African American Culture Analysis

Throughout time and across cultures, stories have been the human invention to impart history, teach our young, entertain, and even address difficult topics indirectly. Traditionally, stories were told orally or through song, dance or other artistic expression. As writing developed, stories not only became more concrete, but also changed many of the previous oral traditions. Particularly in Africa, which has a strong verbal storytelling history, much of the culture throughout the continent is deeply rooted in stories. African stories have many functions, such as explaining nature, teaching traditions, and recording history. African traditional storytelling was altered in the late 19th century when the countries of Europe engaged in the scramble …show more content…
In his record of life among the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya, European colonist William Routledge describes the Kikuyu response to European culture. Routledge characterizes the Kikuyu as “weaker, and must adopt the white man’s ways, be they good or bad” (Routledge 330). The belief that it is natural for Africans to conform to the dominant culture clearly shows that Routledge thinks the Kikuyu have no culture. If they are “weaker, and must” conform, then their own culture is of lesser or no value to both them and the European settlers. This precise disrespect for African customs feasibly angered many Africans and pitted the cultures against each other. In his journal, Routledge also comments on the Kikuyu chiefs’ desire to mimic European culture. This was a colonist attempt to motivate the Kikuyu to work through the promise of the material luxuries of European culture. However, Routledge is repulsed by these aspirations, describing them as inappropriate and unattractive. (Routledge 331) Routledge's attitude demonstrates the contempt many Europeans felt towards Africans. Furthermore, despite a deliberate attempt to assimilate Africans, the passage implies that Africans are unworthy of European culture, for it is almost offensive to Routledge to witness a primitive race attempt to imitate a “superior” culture. The idea that it is unattractive for the two cultures to amalgamate simply emphasizes the differences between them. From an African perspective, the poem, Song of Lawino; A Lament by Okot p’Bitek, describes the effect of European culture on a traditional Acholi marriage. Ocol, the husband, believes that his conformation to European culture has elevated him above his wife, Lawino. He is angry with Lawino for rejecting the culture she does not understand. (Clark 40-42) Husband and wife are on different sides of a war raging

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