and this is worth a serious study to find out the truth value of such statements.
This term paper is basically subjected on commenting, proving and arguing whether or not Africa was a cultural waste land before the Europeans sowed the seed of civilization on her cultural barren shores.
CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
“Africa was a cultural wasteland before the Europeans sowed the seed of civilization on her cultural barren shores” comment. Making an approach to this statement, what does it imply to say that Africa was culturally a wasteland? What do they mean by Africa? What is a culture?
To justify the claims or rather the accusation on Africa above, the above questions should be answered and clarified conceptually in order to ascertain the impressions the Europeans are trying to make or rather had about Africa, what they asserted about the history and cultural practices of Africa.
AFRICA
The context in which Africa is used in the fallacious statement does it imply a part of Africa or Africa in general? If it is the case that it refers to a part of Africa, it can be understandable but if it is Africa in general then the statement is erroneous and stands to be corrected.
By a virtue of a standard historical analysis of Africa, Africa has long been existing as a continent even before the first set of Europeans, the Portuguese stepped their feet on its shores; which implies that history in Africa can be traced beyond the European activities in Africa. Logically, let me put it in this way “Africa have a present because there was a past for them” there cannot be a present without a past. This fact disproves the erroneous and selfish opinions, beliefs and impressions of the Europeans about Africa.
Africa as known worldwide is a continent rich in culture and tradition, regarding the fact that Africa is constituted by many different cultural groups; so culturally Africa is a mother of many and not barren. It cannot be justified that Africa has ever been devoid of culture. the Europeans claimed to have been on a civilization mission to Africa but the fact remains that they, for their own interest and benefit were on a business trip.
WASTELAND
This term ‘wasteland’ for me must have been used figuratively in the statement, but what does it imply? Does it imply that Africa was devoid of culture or that their cultural practices then were not useful and primitive?
[3]A wasteland is an area of land that cannot be used or that is no longer used for building or growing things on. Looking at the definition, does it mean Africa is not culturally productive before the Europeans came? If it is the case that African cultures then was seen as not worthy to be termed culture by the Europeans, then they should be guilty of ethnocentricism because one according to the sociologists is not expected to place any culture above or as a standard for evaluating other cultures. Were it the case that Africa is culturally unproductive or rather devoid of culture, then it is a pure, authentic and a classical lie because it is obvious to say that people of other continents does not know that Africa is a continent rich in culture, in other words Africa is known for its constitution of many diverse cultures of different ethnic groups.[4] Africa is occupied by many distinct human population of a great complexity of culture (S. Ademola Ajayi).
CULTURE
What is culture? Culture is the entire way of life of a people as a social group (E.B Tylor, primitive culture 1871). Culture is a concept and experience that is universal and it implies a collective way of life of different groups of people.
S. Ademola Ajayi said, “Culture is perceived as a way of life or the totality of all human efforts and achievements in the struggle for survival in the midst of unfriendly and militant forces of nature. The sociologist defines culture as designs for living: the values, beliefs, behaviours, practices, and material objects that constitute a people’s way of life. Man creates the things that makes up his culture and absorbs them by living within a cultural setting. Culture is not a divine or natural concept but it is created out of man’s thought and idea the way it suites him.
Cultures of different peoples are not expected to be the same because culture is dynamic. Since culture is a peoples’ way of life, it is meant to be a freestyle concept depending on the situation it was created and regarding the peoples involved, as different peoples have their different way of doing things. Culture transcends the people of its origin.
The Europeans asserting that Africa has no culture implies that Africa does not exist before the Europeans came because there is no existing group of people living together without a culture that guides their everyday way of life. Does it mean the Europeans created Africa with their coming? The Europeans only discovered the continent of Africa and even the discovering of the African continent by the Europeans is questionable because the Africans then were conscious of the fact that they are, though unknown to the Europeans.
CIVILIZATION
What is civilization? Does it imply abandoning one’s culture and copying another man’s culture? Civilization according to the oxford advanced learner’s dictionary means “a society, its culture and its way of life during a particular period of time or in a particular part of the world”.
With regards to this dictionary meaning of civilization, I can infer that Africa was already civilized on their own before the historical Europeans set their feet on it because as at that time, Africans have their own different cultures. Africans are not united in culture as a result of the diverse cultures in Africa; this made the Eurocentric scholars to think it is impossible to talk about culture and civilization in Africa, ignoring the fact that culture is meant for the people concerned.
Civilization is it a case of coming to take away our able bodied men as slaves? The Europeans were not on a civilization mission to Africa but they were on a business trip of buying slaves, they subjected to civilization mission if at they did, when they saw that the need for slave labour is no more and that was approximately after 300 years of slave trade.
AFRICAN CULTURES AND CIVILIZATION
Africa was a cultural wasteland before the Europeans sowed the seed of civilization on her cultural barren shores. Comment. Considering the explanations on the conceptual clarification above, I would like to disagree with this statement. Africa was never barren neither has it ever been a cultural wasteland because Africa at every point of their history had been contributing to the survival, development and advancement of humanity, disproving the theoretical grouping of G.W Hegel that Africa belong to the non-historical group that had contributed nothing to the development of humanity.
If it is the case that African shores were barren, then the Europeans are foolish enough to sow a seed so called to be civilization on a barren land because it is obvious that any barren entity, be it whatever cannot be productive and as a matter of fact, Africa today is civilized.
The Europeans with the introduction of the slave trade placed Africa on a stagnant point while them, the Europeans were undergoing serious development. It is quite obvious that the Europeans must have reached an optimum development when Africans are still struggling to recover from the pains and problems associated with the slave trade and if not for that reason, Africa would have been on the peak of development by now.
Europe today may be more developed because during those days when Africa is been marginalized through colonialism and slave trade, when our able bodied men were been taken away, the Europeans were developing there continent.
Africans were able to transfer history to their children from generation to generation through oral tradition disregarding the fallacious statement made by A.P. Newton that history starts when men takes to writing, which implies that history can only be preserved and transferred in written works.
Africans were able to show their civilization and the uniqueness of their culture in art works. These art works marveled the Europeans that they stole them away, crediting them to Eurocentric ancestors who for them must have visited Africa at some point in time. The Europeans were not humble enough to accept and to believe that those art works were done by the African men.
The Europeans suppose to demand for the history of Africa from the Africans because the only met Africa after many years or rather centuries of it been in existence as a continent, but they went ahead to assuming and asserting or kinds of erroneous theories about Africa.
EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION
Culture and civilization, if they are the case of values, beliefs, arts and thoughts, then it cannot be denied that Africa has them and have not lost their cultural values till date. This is shown by the complex, social and political art structures in different empires and kingdoms in Africa, the precious art works of such places in Nigeria like: Nok, Benin, Ife, Igbo-ukwu etc. another place of noticed civilization in Africa during those days is Egypt because they were able to preserve their art works like pyramid, pharaoh heads, and carvings on rocks. Most of the African cultural values like art works, cultural dances are being displayed and exhibited in different museums in the different parts of the world.
The Eurocentric views about the continent of Africa, their culture and civilization has been pervaded by the hamitic hypothesis which, in turn, had credited the origin of the best and most advanced cultural and art works of African societies to European ancestors. They made a fallacious statement that Africans have no history but when they noticed the art works done by the Africans for centuries past, in order to back up and defend the lie they told about Africa, they told another one, crediting the hard works of African ancestors to create and preserve their marvelous art works to European ancestors.
The Europeans never succeeded and never will in saying that Africa has no history, culture and civilization because for ages past, Africa has been in existence and is constituted by many diverse cultures of different African tribes. Africa was never a cultural wasteland and they also had their own civilization and were able to decorate and design their squares, palaces, hurts etc with art works of their origin long before the Europeans came.













BIBIOGRAPHY
1.      African culture and civilization. Edited by S. Ademola Ajayi. Department of history university of Ibadan, Nigeria. Secreprint Nig. Ltd, Ibadan. 2005.
2.      Exploration of Africa. Thomas Sterling and George H.T Kimble. American heritage publishing co., Inc, New York. 1964.
3.      Pundering Africa’s past, edited by Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. Mclntosh. Indian university press. 1996.
4.      Sociology, a global introduction, third edition. John J. Macionis and Ken Plummer. Mateu Cromo Artes Graficas, Spain. 2005.
5.      West Africa, an introduction to its history. Michael Crowder. Butler and tanner Ltd, Frome and London. 1977.
6.      A textbook of West African history (1000 AD to the present day). Adekunle Ojelabi. Valuta educational publishers, Ibadan.1970.


[1] African culture and civilization, edited by S. Ademola Ajayi, department of History University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Printed by Secreprint Nig. Ltd. Ibadan. 2005.pg 9.
[2] Ibid, pg 22.
[3] Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, seventh edition, oxford university press, New York.2005.
[4] African culture and civilization, edited by S. Ademola Ajayi, department of History University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Printed by Secreprint Nig. Ltd. Ibadan. 2005. pg 9.

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