In Africa, according to various sources, there are from five hundred to 8,000 peoples., including small peoples and ethnic groups that cannot be clearly attributed to one of them. Some of these peoples number only a few hundred people, there are really not so many large ones: more than a million there are 107 peoples, and only 24 - more than five million. The largest nations in Africa: Egyptian Arabs(76 million) hausa(35 million) Moroccan Arabs(35 million) Algerian Arabs(32 million) yoruba(30 million) igbo(26 million) fulbe(25 million) Oromo(25 million) amhara(20 million) Malagasy(20 million) Sudanese Arabs(18 million). In total, 1.2 billion people live in Africa on a territory of just over 30 million square kilometers, that is, approximately one sixth of the population of our planet. In this article, we will briefly talk about the main peoples into which the population of Africa is divided.

North Africa

As you may have noticed, among the largest nations there are many those in whose name the word Arabs appears. Of course, genetically all these are different peoples, united primarily by faith, and also by the fact that more than a thousand years ago these lands were conquered from the Arabian Peninsula, included in the Caliphate, and mixed with local population. The Arabs themselves, however, were relatively few in number.

The Caliphate conquered the entire North African coast, as well as part of the west coast as far as Mauritania. These places were known as the Maghreb, and although the Maghreb countries are now independent, their inhabitants still speak Arabic and profess Islam, and they are collectively called Arabs. They belong to the Caucasoid race, its Mediterranean branch, and the places inhabited by Arabs differ quite high level development.

Egyptian Arabs form the basis of the population of Egypt and the most numerous of the African peoples. Ethnically, the Arab conquest had little effect on the population of Egypt, in countryside and in fact, almost nothing at all, and thus for the most part they are descendants of the ancient Egyptians. However, the cultural image of this people has changed beyond recognition, in addition, most of the Egyptians converted to Islam (although a considerable number of them remained Christians, now they are called Copts). If you count together with the Copts, then total number Egyptians can be brought to 90-95 million people.

The second largest Arab people Moroccan Arabs, which are the result of the conquest by the Arabs of various local tribes that did not constitute a single people at that time - Libyans, Getuls, Mavrusians and others. Algerian Arabs formed from a diverse range of Berber peoples and Kabyles. But in the blood of Tunisian Arabs (10 million) there is some negroid element that distinguishes them from their neighbors. Sudanese Arabs make up the majority of the population of northern Sudan. Also from the largest Arab peoples Africa highlight Libyans(4.2 million) and Mauritanians(3 million).

A little to the south, in the hot Sahara, the Bedouins roam - this is the name of all nomads, regardless of their nationality. In total, there are about 5 million of them in Africa, they include various small peoples.

West and Central Africa

To the south of the Sahara, the swarthy, but white-skinned Africans belonging to the Mediterranean sub-race of the Caucasoid race are being replaced by people of the Negroid race, which is divided into three main sub-races: negro, negrillian and Bushman.

The Negro is the most numerous. In addition to West Africa, the peoples of this sub-race also live in Sudan, Central and South Africa. Its East African type is distinguished primarily by its tall stature - often average height here it is 180 cm, and is also characterized by the darkest skin, almost black.

In West and Equatorial Africa, the peoples of this sub-race dominate. Let's highlight the largest of them. First of all, this yoruba living in Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana. These are representatives ancient civilization, which left a legacy of many original ancient cities and developed mythology. Hausa live in the north of Nigeria, as well as in Cameroon, Niger, Chad, the Central African Republic, they also had a developed culture of city-states in antiquity, and now they profess Islam, are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry.

Igbo live in the southeast of Nigeria, having a small area of ​​\u200b\u200bsettlement, but a high density. Unlike previous peoples, the Igbos do not have ancient history, since they were formed from a set different peoples relatively recently, already in the era of colonization of Africa by Europeans. Finally, the people fulbe settled over a vast territory from Mauritania to Guinea and even in Sudan. According to anthropologists, they originated from Central Asia, and already in the New Age, this people was noted for its militancy, with great enthusiasm participating in Islamic jihads in Africa in the 19th century.

South and Equatorial Africa.

In contrast to the representatives of the Negro sub-race, people from the Negrill sub-race are short, their average height barely exceeds 140 cm, which is why they are called so - pygmies. Pygmies live in the forests of Equatorial Africa. But there are very few of them, but other peoples dominate in this territory, primarily from the Bantu group: these are duala, fang, bubi, mboshi, Congo and others for equatorial Africa and Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele for South. The basis of the population of Zimbabwe is the people Shona(13 million), also belonging to the Bantu group. In total, there are 200 million Bantu settled in half of the continent.

Also in Equatorial Africa live representatives of the third subrace, Bushman or capoid. They are characterized by short stature, a narrow nose and a flat nose bridge, as well as skin that is much lighter than that of their neighbors, which has a yellowish-brown tint. The Bushmen themselves are distinguished here, as well as the Hottentots, who live mainly in Namibia and Angola. However, representatives of the capoid subrace are not numerous.

In the very south, the minimal competition to the Bantu is made up of groups of Afrikaners, that is, the descendants of European colonists, primarily the Boers. In total, there are 3.6 million Afrikaners. South Africa can generally be called a melting pot - if you count with Madagascar, where the Malagasies from the Mongoloid race settled, then immigrants from almost all parts of the world live here, because in addition to the Malagasy Mongoloids, southern Africa also settled Hindustanis, Biharis, Gujaratis speaking Indo-Aryan languages, as well as Tamils, Telugu speaking Dravidian languages. They came to Africa from Asia, while the Malagasy sailed from distant Indonesia.

East Africa

First of all, it is worth highlighting the Ethiopian subrace. As the name implies, it includes the population of Ethiopia, which genetically cannot be attributed either to the swarthy, but white-skinned northerners, or to the representatives of the Negroid race living in the south. This subrace is considered the result of a mixture of Caucasoid and Negroid, combining the features of both. It should be noted that “Ethiopians” is a collective concept, the following peoples live in this country: Oromo, amharas, tigers, gurage, sidama other. All these peoples speak Ethio-Semitic languages.

The two largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia are the Oromo, also living in northern Kenya, and the Amhara. Historically, the former were nomadic and lived on the east coast, while the latter gravitated towards agriculture. Muslims predominate among the Oromos, while Christians predominate among the Amharas. The Ethiopian race also includes the Nubians living in southern Egypt, numbering up to two million.

Also, a significant part of the population of Ethiopia is the Somali people, who gave the name to the neighboring state. They belong to the Cushitic language family along with Oromo and Agau. There are about 16 million Somalis in total.

In eastern Africa, peoples are also common Bantu. Here it is Kikuyo, Akamba, Meru, Luhya, Jaggga, Bemba living in Kenya and Tanzania. At one time, these peoples ousted the Cushitic-speaking people from here, from which something still remains: iraco, gorowa, burungi, sandawa, hadza- but these peoples are far from being so numerous.

Among the great African lakes live Rwanda, Rundi, Ganda, Sogo, Hutu, Tutsi, and also Pygmies. Rwanda is the largest people in this area, numbering 13.5 million. The lakeside region is inhabited by Swahili, Comorians, mijikenda.

Sm-ka = 29.2 million km2.

Africa is diverse in ethnic, linguistic and anthropological composition. The peoples of Africa are divided into large historical and geographical parts.

North Africa: northern Sudan, Egypt and Maghreb countries;

West Africa: countries of western Sudan, Guinean coast;

Central Africa: Niger, Chad, Congo...

East Africa: Ethiopia, Somalia and the tropics;

South Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe…

Anthropology: in the north, Caucasoid variants (Mediterranean type) predominate, and in the rest of the territory - eastern variants of the large Negroid race. Main types:

Negro: very dark skin, curly hair, broad nose, highly sensitive to temperature changes;

Pygmy: small stature (140 cm), skin has a reddish tint, thin lips, very wide nose;

Bushman: medium height (150 cm), not very dark skin, broad and flat face, torso devoid of hair, early wrinkling of the skin.

14. North Africa. The special role of the state in most African countries is that, in contrast to Western Europe the emergence of the state was not the result of the formation of a nation, but, on the contrary, should itself become an instrument for rallying peoples and creating a nation.

The study of all statistical and cartographic sources covering the modern ethnic composition of the population of African countries makes it possible to single out four main areas on the African continent. These areas are characterized by certain groupings of countries and the peculiarities of the ethnic processes developing in them.

The first includes the countries of the North and partly the North East Africa with a more or less homogeneous ethnic composition of the population (Arabs and Berbers), close in religion (Islam) and culture. This also includes peoples who speak related languages ​​of a single Semitic-Hamitic Eritrean language family. ethnic history North Africa distinguished by the repeated mixing of Berber and Arab tribes. At present, there are relatively few differences between Arabs and Berbers other than language. Based on a broad national movement, in the conditions of political independence, won in a fierce struggle with European colonizers, large Arab nations such as Algerian, Egyptian, Syrian, etc. were formed here; some of them have chosen a non-capitalist path of development and are fighting the forces of reaction and imperialism.

On the territory of Northeast Africa, in Ethiopia, there has been a formation of the Ethiopian nation, the core of which is the large Amhara people. The processes of national consolidation also begin among the neighboring Semitic-speaking peoples (Gurage, Tigray, Tigre, etc.), as well as among the Galla and Sidamo peoples, who speak the languages ​​of the Cushitic group of the Semitic-Hamitic language family. Consolidated into a single nation and Somalis belonging to the same language group.

The second region is formed by the countries of Eastern, Central and Western Sudan. The ethnic and linguistic composition of the population of these countries is even more complex and differs from the population of both North Africa and Equatorial and South Africa.

Eastern Sudan is, as it were, a transition zone from the Arab Mediterranean world to the Negroid peoples of Africa. More than half of the population of the Republic of Sudan are Arabs, gradually assimilating the Nubians, Beja and some other neighboring peoples and tribes. Nilotic peoples and tribes (Dinka, Nuer, etc.) live in the south of the country, negroid in their physical appearance, sharply different from the Arabs in language, historical and cultural traditions, religion and the level of socio-economic development.

15. Africa "South of the Sahara". Complex in structure, ethnic and geographical, climatic and political composition of the region, which has a very low prospect of becoming a separate civilization. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, most countries are below the poverty line, which not only does not contribute to unification, but also spurs various local conflicts over the redistribution of resources, including water. Secondly, the low level of technical, social and political development not only does not give an idea of ​​how it is necessary to unite and why, but also does not answer the question “who are we?” among the majority of the population. Nation-states have not developed over many centuries, but in dynamics modern development political sphere it is not known whether nation-states will form in the region at all. Thirdly, parts of the continent are in a disaster zone, where diseases from malaria to AIDS are developing, sharply reducing the population. From the north, the region borders on the Arab-Islamic countries, which were founded in the era of Arab conquests. The Arabs considered the advance to the south to be inexpedient and unjustified, therefore, at present, there is practically no geopolitical expansion to the south of such countries as Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco, and the borders with their southern neighbors are very conditional. In addition, between the countries of the Arab-Islamic region and African region lies the Sahara desert, which is a natural obstacle to interaction and diplomacy.

long time the region was a colonial continent, which was colonized by Great Britain, France, Germany and, in part. Spain. In the twentieth century, with the fall of the main empires in Africa, the principle of “post-imperial legitimacy” operates, when the administrative division of the empire is extrapolated to new states that have freed themselves from the power of the empire.

Using this principle, France divided the territories of its former colonies(now these are the countries of the CFA community, united both by close political ties and by a single currency - the CFA franc) in order to continue to exert its influence on them. Such peoples as the Zulus and the Bintu turned out to be divided and are an ethnic part of many African states, which does not allow them to create their own political processes through national self-consciousness and political structures not to mention nation-states.

The regimes on the African continent are unstable, which is confirmed by the constant armed drift and a series of upheavals that have been going on throughout the twentieth century. To stabilize, a number of states, especially France and the United States, use armed force to overthrow or protect the governments of African states. France even has its own forces, which are called "foreign legion" and are only suitable for suppressing conflicts in Africa. Success in peacekeeping missions is variable, for example, the UN often manages to control the situation, the French have been successful in suppressing resistance in Côte d'Ivoire, but the Americans in Somalia have not been successful.

The fragmentation of the continent into warring states does not allow us to talk about the geopolitical completeness of Africa. The absence of a process leader makes countries highly vulnerable in terms of foreign policy and the growth of their own civilizational identity. The only country that can claim leadership is the Republic of South Africa. However, it is a geopolitically artificial thalassocratic formation rich in diamonds and other natural resources, therefore, cannot claim the leadership of large continental spaces.

The western coast of Africa is more focused on trade and navigation, although they cannot be called purely maritime states. Their convenient position makes them supporters of the thalassocratic order, but strong traditional foundations make them vulnerable to the impulses of the Land, all the more so making them unstable. The East Coast are more of a land-dominated states, though their dual nature might soften the tide. It's because it's a coast indian ocean has never been rich in trade links, and trade between the east coast and Asia and Australia is virtually non-existent.

The northern and central regions of the region are unsuitable for living and development due to the lack of significant water reserves and the presence of protein necessary for survival human body. In most cases, life and political activity continues to be maintained in cities and suburbs, and the borders between states are very conditional and often do not have a pronounced geographical component. The region is very poor in natural resources.

16. Pre-Columbian America. The ancestors of modern Indians came to the American mainland from Asia through the Bering Strait about 25-30 thousand years ago. The study of the history of the peoples of America, which began in the last century, opened up the wonderful world of the Indians, their ancient states and peculiar culture.

Africa is the second largest continent in the world in terms of land area and population. Including the islands, it occupies more than 20% of the planet's land mass. The population of the mainland, with a population of about 1 billion, is 12% of the world's population.

Due to the wide climatic zonation, the African continent is rich in representatives of flora and fauna, which are characteristic only for it, rich in natural raw materials. Africa also bears the greatest cultural heritage, because it was here that the cradle of the birth of the first civilizations was located.

Political map of Africa

On the territory of modern Africa, it includes 57 countries, three of which are self-proclaimed and not recognized by any state in the world. Most African countries long time were European colonies.

They were able to gain independence only in the middle of the 20th century. In the north of the mainland are the lands of Portugal and Spain. In 1999, an organization was created in Syria that united all the countries of Africa and was called the Organization of African Unity.

However, in 2002 this organization was renamed the African Union. Morocco is the only state that resigned from the organization in protest. The goals of the African Union are to control military intracontinental confrontations and protect the economic and social interests of Africa on the world stage.

Continuous military conflicts, unfavorable climatic conditions, lack of access to the sea in many countries, poor reserves of natural raw materials and low education of the population are the main causes of poverty in most African countries.

The poorest countries are Somalia, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Chad and Sudan. They create a striking contrast against the background of the few economically developed countries of the PAR, Morocco and Egypt, which, thanks to raw materials and developed tourism, have powerful economies.

Ethnic composition and religion

The population of the continent consists predominantly of the Negroid and Caucasian races. The indigenous population for a long time had to endure racial discrimination by the Europeans. In Zimbabwe and the APR, the regime of apartheid towards the Negroid population has still been preserved.

However, the government of many African countries encourages a policy of discrimination, but already with regards to the white population. There are over 6,000 ethnic groups in Africa, most of which are few in number. Often representatives of one ethnic group are the population of one village.

Such ethnic groups often preserve the ancient traditions of their ancestors and voluntarily go into seclusion from the entire civilized world. More than 120 peoples have a population exceeding 1 million people. Largest nations Arabs, Amhara, Yoruba, Rwanda, Zulu, Malagasy, Fulbe, Igbo and Oromo.

Different ethnic groups have their own religion. World religions are represented by Christianity and Islam. Buddhism is widespread in East Africa. However, many ethnic groups adhere to ancient traditional religions for their ethnic group, mainly Ife, Viti and Voodoo.

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Africa Tur → Reference materials → Africa: an encyclopedic reference. Volume. 1. A-K → POPULATION The ethnic composition of Africa

POPULATION Ethnic composition of Africa

Ethnic composition of modern, us. A. is distinguished by great complexity (see the map of peoples). The continent is inhabited by several hundreds of large and small ethnic groups. 107 of them, numbering more than 1 million people. each, make up 86.2% of all us- (1983 est.). Number 24 nations exceeds 5 million people, and they make up 55.2% of us. A. The largest of them - Egypt. Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Alj, Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara, Oromo, Sudanese Arabs.

Countries North, and North, East. And, inhabited by peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Afroasian family Naib, a common Semitic language - Arabic is native to 101 million people. (V5 of all Africans). Arabs - main, us. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania. Morocco; 43.1% of them live in Sudan, 26% in Chad.

In the Ethiopian group of Semitic peoples, naib, large - Amhara, to-rye, together with kinships, tigray, gurage, tiger, the core of the emerging Ethiopian, nation

Cushite-speaking peoples live in Ethiopia and neighboring countries; the largest of them - Oromo in the south. Ethiopia. The Kushite group also includes Somalis and inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the South and Center. Ethiopia - ometo, kaffa, shinasha, yamma, sidamo, etc. Vast desert spaces in the north-east. Sudan and the adjacent regions of Egypt and Somalia occupy the Beja.

Older than us. Sev. A. - Berber peoples (shilh, tamazigt, reefs in Morocco, Kabils and Shaviya in Algeria) - survived only in the mountainous and partly desert regions of the Sahara. A special place among them is occupied by the Tuaregs (self-named imoshag), who roam the desert highlands of Ahaggar and Tassilin-Adjer in Algeria, occupy the Air highlands and the adjacent regions of the Center. Sahara in Niger; there are many of them in Mali.

South of the Sahara inhabited by peoples who speak the Chadic languages ​​(or Hausa languages): Hausa, Bura, Vandala, and others. The overwhelming majority of the Hausa are settled in the North. Nigeria. They also live in the adjacent districts of Niger. Hausa related peoples - the Bura, Vandala, Bade, Masa, Kotoks, etc., are settled on the hills in eastern Nigeria.

Naib, a vast territory. A. is occupied by peoples who speak the Kongo-Kordofanian languages. Among the peoples speaking the Niger-Congo languages, the ethnic groups that speak the Benue-Caucasian languages ​​stand out for their multiplicity. The Bangu peoples, who make up the vast majority of us, also belong to them. in many countries Center .. East. and Yuzh. A. 43 Bantu peoples include St. 1 million people each, the most cr. of them - Rwanda (in Rwanda, Zaire, Uganda and some neighboring countries), Makua (in Malawi, Tanzania and other countries), Rundi and Ha (in Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania and Uganda), Congo (in Zaire, Angola, Congo), Malawi (in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique), Zulu (in South Africa), Shona (in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana), Xhosa (South Africa), Luba (in Zaire and neighboring countries). Among other cr. Bantu peoples - Kikuyu, Tsonga, Nyamwezi, Ganda, Mongo, Luhya, Ovimbundu, Pedi, Bemba, Suto, Tswana.

In Benue-Congo. says a number of cr. and small peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon (Ibibio, Tiv, Bamileke, Tikar, Ekoi, etc.).

The peoples who speak Kwa languages ​​inhabit the vast zone of the Guinean coast from Liberia to Cameroon: the Kr peoples - Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, as well as Nupe, Gbari, Igbira, Ijo, etc. in Nigeria, the Akan people group in southern Ghana and in BSK, Ewe in the south of Ghana, in Togo and neighboring countries; von (East. Ewe) in Benin; a group of Kru peoples in the BSC and Liberia, small peoples of the coastal lagoons of the BSC, etc.

Peoples who speak Western Atlantic. languages, make up the main. us. many countries at the extreme 3. A.; Wolof, Fulbe, Serer, etc. in Senegal; Balante, Fulbe, etc.; in Guinea-Bissau; Temne, Limba, Fulbe, etc.; The most numerous are fulbes.

The peoples who speak Gur languages ​​are settled in Burkina Faso, Ghana, BSK, Mali, Samaya kr. of them - mine, close relatives. peoples - Lobi, Bobo, Dogon. Other peoples of the ego group include pears, gourma, tem, cabre, etc.

Of the Mande peoples, the Mandinka are widely settled - in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, BSK. Close to them, the Bamans inhabit the center, the districts of Mali, the Mende live in Sierra Leone, Soninka in S. Mali in neighboring states, Susu in the coastal regions of Guinea. The Mande group also includes Dan, Queni, Mano, Diula, Vai, Busa, Bandi, Loma, etc.

The peoples who speak the Adamawa-Eastern languages ​​make up the majority of us. CAR, they are also settled in Zaire, Cameroon and

Sudan Naib, kr, peoples: banda, gbaya, azande (zande), chamba, mbum.

The Kordofan languages ​​are spoken by the small peoples inhabiting the Kordofan mountains in Sudan: Koalib, Tumtum, Tegali, etc.

The peoples who speak Nilo-Saharan languages ​​form a network of groups. In Shari-Nile languages. say many peoples bass. R. Nile. B. part of the Eastern Sudanese peoples (Southern Luo Acholi, Lango, Kumam, etc.; Joluo, Dinka, Nubians, Kalenjin, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong, Nuer, Masai, etc.) lives in the south, Sudan, in Uganda , Kenya, the Central Sudanese group is formed by moru-madi, mangbetu, bagirmi and sara, as well as pygmies - efe, aka, asua and some others.

The Khoisan peoples inhabit semi-desert territories in southwestern parts of Africa (in Namibia, Botswana, Angola, and South Africa). These include Bushmen, Hottentots, mountain Damara. A. Madagascar is inhabited by Malagasy speakers of Austronesian from.

Indo-European languages ​​​​(Germanic, Romance and Indo-Aryan) are spoken by us. European (Afrikaners, or Boers, British, French, Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, etc.) and Asian (immigrants from India and Pakistan, Indo-Mauritians, etc.) origin. European faces. origins make up less than 1.5% of us. A. Their number. after the countries of Azerbaijan won political independence, it decreased markedly. However, in South Africa they occupy a dominant position in economic and political life.

In terms of language and partly in culture, the mixed mestizo us adjoins the Europeans. In South Africa, it includes the so-called. color. Along with other non-white peoples, they are subjected to severe racial discrimination. On the oceanic islands surrounding Africa. continent, as a result of ethnic. mixing, various mestizo ethnic groups were formed (Reunion, Green Mys, Mauritian Creoles, etc. Ethnic processes

Ethnic processes - change osn. signs of ethnicity. communities (language, culture, self-consciousness, etc., i.e. those features that distinguish this community from others) - are divided into processes of ethnic unification, including assimilation, consolidation and integration, and processes of ethnic . separation. In A. not only their different types are presented, but also various stages of consolidation., Integration. and assimilative processes, as well as different forms ethnic communities - from small wandering groups of gatherers and hunters, preserving the remnants of the tribal system, to various ethnic groups of a transitional type, ethnolinguistic and ethno-political communities, cr. nationalities and multi-million nations.

Shaping us. A. took place over a period of time as a result of complex migration, processes, interaction and mutual influence of various ethnocultural components. One of milestones ethnic The history of A. is associated with the movement of the inhabitants of the Sahara as it dries up (from the 3rd century BC). Gradually the Negroid tribes spread to the south of the continent. A. formed a mixed-noe us. The next stage is connected with the movement from 3. Bantu peoples (starting from the 1st millennium AD). In Voet, A., they pushed back to the north and partially assimilated the Kushite tribes and to the southwest. Bushmen and Hottentots. As a result of contacts of alien Bantu-speaking tribes with the original. ethnic the substrate was the formation of ethnic, the appearance of modern. peoples, In 7-11 centuries, there were resettlement of Arabs in the North. A., then to the Center, and East. Sudan, East African coast and Indus Islands, approx. Big impact on social media. the history was rendered by the ancients and the Middle Ages. state-va A. - Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Congo, Cuba, etc. Within their borders, there was an unification of kinship. tribes and their gradual consolidation into nationalities. However, this natural the process was disrupted by the slave trade, which led to the devastation of vast territories. This means that the influence on the ethno-cultural development of A was exerted by the period of colonialism, Colon, dependence, the reactionary policy of the colonialists, aimed at preserving the socio-economic. backwardness, the disunity of peoples, the conservation of obsolete institutions of tribal tribes. society, the separation of the borders of the colonies of single ethnic groups - contributed to ethnic. stratification and isolationism, slowed down the processes of rapprochement decomp. ethnic groups. However, unification processes also developed in the colon period. AT different countries ethnic centers were formed. consolidation, processes of ethnic integration, In the struggle against the colonialists, the nat developed and grew stronger. self-awareness. After reaching Afr. state-you political. independence came new stage in their ethnic and cultural development. In new historical conditions, the processes of formation of kr, ethnic. communities are developing rapidly, capturing at the same time decomp. levels and forms of ethno-social structure - from families (large and small) to entire nationalities. Most ethno-social communities have already passed the stage of development, denoted by the term<‘племя». Повсеместно идут процессы формирования народностей, смешение, трансформация этнич, общностей разного уровня, смена родо-плем. связей территориальными, усиление социальной стратификации.

The conquest of independence contributed to the destruction of the patriarchal feud. closure pl. areas, strengthening the economic connections, the spread of common forms of culture and common literary major languages ​​(Swahili - in V.A., Hausa, etc. - in 3.). Nations are being formed in the north, the extreme south (Afrikaners), and in a number of countries in Tropical Africa (among the Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo in Nigeria, the Congo in Zaire, and some others). As a rule, this process takes place on the basis of the consolidation of already existing nationalities. As for the formation of nations within the state borders, then in modern. stage of ethnosocial development, we can only talk about the trend of this process.

Diversity, unformedness and amorphous ethnic. communities in the states of Tropic, A., the mobility of ethnic boundaries, the presence of a large number of transitional types do not always allow us to definitely characterize the level of ethnic. development,

Ethnic processes are intensively developing in Azerbaijan. consolidation - the folding of large ethnic groups. communities on a more or less homogeneous ethnic basis, or further consolidation of the formed ethnic group as it is socio-economic. and cultural development. They are observed among the Luhya and Kikuyu in Kenya, among the Akan peoples in Ghana, among the Igbo, Yoruba, Nupe and Ibibio in Nigeria, etc. Thus, ethnic groups close in language and culture are grouped around the Kikuyu. groups living in the south. and howls, the slopes of Mount Kenya: Embu, Mbere, Ndia, Kichugu, Meru. In terms of language, Kikuyu Naib is close to Embu, Kichugu, Mbere and Ndia. The tribes are still preserved. languages ​​and ethnic self-names; in our censuses. Kikuyu, Embu and Meru are counted separately.

Consolidation level processes in different ethnic groups is different. The Igbos in Nigeria are compactly settled and have a common core. features of the material and spiritual culture, However, the remnants of the tribes remain. divisions, tribes dialects, there are local differences in culture. If, according to the 1952-53 census, all the Igbos considered themselves to be a single people, then during the Nigerian crisis of 1966-70 (see article Nigeria, Historical essay) and subsequent years, there was a tendency towards ethnic isolation. divisions. Ethnic subdivisions continue to exist among the Yoruba (Ijesha, Oyo, Ife, Egba, Egbado, Ondo, etc.). The trend towards segregation ethnic divisions are holding back the consolidation processes of the Igbo and Yoruba.

Along with the consolidation in many countries have developed inter-ethnic processes. integration, rapprochement of different ethnic groups, the emergence of their common cultural features. They proceed on the basis of the interaction of various ethnic groups. components that differ in language, as well as the level of socio-economic and cultural development. These processes can develop into a complete ethnic. integration of different ethnic groups within the framework of one state-va.

Integration processes are taking place everywhere in Armenia, and in some countries they are taking place on the scale of the entire state and at the level of departments. nationalities. Socio-economic. transformation, the creation of a single national. market, the gradual emergence of a national. culture within the state. boundaries, consisting of many ethnic cultures, contribute to the gradual formation of a community consciousness - Nigerian, Congo-Lesian, Guinean, etc. Africans are increasingly calling themselves non-traditional. ethnonyms, but by name. gos-va - Nigerians-mi, Congolese, Guineans, etc.

An example of integration at the department level. nationalities can serve ethnic. house processes. Around the house that make up the majority of us. Sev. Nigeria is not only grouped by siblings. ethnic groups, but there is a gradual assimilation of many others. small tribes center, districts of the country: the language and culture of the Hausa is spreading more and more. Of these diverse ethnic components formed the nation of Hausa. It consists of: proper Hausa, Angas, Ankwe, Sura, Bade, Boleva, Karekare, Tangale, Bura, Vandala, Masa, Musgu, Mubi, etc. Most of these groups retain their self-names. Main the masses speak the language. Hausa, others are bilingual and speak their native languages. Many of these peoples were part of the Hausan states (see Hausa states), their households. and cultural contacts with the Hausa have a long history that promotes integration. processes. In some cases, integration processes can lead to the formation of a single ethnic community within the state. borders. In other cases, in conditions of ethnic pluralism and the complexity of inter-ethnic. relationships may arise. integration centers and, accordingly, several. ethnosocial communities. As a result of the integration processes in Africa. state wah is going on the formation of new ethnopolitical. (metaethnic) communities.

Assimilation. processes are obvious where people live in the neighborhood, sharply differing in the level of socio-economic. development, by origin, language and culture. Such are the Kikuyu in Kenya and the Ndorobo groups assimilated by them, the Luo Nilots and the Bantu-speaking Kisii and Suba; in Rwanda, Rwanda and the Twa Pygmies; in Botswana, the Tswana and the Bushmen; in Togo, small ethnic communities - akebu - gradually merge with the Ewe. akposo, adele. In Guinea, there is a merger with Kisi close in language and culture to Baga, Mmani, and Landum. At the same time, many Baga and Lan-Duma speak yaz. Susu and partially assimilated by Susu. In the Sudan, the Arabs assimilate the Nubians, the Beja, and others; ethnic groups in the Ogoji region are significantly influenced by neighbors - Igbo and Ibibio.

Along with uniting processes in a number of districts of A., ethnic processes are also observed. separation, although in the past their role was incomparably greater. Thus, in the history of Africa, widespread migrations of Arabs and tribes are known, which led to the formation of separate ethnic groups. In antiquity for centuries in the Center. And, there was a complex process of spreading and separating the Bantu-speaking ethnic groups; Wed-age are known. migration of the Luo from the banks of the Nile to the south - to the Mezhozerie, accompanied by their division into a number of ethnic groups; a similar process took place in the 19th century, when part of South Africa. The Zulu (Nguni) tribes migrated to the north. In Kenya, the Masaba and Bukusu ethnic groups separated from the Gishu.

The nature and pace of ethnic. processes in A. are determined by historical, socio-economic. and political factors; general economic backwardness, the multistructural nature of the economy, the dominance of foreign monopolies in many countries, the unresolved social problems, the severity of nat. issues, ethnoterritorial problems inherited from colonialism, etc.

Many of the African ethnic groups retain a complex hierarchy of the ethno-social structure, when the same set of people is simultaneously part of the ethnic. communities at different levels. Such, for example, is the multimillion-dollar ethnolinguistic Akan community, uniting a group of ethnic groups in the south. and center. Ghana and neighboring areas of the BSC communities, and at the level of large ethno-social divisions - Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, etc. Socio-economic. the transformations taking place in Ghana contribute to the formation of ethno-social communities - nationalities - among different peoples of the Akan. This process is developing in parallel with the formation of a broad ethne-political community within the state of Ghana.

Ethnic processes in modern. A. are not only complex, but also extremely contradictory. On the one hand, there is an increase in self-consciousness, the erasure of tribes. differences, the creation of larger ethnosocial and ethnopolitical. communities, the rejection of narrow tribal interests and the emphasis on national interests. On the other hand, there is an increase in ethnic self-awareness, increasing its role in politics, life, strengthening tribes, separatism,

Rapprochement of peoples is facilitated by progressive economic and cultural processes, urbanization, and migration. Afr. cities with a rapidly growing working class, developing bourgeoisie and intelligentsia became the center of the development of consolidation and integration processes. In cities, there is an intensive exchange of cultural values ​​between representatives of different peoples, the convergence of languages ​​and dialects, the formation of lit. languages. All this is an important condition for the elimination of tribes. isolation (detribalization).

In the cities, new inter-ethnic groups are emerging. ties, although this does not mean that the city dweller immediately breaks with his ethnicity. group, In cities there are numerous, ethnic. unions and fraternities, which testifies to the preservation of the community-tribe. connections.

Mass migrations of us., work in cities on the same pr-tions of people of different ethnicity. accessories contribute to the breaking of traditions. tribal structures and activate ethnic. processes. Few. ethnic groups, as a rule, quickly adapt to foreign ethnicity. environment and can be fully assimilated; numerous, migrants prefer to settle together and to a certain extent retain ethnicity. features inherent in their way of life in their homeland, and defined. specifics of their social organization. In some cases, migrants are forced to stick together not always by the friendly attitude of the locals. and the risk of conflict. Ethnic Particularism is also facilitated by the order of placement of us, which was established back in the colon, time. in many cities and large villages: settlement in quarters is ethnic. character, people from the same ethnic group. groups prefer to settle together. In Ghana, the quarters where the newcomer lives are called "songo", in the North. Nigeria - "sabon gari" (in the language of Hausa - "new city"). This situation not only does not lead to detribalization, but, on the contrary, strengthens ethnicity. self-awareness.

Afr. state-va, formed within the framework of the former columns, borders, inherited all the difficulties arising from the inconsistency of the political. and ethnic. borders, In different states, such large peoples as the Ewe, the Congo, and others turned out to be. Separation of the political. borders of a single ethnic territory k.-l. people and continues, the persistence of such a division leads to the emergence of serious differences between parts of the people. Beings, the value in this case are the general socio-economic. and political conditions in which ethnic. processes. State. politics can contribute to integration processes and the formation of a single community from different ethnolinguistic. components, otherwise several ethnic groups may form. communities. So, in Togo, with the favorable development of integration processes, the Ewe can merge into a single Togolese ethnic group. community, in Ghana can be preserved as independent. ethnic unit.

In the context of a multi-structural economy, the social structure of the ethnic. communities, including nationalities and emerging nations, is extremely heterogeneous. Preservation of many archaic institutions and structures, originating from the depths of tribal tribes. society: castes, patriarchal slavery, contempt for certain professions, ethnic. prejudices and prejudices, norms of tribes. morality, hence the role of traditions. power systems, ethnic. stratification, etc. - leave a significant imprint on the pace and level of ethnic, primarily integration processes.

Specific historical conditions predetermine various variants of ethnic development. In the countries of the North A. with more or less homogeneous ethnicity. The composition has already formed many-million Arabic-speaking nations - Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc. In most countries, ethnic. development is proceeding along the path of strengthening Naib. cr. ethnic communities and strengthening integration. processes. Naib, a vivid example of the folding of a single ethnopolitical. communities - Tanzania, where on the basis of the Swahili language, recognized by the official. the language of the country, from more than a hundred different ethnic groups. groups, a single community is formed, which can turn into a Tanzanian nation.

In Yuzh. A. ethnic. development of indigenous Africans. peoples are deformed by the reaction, racial policy of the ruling circles of South Africa. The processes of formation of large ethnic groups are actively going on. communities (peoples and nations) among the Bantu peoples. The creation of bangusgans and the conservation of traditions carried out in South Africa. tribal institutions. societies have a negative impact on the processes of nat. consolidation.

Ethnic processes are closely connected with linguistic ones. Social shifts, including the transformation of traditional social structures that contribute to households. and political consolidation, not only lead to a decrease in the importance of ethno-separating factors and to the formation of large ethno-political. communities, but also activate language processes. On the one hand, bilingualism and multilingualism are spreading, and on the other hand, the languages ​​of larger communities absorb the languages ​​of small ethnic groups. groups, Economic, social and political, transformations in countries A, lead to the widespread use of interethnic communication languages ​​- Swahili, Kingwana, Lingala, Sango, Wolof, etc. English also plays a significant role. and French languages, especially for interethnic. relationship,

Socio-economic. and lolitic. conversion to African state-wah contribute to the intensification of ethnic. processes. Main ethnic trends. development become the consolidation of individual ethnic. communities and the transformation of some of them into nationalities and nations and intrastate. interethnic integration A characteristic feature is the special role of the state in ethnic. development, acting as a factor in rallying different ethnic groups. groups into a larger community. In state-wah, who have chosen the path of progressive socio-economic. development, pursuing a policy that encourages the rapprochement of different ethnic groups and the formation of a single ethnopolitical. complex within the state. borders, creates the prerequisites for the formation of new nations on the revolutionary-democratic. and in the future -

The ethnic composition of the modern is very complex. The continent is inhabited by several hundred large and small ethnic groups, 107 of which number more than 1 million people each, and 24 exceed 5 million people. The largest of them are: Egyptian, Algerian, Moroccan, Sudanese Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara.

Anthropological composition of the population of Africa

In the modern population of Africa, various anthropological types are represented, belonging to different races.

The northern part of the continent up to the southern border is inhabited by peoples (Arabs, Berbers) belonging to the Indoras (part of the large Caucasoid race). This race is characterized by a swarthy skin color, dark eyes and hair, wavy hair, a narrow face, a hooked nose. However, among the Berbers there are also fair-eyed and fair-haired.

To the south of the Sahara live peoples belonging to a large Negro race, represented by three small races - Negro, Negrillian and Bushman.

Among them, the peoples of the Negro race predominate. These include the population of the Guinean coast, Central Sudan, the peoples of the Nilotic group (), the Bantu peoples. These peoples are characterized by dark skin color, dark hair and eyes, a special structure of hair that curls in spirals, thick lips, a wide nose with a low nose bridge. A typical feature of the peoples of the Upper Nile is their high growth, exceeding 180 cm in some groups (the world maximum).

Representatives of the Negril race - Negrils or African pygmies - short (on average 141-142 cm) inhabitants of the tropical forests of the river basins, Uele, etc. In addition to growth, they are also distinguished by a strong development of tertiary hairline, even wider than that of Negroids, a nose with a strongly flattened nose bridge, relatively thin lips and lighter skin color.

The Bushmen and Hottentots living in the Bushmen belong to the Bushman race. Their distinctive feature is lighter (yellowish-brown) skin, thinner lips, a flatter face, and such specific signs as skin wrinkling and steatopygia (strong development of the subcutaneous fat layer on the thighs and buttocks).

Reunion - 21.8 ppm,
South Africa - 21.6 ppm,
- 18.0 ppm,
- 16.7 ppm.

In general, increased birth rates are typical for Western and, and lower rates for zones of equatorial forests and regions.

Mortality is gradually reduced to 15-17 ppm. The highest mortality rates are observed:

Distribution of the population of Africa

The average population density of the continent is low - about 30 people/km2. the distribution of the population is influenced not only by natural conditions, but also by historical factors, primarily the consequences of the slave trade and colonial domination.