Music

The music culture of South Africa is made up of diverse genres, from hip hop, kwaito and gospel to pop and alternative rock. The jazz genre has a special place in South Africa. In South Africa music is every aspect of their lives. The contemporary music reflects a long and colorful history that saw African, American and European music forms mix and it entertains diverse groups of South Africans over the years.

Kwaito is a uniquely South African sound, it is based on house music beats and it has a slower tempo it is often lead by a male singer. It often contains a catchy melodic and percussive loop samples. Kwaito is the manner in which the lyrics are sung and shouted. It is most popular around the black youth. The word itself traditionally means strict or angry. When it is translated to English it means cool.

One of the first Kwaito singles that became a hit was the song titled Kaffir and it illustrates the freedom of expression from the results of the political liberation in South Africa.

References: http://www.southafrica.net/za/en/articles/entry/article-southafrica.net-south-african-music-culture

Automotive Industry.

The automotive industry is one of South Africa’s most important factors.  It is traditionally the leader in Africa of the automotive industry. South Africa produces more than half a million a year of all types of vehicles. This industry launched in 1995 and has motivated global motor vehicles to start production contracts to the South African factories. The country has been engaged in the making of motor vehicles and light truck models since the 1920s with the main international manufacturers which are:. BMW,

Ford, Volkswagen, Daaimler-Chrysler and Toyota have plants within the country and mainly located in Eastern Cape and Gauteng There industry provides more than 100,000 Jobs exactly 303,000 employees in 2003. In 2004 fully assembled vehicles were exported to 53 different countries with many of those countries being in Japan, United States, United Kingdoms, Austalia, Germany. Again in 2007 the automotive industry grew more, making more than 500,000 vehicles yearly. We all know that quality is a big factor in production that can be the defining factor in the success of an industry. With that being said that is a key component factor for the further development and future development for South Africa’s car industry.

Peace, Love, Respect, and South Africa

N’Dea

References:Automotive Industry

A Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in the village of Mvezo, Transke, on July 18, 1918. The South African Activist, also former president helped bring an end to apartheid and was a global advocate for human rights. He was a leader of the peaceful protest and armed resistance against the white minorities, because of these actions it landed him in prison close to three decades. When he was released i 1990 he was involved within the eradictation of apartheid and later in 1994 became the first black president of South Africa. While he was the president he formed a multiethnic government to help oversee the country’s transition. He lead the ANC in its negotiations with the national party and other South African organizations to end apartheid. Mandela introduced a number of social and economic programs to help improve the living standards of the black population of South Africa. He stopped the discrimination against the minorities, including the whites. In 1999 he retired from politics at the end of his first term and his deputy took over. He continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund he had set up in 1995 and then he established the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation. Nelson Mandela did a lot to help South Africa and he is a wonderful civil rights activist known around the world. May he rest in peace. 

This a tribute video attached in honor of the late Nelson Mandela.

Peace, Love, Respect, and South Africa

N’Dea

References: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography

http://www.history.com/topics/nelson-mandela 

The Zulu Tribe and The Sotho Tribe

Tradiontal Housing or hut for the Zulu people

There are so many different tribes in Africa and I am going to give you an insight on a two of them here. The first tribe that I am going to start off with is the Zulu tribe. They are the descendants of Nguni speaking people. The 9 million of the Zulu’s live mainly in KwaZulu Province of South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal borders on Mozambique in the north. The land is very fertile with coastal plains, highlands to the west, with a number of rivers and streams. There dominant language is isiZulu but the languages that are frequently spoken are Zulu and English. They believe in ancestral spirits, or spirits of the dead. Offerings made to the ancestors are usually for protection, good health, and happiness. They also believe in the use of magic. Many of the Zulu’s converted to Christianity under the colonialism period.The typical homestead will be circular and fenced with a thatched roof house. Their term for the word family is umndeni and all of the family stays within the household whether it be by blood, marriage or adoption.

Traditional Housing For the Sotho People

Then there is the Sotho tribe and they are an ethnic group of people living in either Lesotho or South Africa. There are two major branches the southern and the northern Sotho. The southern Sotho people makes up about 99% of the population of Lesotho. The southern and northern parts together are the second largest group in South Africa. Lesotho is a mountainous country within the borders of South Africa. The Sotho language is bantu language. It is rich in proverbs, idioms, and special ways to address the elders and their in-laws. The difference between the southern and northern people are the different dialects. The religion that is practiced there is Modimo. Modimo is approached through the spirits of the ancestors. Today Christianity is accepted in one form or another.

Peace,Love,Respect, and South Afica

N'Dea

References: http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Japan-to-Mali/Sotho.html
http://answersafrica.com/south-african-tribes.html

Zulu Tribe

Sotho Tribe

Sotho Tribe

Sotho Tribe doing a traditonal dance

Fashion Trends

Throughout South Africa the type of clothing that is worn, is both modern day style and also the traditional style (i.e, tribal clothing and traditional African dresses).

     The traditional South African costumes, were mostly made in the past with plants and animal skins. Eventually they got replaced by fabrics and that's when the changes started to take place. The traditional clothing of the republic of South Africa is the tribal clothing. Materials like Seshweshwe and Siswati prints are used to make these tribal outfits. Not only is it used to make traditional clothing but it’s also used to make traditional dresses, skirts, aprons and wrap around clothing. In the picture below are some more examples of the Seshweshwe material that is used to make the tribal outfits and it is even used to make more modern day style clothing in Africa.

It is very easy to tell the difference of the South Africans because of the way that each of the genders dressed and it can go as far as marital status. The males tribal outfits are different from the females clothing, the married couples and unmarried couples outfits could also be different then everybody else’s. It also varies from tribe to tribe.

Modern Day Runway Style

The more modern day clothing is very similar to that of Americans, it is a tad bit more conservative. The women in South Africa wear more dresses and skirts than jeans. The styles within the younger crowd are hip and fashion aware. Just like Americans they dress according to what the weather is going to be.

Whether the clothes are more modern or traditional they are all unique and beautiful pieces of clothing.

Peace, Love, Respect and South Africa

N’Dea

references:https://south-african-aspects-of-culture.wikispaces.com/Fashion, 

Introduction

The first thing that I want to do is introduce myself to you guys and give you some interesting facts about me. I’ll start with my name which, is N’Dea it is phonetically pronounced India. I recently found out its Irish and it means good. I am a freshman student at Wayne State University. I enjoy singing and shopping the typical girl things and I am also a God-Fearing woman.  I am the oldest of five children, I have two sisters and two brothers. Something different about me is that I don’t like animals unless they are really small and adorable dogs.

As a kid I have always wanted to visit Africa. With that being said this blog will be all about exploring South Africa from fun and interesting things to more in depth things like the way their culture is viewed compared to Americans and their culture.  Before I go any further I must start by saying that Africa is a continent and not a country.

Since you already got a little introduction about who I am, I figured I would give you an introduction of South Africa as well. The country is located on the southernmost tip of Africa (hence the name South Africa). It is the 25^th largest country in the world by land area. It is a multiethnic society, it has a wide variety of languages, religions and cultures.  Although there is many languages there are eleven official languages. About 80% of South Africans are Sub-Saharan African (south of the Sahara desert). The country is ranked as upper-middle class by the World Bank. I’ll leave you guys with an interesting fact about South Africa which is the drivers in South Africa use the left-hand side of the road in South Africa.

Stay tuned for the next blog post.

Peace,Love,Respect, and South Africa

N’Dea