Embarking on a camping trip in Botswana requires a good deal of planning and preparation. You will be going to remote areas, accessible only by four-wheel drive, where water, petrol or food may not be available. You may often be driving on rough terrain, and through heavy sand, in conditions very different from those you are used to.

As a general rule, take all food requirements to last your stay. Take at least 20 litres of water per person, preferably more; for desert destinations, carry between 50 and 100 litres. Carry at least 100 litres of petrol in long-range tanks or in metal jerry tins. Take spare vehicle parts for breakdowns.

As campsites within game reserves and national parks are usually not fenced, it is important for campers to take necessary precautionary measures to ensure their safety, and to abide by the information provided by wildlife officers.

The following basic camping rules should be strictly heeded:
– Only camp in designated campsites.
– Always sleep in your tent, roof tent or vehicle. Make sure your tent zips up well.
– Don’t sleep with legs or arms protruding from the tent.
– Use rubbish receptacles at the campsites; if there are none, carry away all rubbish until you get to the next town.
– Cigarette butts should be well extinguished and placed in a rubbish bag, not thrown on the ground.
– Make sure the campfire is well extinguished at the end of the evening, or after use, and cover it with sand.
– Don’t sleep on bridges or animal paths, particularly those of elephants and hippos.
– Bury all faecal matter and burn all toilet paper.
– Don’t bathe or drink from still bodies of water; there is the danger of bilharzia.
– In the Okavango, don’t swim in lagoons or streams; there is the danger of crocodiles and/or hippos.
– Children must be constantly supervised. Never leave them alone in the campsite. Never allow children to nap on the ground or in the open.
Don’t stray far from the campsite, or walk in the bush, unless with a qualified guide.
– Driving is on the left side of the road. The national speed limit on tarred roads is 120 km/h and 60 km/h in towns and villages. Watch out for wildlife and domestic animals on the roads. In the National parks always stay on the established tracks in order to avoid the ugly scars left by off-road driving. Stay below the 40km/h speed limit for the safety of wildlife and yourselves.

The general rule of thumb for camping in Botswana is – take only memories, leave only footprints.

By Air
Air Botswana, Botswana’s national and only airline, provides international flights between Gaborone and Johannesburg, Gaborone and Harare, Maun and Johannesburg, Kasane and Johannesburg and Francistown and Johannesburg. Domestic flights run between Gaborone and Francistown, Maun and Kasane, and the airline has recently re-introduced its Maun to Kasane flight (three times per week).

Air Botswana has thrice daily flights between Gaborone and Johannesburg.
South African Airways has twice daily flights between Johannesburg and Gaborone, during the week.
South African Express has five flights daily between Johannesburg and Gaborone, during the week.
Air Botswana has daily flights from Johannesburg direct to Maun.
Air Namibia flies Windhoek to Maun every day of the week, except Tuesday and Thursday.
Kenya Airways flies Nairobi to Gaborone.
Air charter services are also available.
Light aircraft transfers have a 15kg luggage restrictions in soft, squashable bags PLUS 5kg of hand luggage. The size of the cargo pod of a Cessna 206, which is generally used on inter-camp transfers is 72cm wide and 29 cm high. Travelers coming for safaris are advised not to bring hard suitcases as they will not fit on light aircrafts.

Most major international airlines from Europe, the United States, Asia and Australia fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, where connecting flights can be booked to Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, or to Maun, Francistown or Kasane.

By Road
Botswana is accessible by tarred road from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia. Vehicles are driven on the left hand side of the road. A valid international driver’s license, along with vehicle registration documents, are required to drive in Botswana, and drivers should always carry them.

Most major roads in Botswana are tarred and driving conditions are generally good. The main roads to established areas are regularly graded. Four-wheel drive is required when travelling in the national parks and reserves, as well as in remote areas. Car and four-wheel drive rental services are widely available in major tourist centres, airports and hotels.

By Bus
There are scheduled bus services across borders between Botswana and South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia, as well as good internal bus services linking major and minor towns and villages across the country.

By Rail
There are no passenger train services in Botswana. Cargo services run on a daily basis.
For more information consult The Botswana Railways website at www.botswanarailways.co.bw.

Getting Around In Towns
Taxis are normally a convenient way to get around in towns and are reasonably priced. They are easily identified in designated stations or can be contacted by telephone. Taxis to Gaborone are also available from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.

Ethnic groups
The dominant ethnic identity in Botswana is Tswana, comprising some two-thirds of the population in the 21st century. The country’s whole population is characterized as Batswana (singular Motswana) whatever their ethnic origin. Tswana ethnic dominance (“Tswanadom”) in Botswana can be dated to the eight Tswana states, which ruled most of the area in the 19th century. Under British colonial rule, the populations of these states were given the official status of “tribes,” a term still used today.

Within southeastern Botswana the other main ethnic identity besides Tswana, that of the Khalagari (Western Sotho), has become so incorporated as to be almost indistinguishable from the Tswana. Even their name is now usually rendered in the Tswana form as “Kgalagadi.”

The Ngwato of east-central Botswana constitute the largest traditional “tribal” state but are probably less than one-fifth ethnic Tswana by origin. The major incorporated ethnic groups are Khalagari, Tswapong and Birwa (both Northern Sotho), and Kalanga (Western Shona). With larger numbers to the east in Zimbabwe, some Kalanga have resisted full incorporation.

The Tawana state of northwestern Botswana can be seen as the least successful in incorporating other ethnic groups. Most of its population is Yei and Mbukushu by origin, related to riverine peoples in the Caprivi Strip, Angola, and Zambia to the north. Smaller numbers of Mbanderu and Herero have greater numbers of close relatives across the border in Namibia. The Subiya along the Chobe, closely related to people in the Caprivi Strip and Zambia, were excluded from the Tawana “tribal” reserve by the British.

Small scattered groups of Khoisan people inhabit the southwestern districts of Botswana, as well as being incorporated with other ethnic groups. They include communities with their own headmen and livestock, as well as poorer groups employed by Tswana and white cattle farmers.

White settlement in Botswana, consisting of some Afrikaners and fewer English settled in border farms, totaled fewer than 3,000 people in the colonial period. The number of whites in Botswana, while showing some increase since independence, still accounts for only a very small portion of the total population. Botswana is also home to a small population of Asian or mixed ancestry.

Languages
The national language, Tswana (Setswana, Sechuana), is widely spoken. The official language is English. The Khoisan speak languages characterized as Khoe, or Khwe, and San. Several other languages are also spoken in the country, including Kalanga, Sekgalagadi, Herero, Mbukushu, and Yei.

Religion of Botswana
About one-half of the country’s population is Christian, predominantly independent Christian, with some Protestant. Some one-third adhere to traditional beliefs as their primary religious orientation. Christianity was introduced during the colonial era by missionaries from the south such as David Livingstone and was established as the official religion of the eight Tswana states by the end of the 19th century. Some indigenous religious and medical practices, notably respect for patriarchal ancestors, were assimilated within popular Christian beliefs.

Since the 15th century, Burundi was organized as a monarchy around a king known as the Mwami. Burundi has a strong oral tradition, inspiring historians with its legends and tales.

The kingdom rejected all the incursions of the Zanzibar slave hunters before submitting to the Germans in 1897. Mwezi Gisabo surrendered on June 6, 1903, at Kiganda which eventually became an historical site.

Successively a German then a Belgian colony, Burundi became independent in 1962. The assassinatin of the national hero, Prince Rwagasore, on October 13, 1961, marked the end of the monarchy. In 1966, Michel Micombero became the first president of the Republic of Burundi.

The Burundian population is composed of three main ethnic groups (Hutu, Tutsi and Twa). However, unlike what is very often the case in Africa, these groups did not form different cultures. The language Kirundi, as well as most of the social customs, anchors the majority of the population to a territory united since the eighteenth century. Although Burundii has faced challenges in the recent past, the strong base of culture shared by everyone provides the foundation for a people moving forward. The cultural and historical inheritance of the country is extensively rich, especially since there is no written historical record.

In an oral civilization, a whole unique cultural universe reveals itself to those who listen to tales circulating in Burundi as well as to those who are interested in visiting ancient locations full of memories.

Crafts are an important art form in Burundi and are attractive gifts to many tourists. Basket weaving is a popular craft for Burundian artisans. Other crafts such as masks, shields, jewelry, painting, wood curving; metal work statues and pottery are made in Burundi.

A visitor has many art and crafts centers to choose in the Bujumbura city center as well as in many of the rural communities where the use of locally made handcrafts is more for basic necessity than for commercial reasons.

Crafts are as well an essential part of the Burundian cultural heritage. Amongst the traditional handicrafts, tightly woven baskets (with lids) are very special. From the twa, there are pottery of all size with some decorated, others not. In addition they produced masks, shields and wooden statues.

Figurative art form is very commonly practiced in Burundi art. The European and Italian imprints is seen in the Burundi works of art like in mosaics. The themes of the designs mainly concentrate on Burundi life but the marks of the western art are also evident. There are many artisan centers in Burundi like Le Musee vivant and Le Musee national. Both of these art centers in Burundi mainly deals with modern art.

A wide range of variety is found in Burundi art. Geometrical figures and various types of designs with beautiful colors and shapes are predominant in Burundi art. Decorative motifs are a very common in the art of Burundi. The Burundi art is visible in pottery, sculpture, bas-relief and wickerwork. The children of Burundi are also engaged in various types of art work. They love wall paintings in which village sceneries and many other beautiful themes are given expression.

With regards to dance, each region, in addition to main dances, has a specific kind of dance and drum. Initially drums were played for royal or religious ceremonies, sacred rituals, and for specific stages of life but more and more drumming has become a form of entertainment.

The Batimbo dancers are very acrobatic and repeat gestures of daily life. Thanks to that rare performance, the Batimbo became famous and while it kept a sacred character in the area of origin, the performance spread to the whole country but with a more cultural rather than sacred character because the ritual did not really exist outside the Gitega province.

For a taste of Burundian food, try the green amaranth ‘Ilenga lenga’ – a name borrowed from DRC – or the cassava leaves stew called ‘Isombe’. Both are healthy vegetables that you might see in other parts of the world or indeed in neighboring countries but cooked differently.

These vegetables can be eaten with any combination of side dishes (rice, green bananas either fried or cooked, fried/cooked potatoes, beans, etc).

Another local favorite is ‘Ubugali’ name derived from the Congolese (DRC) Ugali. In Bujumbura, the most common Ubugali dish is made of dried cassava roots ground into a fine flour. When cooked, it becomes a thick white mash.

Ubugali is served with beef, fish sauces or the aforementioned Ilenga lenga or Isombe. Most restaurants will not have Ubugali on their menu probably because those who try it the first time find it rather bland. Elsewhere in the country, Ubugali from corn or sorghum flours is also popular. Most bars serve basic foods such as brochettes (beef, goat, chicken, etc.), fried green bananas, fries and vegetables.

Early history
The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were probably the Baka (Pygmies). They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces.[1] Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. The Mandara kingdom in the Mandara Mountains was founded around 1500 and erected fortified structures, the purpose and exact history of which are still unresolved. The Aro Confederacy of Nigeria may have had presence in western (later called British) Cameroon due to migration in the 18th and 19th centuries.

During the late 1770s and the early 19th century, the Fulani, a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel, conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants.

Although the Portuguese arrived on Cameroon’s doorstep in the 16th century, malaria prevented significant European settlement and conquest of the interior until the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine, became available. The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily devoted to coastal trade and the acquisition of slaves. The northern part of Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. The slave trade was largely suppressed by the mid-19th century. Christian missions established a presence in the late 19th century and continue to play a role in Cameroonian life.

Colonization
Beginning on July 5, 1884, all of present-day Cameroon and parts of several of its neighbours became a German colony, Kamerun, with a capital first at Buea and later at Yaoundé.

The Imperial German government made substantial investments in the infrastructure of Cameroon, including the extensive railways, such as the 160-metre single-span railway bridge on the South Sanaga River branch. Hospitals were opened all over the colony, including two major hospitals at Douala, one of which specialised in tropical diseases (the Germans had discovered the 1912, wrote in an official report in 1919 that the population of Kamerun had increased significantly. However, the indigenous peoples proved reluctant to work on these projects, so the Germans instigated a harsh and unpopular system of forced labour.[2] In fact, Jesko von Puttkamer was relieved of duty as governor of the colony due to his untoward actions toward the native Cameroonians.[3] In 1911 at the Treaty of Fez after the Agadir Crisis, France ceded a nearly 300,000 km² portion of the territory of French Equatorial Africa to Kamerun which became Neukamerun, while Germany ceded a smaller area in the north in present day Chad to France.

In World War I the British invaded Cameroon from Nigeria in 1914 in the Kamerun campaign, with the last German fort in the country surrendering in February 1916. After the war this colony was partitioned between the United Kingdom and France under a June 28, 1919 League of Nations mandates (Class B). France gained the larger geographical share, transferred Neukamerun back to neighboring French colonies, and ruled the rest from Yaoundé as Cameroun (French Cameroons). Britain’s territory, a strip bordering Nigeria from the sea to Lake Chad, with an equal population was ruled from Lagos as Cameroons (British Cameroons). German administrators were allowed to once again run the plantations of the southwestern coastal area. A British Parliamentary Publication, Report on the British Sphere of the Cameroons (May 1922, p. 62-8), reports that the German plantations there were ‘as a whole . . . wonderful examples of industry, based on solid scientific knowledge. The natives have been taught discipline and have come to realise what can be achieved by industry. Large numbers who return to their villages take up cocoa or other cultivation on their own account, thus increasing the general prosperity of the country.’

Towards Independence (1955-1960)
On 18 December 1956, the outlawed Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), based largely among the Bamileke and Bassa ethnic groups, began an armed struggle for independence in French Cameroon. This rebellion continued, with diminishing intensity, even after independence until 1961.[4] Estimates of death from this conflict vary from thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Legislative elections were held on 23 December 1956 and the resulting Assembly passed a decree on 16 April 1957 which made Cameroon a State. It took back its former status of associated territory as a member of the French Union. Its inhabitants became Cameroonian citizens, Cameroonian institutions were created under the sign of parliamentary democracy. On 12 June 1958 the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon asked the French government to: ‘Accord independence to the State of Cameroon at the ends of their trusteeship. Transfer every competence related to the running of internal affairs of Cameroon to Cameroonians`. On 19 October 1958 France recognized the right of her United Nations trust territory of the Cameroons to choose independence.[5] On 24 October 1958 the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon solemnly proclaimed the desire of Cameroonians to see their country accede full independence on 1 January 1960. It enjoined the government of Cameroon to ask France to inform the General Assembly of the United Nations, to abrogate the trusteeship accord concomitant with the independence of Cameroon.On 12 November 1958 having accorded Cameroon total internal autonomy and thinking that this transfer no longer permitted them to assume its responsibilities of trust territory for an unspecified period, the government of France asked the United Nations to grant the wish of Cameroonians. On 15 December 1958 the United Nations’ General Assembly took note of the French government’s declaration according to which Cameroon which was under French administration would gain independence on 1 January 1960, thus marking an end to the trusteeship period (Resolution 1282. XIII).[6][7] On 13 March 1959 the United Nations’ General Assembly resolved that the UN Trusteeship Agreement with France for Cameroon would end when Cameroon became independent on 1 January 1960 (Resolution 1349. XIII).

Cameroon After Independence
French Cameroon achieved independence on January 1, 1960 as the La Republique du Cameroun. After Guinea, it was the second of France’s colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa to be granted independence. The following year, on October 1, 1961, the largely Muslim northern two-thirds of British Cameroons voted to join Nigeria; the largely Christian southern third, Southern Cameroons, voted to join with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The formerly French and British regions each maintained substantial autonomy. Ahmadou Ahidjo, a French-educated Fulani, was chosen president of the federation in 1961. Ahidjo, relying on a pervasive internal security apparatus, outlawed all political parties but his own in 1966. He successfully suppressed the continuing UPC rebellion, capturing the last important rebel leader in 1970. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state called the United Republic of Cameroon. This is the major cause of tension between the French and English speaking areas of Cameroon. Southern Cameroonians feel the agreement at the Foumban constitution conference is not respect.

Although Ahidjo’s rule was characterised as authoritarian, he was seen as noticeably lacking in charisma in comparison to many post-colonial African leaders. He didn’t follow the anti-western policies pursued by many of these leaders, which helped Cameroon achieve a degree of comparative political stability and economic growth.

Ahidjo resigned as president in 1982 and was constitutionally succeeded by his Prime Minister, Paul Biya, a career official from the Beti-Pahuin ethnic group. Ahidjo later regretted his choice of successors, but his supporters failed to overthrow Biya in a 1984 coup. Biya won elections in 1983 and 1984 when the country was again named the Republic of Cameroon. Biya has remained in power, winning multiparty elections in 1992, 1997, and 2004. His Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party holds a sizeable majority in the legislature.

On August 15, 1984, Lake Monoun exploded in a cataclysmic eruption that released carbon dioxide, suffocating 37 people to death. On August 21, 1986, another cataclysmic eruption at Lake Nyos killed as many as 1,800 people and 3,500 livestock. The two disasters are the only recorded instances of cataclysmic eruptions.

Cameroon is located in the bay of the Gulf of Guinea, just above the Equator and extends from Lake Chad to the Atlantic coast.

Cameroon shares its frontiers with various countries:
• Equatorial Guinea to the South West
• Gabon, to the South-East
• Congo to the south,
• Central African Republic, to the East
• Chad to the North and
• Nigeria to the west.
• Surface area: 475,442 km2
• Maximum altitude: 4,070 m (Mount Cameroon)
• Political capital: Yaoundé, at 700m above sea level and 250km from the coast.
• Principal cities include Douala, Garoua, Maroua, Ngaoundéré, Bafoussam, Bamenda, Bertoua, Kribi, Ebolowa, Buéa, Edéa and Nkongsamba.

One country, two climates.
Cameroon has two types of climates. [ Rainy Season and Dry Season ]
– In the North and Far North: Tropical climate with a light rainy season and high temperatures (average 30° C) increasing as you advance towards the arid lands.
– In the South, the western high plateaus and coastal plains are influenced by sea and relief with heavy and regular rains and constant temperatures (average 26° C).

According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the town of Debuncha in the coastal SouthWest Region near Limbe, is the second rainest place in the World.

A luxuriant vegetation
The natural beauty and diversity invites people to a stronger respect of environment protection. Therefore, tourists have a great opportunity to find out their harmony with Nature and its treasure. Because vegetation reflects climate, it is humid in the luxuriant tropical forests of the South, which represents more than one third of the total area.

A renewed landscape
At first glance, the tourist is surprised by the beautiful diversity of Cameroonian landscape. His curiosity is excited along the trail of discovery, from picturesque mountains to grey-sandy beaches.

In the North, lunar landscapes like the Kapsikis outstand over the surrounding steppes. Irrigated by great rivers, the South and East tropical forests dominate the territory.

In the South coast, near Kribi, The Cameroonian Côte DAzur, tourists really appreciate the pleasure of the vast sandy beaches shaded by coconut trees.

Finally, Mount Cameroon in the South West, an active volcano towering over the Ocean, offers its black-sandy beaches at Limbe along with other beautiful colors of Cameroon.

Free and protected animals
Cameroon is a real paradise for animals in the wild. The country concentrates the best fauna of Central Africa, through its 9 natural parks and other numerous reserves. Such an exceptional resource stands for a treasure to all tourist in search of The Soul of Africa.
Their dreams become true in the northern savannah when they meet lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinoceros …etc. Down in the South, forests and rivers full of funny gorillas are waiting for their visits.

Presentation of Cameroon
Cameroon is situated in Central Africa, at juncture of the Gulf of Guinea.
It is bounded on the North by Chad, on the East by the Central Africa Republic, on the South by Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea and on the West by Nigeria.

Cameroon is a country with several major towns, amongst which are YAOUNDE, the political capital of the country with about one million inhabitants. DOUALA, which is the major economic city, has more than two million inhabitants. The other main towns are GAROUA, BAFOUSSAM, MAROUA, BAMENDA etc.

Population
Cameroon has more than 240 tribes which are found in three main ethnic groups; Bantus, Semi-Bantus and Sudanese. The number of national languages spoken in the country is more than 240. The most notable tribes are:
BANTUS: Beti, Bassa, Bakundu, Maka, Douala, Pygmies……
SEMI-BANTUS: Bamileke, Gbaya, Bamoun, Tikar……..
SUDANESE: Fulbe, Mafa, Toupouri, Shoa-Arabs, Moundang, Massa, Mousgoum….

Languages
French and English are the official languages, which are spoken by 70% and 30% of the population respectively. Spanish and German are equally spoken by a few city-dwellers.

Public Holidays
Religious: Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption, Christmas, End of Fasting, Feast of the Ram.
Secular: New Year, Youth Day (11th February), Labour Day (1st May), National Day (20th May).

Touristic Attractions
Besides the shooting season which is practised in the northern part of the country from November to May, all other tourist activities can be undertaken throughout the whole year.

Climate
Dry and rainy seasons alternate in the country, with the dry season generally going from November to April. Temperatures range from 23 to 31°C in January to 21 to 35°C in July.
ISO code is CM
Time: 1 behind GMT

Religion
Cameroon is a secular state. Two major religions are Christianity and Islam. Animism is also widely practiced.

Early History
Diamond prospectors in the Central African Republic have found polished flint and quartz tools that are at least 8,000 years old. About 2,500 years ago local farmers set up megaliths weighing several tons each near Bouar. The cooperation necessary to make and position these monuments suggests that they were built by fairly large social units. By the 15th century CE various groups speaking languages related to those of the present day were living in the area. These peoples lived in relatively isolated small settlements, where they hunted and cleared land for cultivation using the slash-and-burn method. The region also produced such states as Dar al-Kuti, Zande, and Bandi, all founded in the 19th century.

The region of the Central African Republic was not directly connected to external commercial routes until the 17th century. At that time, slavery became an important factor in Central African history as Arabic-speaking slave traders extended the trans-Saharan and Nile River trade routes into the region. Before the mid 19th century these slave traders’ captives were sent to North Africa, where they were eventually sold to countries such as Egypt or Turkey or down the Ubangi and Congo rivers to the Atlantic coast to slave ships that transported them to the Americas.

Later in the mid 19th century the Bobangi people from the Ubangi River area, who had become major slave traders, raided the nearby Baya and Mandjia peoples for captives. In exchange for captives, the slave traders received arms, which allowed them to continue to raid for more slaves. Though these raids largely ended by the end of the century, they continued in the north until 1912 when Dar al-Kuti fell. The slave trade disrupted the societies in its wake and depopulated the region. It also created lasting tensions between ethnic groups. The ruling elite is still resented today by many in Central Africa because they tend to come from riverine groups akin to the Bobangi.

The colonial era
During the last two decades of the 19th century, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, and France competed for control of equatorial Africa. Belgium, Germany, and France each wanted the region that would eventually become the Central African Republic. The French were ultimately successful and named it the French Congo (later French Equatorial Africa), with its capital at Brazzaville. The French colonies included Ubangi-Shari (Oubangui-Chari; which later became the Central African Republic), Chad, Gabon, and the Middle Congo (which became the Republic of the Congo).

The French government leased large tracts of land to private European companies in order to avoid paying for the development of its Central African possessions; it also placed few controls on their activities. In exchange for an annual rent, these firms exploited the land and dominated the people. Company overseers forced both men and women to gather wild rubber, hunt for ivory and animal skins, and work on plantations. Unable to cultivate their own fields because of the labour demands from European companies, they experienced food shortages and famine. Because they were forced to work in new environments where they were exposed to sleeping sickness, new strains of malaria, and other diseases, the death rate substantially increased.

By the beginning of the 20th century, frontiers had been established for the Ubangi-Shari colony by the European powers. Many Africans resisted French control, and several military expeditions in the first decade of the century were needed to crush their opposition. The Kongo-Wara rebellion (1928–31) was a widespread, though unsuccessful, anticolonial uprising in the western and southwestern parts of the colony. After it was suppressed, its leaders were imprisoned and executed and populations of Central Africans were forcibly relocated to colonially designated villages where they could be supervised.

The French colonial administration did create a network of roads and a mobile health system in Ubangi-Shari to fight disease, and Roman Catholic churches set up schools and medical clinics. However, the French also used the Central Africans for forced labour to increase the cultivation of cotton and coffee, as well as of food crops to supply French troops and labour crews. The French conscripted Central Africans and sent them to southern Congo to construct the Congo-Ocean Railway, which linked Congo to Pointe-Noire.

During World War II French Gen. Charles de Gaulle called on the residents of the colonial territories to help fight the Germans, and 3,000 responded from Central Africa. After the war these troops returned to their homeland with a new sense of pride and a national, rather than ethnic, identity. After the war de Gaulle organized the French Union and created new local assemblies—consisting of French colonists and a handful of Africans—with regional political representatives. In November 1946 Barthélemy Boganda became the first Central African elected to the French National Assembly.

Ethnic groups
The people of the Central African Republic range from the hunting-and-gathering forest Pygmy peoples, the Aka, to state-forming groups such as the Zande and Nzakara. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the late 19th century, distinctions between different groups were highly fluid. Many thought of themselves as members of a clan rather than of a broader ethnic group. Interactions with those who spoke different languages and had different cultural practices ranged from peaceful trade and intermarriage to war and enslavement.

The attempts by colonial administrators and ethnographers to divide Central Africans into definite ethnic groups have never been viable. However, French colonizers did promote ethnic and regional distinctions among their Central African subjects. Drawing from populations of such southern riverine people as the Ngbaka (Mbaka), Yakoma, and Ubangi, the French helped to create an elite group, which emerged as an indigenous ruling group for the whole country and has held most political positions since independence. Regional affiliations have increased the complexity of this political terrain. Other, nonriverine Central Africans, who are far more numerous, have tended to resent this situation and have occasionally taken leadership roles themselves. Although people living in the country’s northern regions have gained more political power since independence, southern peoples still remain an important presence in national politics.

A minority of Greek, Portuguese, and Yemeni traders are scattered around the country, and a small French population lives in Bangui. Diamond traders from western Africa and Chad, merchants from various African countries, and refugees from nearby countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also reside in Bangui and the hinterlands.

Languages
Central Africans currently speak a wide variety of languages, including Baya (Gbaya), Banda, Ngbaka, Sara, Mbum, Kare, and Mandjia. French and Sango are the official languages. Sango is a lingua franca spoken by nearly nine-tenths of the population. It was originally the language of a people from the Ubangi River region, but Christian missionaries adopted, simplified, and disseminated it in the 1940s and ’50s to their followers throughout the country.

Religion
Roughly four-fifths of the population professes Christianity; there is a sizable minority of unaffiliated Christians, while Roman Catholics, Protestants, and independents constitute the rest. About one-tenth of the population continues to practice traditional religions. There is a growing number of Sunni Muslims. A small minority declares no religious affiliation.

Daily life and social customs
In most Central African families, women continue to play a crucial role in the gathering, production, conservation, distribution, and preparation of food. Hunting, trapping, and fishing—male occupations—remain important for the subsistence of many Central Africans, and women in some regions fish during the dry season. The production of such commercial crops as coffee, cotton, and tobacco tends to be chiefly a male activity, but women are the principal food producers for household consumption. Staple foods include cassava, rice, squash, pumpkins, and plantains, which are usually served with a sauce and grilled meat. Okra (gombo) figures in almost every meal, and peanuts and peanut butter appear in many dishes and add protein. Game is popular, as are the fish-based dishes called maboké and soussou. Beer, palm wine, and banana wine are made locally, and ginger beer is a popular soft drink.

Churches are important in both rural and urban life, constituting major centres of not just religious activity but also social interaction. In addition to Sunday services, religious schools and various fellowship groups for women, men, adolescents, and children are common. Church members frequently gather after worship services for a ndoye (Sango: “gift”), a celebration with singing and dancing to honour a notable church member. Members bring food, soap, and kerosene to the honoree, who, in turn, serves coffee, tea, and a light snack.

Holidays are also important in the Central African Republic. In addition to the big celebrations held for Christmas and New Year’s, December 1—known by various names, including National Day, Proclamation Day, and Republic Day—is important. This day commemorates the proclamation of the republic in 1958. Other holidays include Labour Day (May 1) and the anniversary of the death of President Barthélemy Boganda (March 29).

The arts and cultural institutions
Until the 19th century, artisans in the region produced many fine handmade items. The slave trade and the early years of colonization disrupted the expansion of crafts, however, and most of them disappeared. Today woven mats and baskets, simple wooden utensils, carved stools, pottery, and musical instruments, including the balafon (much like a xylophone but constructed of animal horns, skins, and wood), are all that remain of older handiwork. More recently, handicraft workers have begun producing unique designs and pictures made from butterfly wings glued to paper and some ebony and other tropical hardwood carvings. Drawing upon earlier traditions, contemporary artists are producing carvings of animals and people, and many are available in larger towns, as well as at Bangui’s artisans’ market.

The Central African Republic is also home to remarkable displays of song and dance. The Aka of the southwestern forests have received international attention for their music and dance, and several troupes have traveled to Europe to perform. In Bangui and some regional towns, Central African musicians have formed such dance bands as Musiki, Zokela, Makembe, Cool Stars, Cannon Stars, and Super Stars. These musicians play their own unique version of electrified Congolese music, in which African rhythms and languages are combined with the rumba, cha-cha, and merengue. One Central African type of music, called Zokela, named after a band from the 1980s, has become a dynamic musical form associated with the Lobaye region. It melds elements of village ceremonies with contemporary urban sounds and has influenced many Bangui bands.

Few works of literature from Central Africa have been published, but collectors still gather traditional oral legends and folk stories from older villagers. These histories and tales, some dating to the 19th century, remain a rich reserve of historical and cultural identity. The storytellers grip their listeners with lively call-and-response songs and chants in their narratives, bringing together both young and old listeners.

Sports and recreation
Football (soccer) is the most popular recreational pastime for young Central Africans. Even the smallest village usually has a football field, and villages, churches, and schools often sponsor teams for both boys and girls. Both men’s and women’s teams have taken part in international competitions. Basketball and rugby are also widely played, especially in Bangui. Central African athletes have participated in the Olympic Games since 1968.

The region of the eastern Sahara and Sudan from Fezzan, Bilma, and Chad in the west to the Nile valley in the east was well peopled in Neolithic times, as discovered sites attest. Probably typical of the earliest populations were the dark-skinned cave dwellers described by Herodotus as inhabiting the country south of Fezzan. The ethnographic history of the region is that of gradual modification of this basic stock by the continual infiltration of nomadic and increasingly Arabicized white African elements, entering from the north via Fezzan and Tibesti and, especially after the 14th century, from the Nile valley via Darfur. According to legend, the country around Lake Chad was originally occupied by the Sao. This vanished people is probably represented today by the Kotoko, in whose country, along the banks of the Logone and Chari, was unearthed in the 1950s a medieval culture notable for work in terra-cotta and bronze.

The relatively large and politically sophisticated kingdoms of the central Sudan were the creation of Saharan Imazighen (Berbers), drawn southward by their continuous search for pasturage and easily able to impose their hegemony on the fragmentary indigenous societies of agriculturalists. This process was intensified by the expansion of Islam. There are indications of a large immigration of pagan Imazighen into the central Sudan early in the 8th century.

From the 16th to the 19th century
The most important of these states, Kanem-Bornu, which was at the height of its power in the later 16th century, owed its preeminence to its command of the southern terminus of the trans-Saharan trade route to Tripoli.

Products of the Islamized Sudanic culture diffused from Kanem were the kingdoms of Bagirmi and Ouaddaï, which emerged in the early years of the 17th century out of the process of conversion to Islam. In the 18th century the Arab dynasty of Ouaddaï was able to throw off the suzerainty of Darfur and extend its territories by the conquest of eastern Kanem. Slave raiding at the expense of animist populations to the south constituted an important element in the prosperity of all these Muslim states. In the 19th century, however, they were in full decline, torn by wars and internecine feuds. In the years 1883–93 they all fell to the Sudanese adventurer Rābiḥ az-Zubayr.

French administration
By this time the partition of Africa among the European powers was entering its final phase. Rābiḥ was overthrown in 1900, and the traditional Kanembu dynasty was reestablished under French protection. Chad became part of the federation of French Equatorial Africa in 1910. The pacification of the whole area of the present republic was barely completed by 1914, and between the wars French rule was unprogressive. A pact between Italy and France that would have ceded the Aozou Strip to Italian-ruled Libya was never ratified by the French National Assembly, but it provided a pretext for Libya to seize the territory in 1973. During World War II Chad gave unhesitating support to the Free French cause. After 1945 the territory shared in the constitutional advance of French Equatorial Africa. In 1946 it became an overseas territory of the French Republic.

Independence of Chad
A large measure of autonomy was conceded under the constitutional law of 1957, when the first territorial government was formed by Gabriel Lisette, a West Indian who had become the leader of the Chad Progressive Party (PPT). An autonomous republic within the French Community was proclaimed in November 1958, and complete independence in the restructured community was attained on Aug. 11, 1960. The country’s stability was endangered by tensions between the Black and often Christian populations of the more economically progressive southwest and the conservative, Muslim, nonblack leadership of the old feudal states of the north, and its problems were further complicated by Libyan involvement.

Lisette was removed by an associate more acceptable to some of the opposition, N’Garta (François) Tombalbaye, a southern trade union leader, who became the first president of the republic. In March 1961 Tombalbaye achieved a fusion of the PPT with the principal opposition party, the National African Party (PNA), to form a new Union for the Progress of Chad. An alleged conspiracy by Muslim elements, however, led in 1963 to the dissolution of the National Assembly, a brief state of emergency, and the arrest of the leading ministers formerly associated with the PNA. Only government candidates ran in the new elections in December 1963, ushering in the one-party state.

The population of Chad presents a tapestry composed of different languages, peoples, and religions that is remarkable even amid the variety of Africa. The degree of variety encountered in Chad underscores the significance of the region as a crossroads of linguistic, social, and cultural interchange.

Languages
More than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country. Although many of these languages are imperfectly recorded, they may be divided into the following 12 groupings: (1) the Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi group, representing languages spoken by about one million people in southern and central Chad, (2) the Mundang-Tuburi-Mbum languages, which are spoken by several hundred thousand people in southwestern Chad, (3) the Chado-Hamitic group, which is related to the Hausa spoken in Nigeria, (4) the Kanembu-Zaghawa languages, spoken in the north, mostly by nomads, (5) the Maba group, spoken in the vicinity of Abéché and throughout the Ouaddaï region of eastern Chad, (6) the Tama languages, spoken in the Abéché, Adré, Goz Béïda, and Am Dam regions, (7) Daju, spoken in the area of Goz Béïda and Am Dam, (8) some languages of the Central African groups, particularly Sango (also the lingua franca of the Central African Republic), which are spoken in the south, (9) the Bua group, spoken in southern and central Chad, (10) the Somrai group, spoken in western and central Chad, and (11) Mimi and (12) Fur, both spoken in the extreme east.

In addition to this rich assortment, Arabic is also spoken in various forms and is one of the two official languages of the country. The dialects spoken by the nomadic Arabs differ from the tongue spoken by settled Arabs. A simplified Arabic is spoken in towns and markets; its diffusion is linked to that of Islam.

French is the other official language, and it is used in communications and in instruction as well, although the national radio network also broadcasts in Arabic, Sara Madjingay, Tuburi, and Mundang. While a regional form of French, showing local linguistic and environmental peculiarities, is spoken widely in the towns, its penetration into the countryside is uneven. Its use is closely linked to the development of education.

Ethnic groups
As might be expected, the linguistic variety reflects an ethnic composition of great complexity. A general classification may nevertheless be made, again in terms of the three regions of Chad.

In the wet and dry tropical zone, the Sara group forms a significant element of the population in the central parts of the Chari and Logone river basins. The Laka and Mbum peoples live to the west of the Sara groups and, like the Gula and Tumak of the Goundi area, are culturally distinct from their Sara neighbours. Along the banks of the Chari and Logone rivers, and in the region between the two rivers, are found the Tangale peoples.

Among the inhabitants of the semiarid tropical zone are the Barma of Bagirmi, the founders of the kingdom of the same name; they are surrounded by groups of Kanuri, Fulani, Hausa, and Arabs, many of whom have come from outside Chad itself. Along the lower courses of the Logone and Chari rivers are the Kotoko, who are supposedly descended from the ancient Sao population that formerly lived in the region. The Yedina (Buduma) and Kuri inhabit the Lake Chad region and, in the Kanem area, are associated with the Kanembu and Tunjur, who are of Arabic origin. All of these groups are sedentary and coexist with Daza, Kreda, and Arab nomads. The Hadjeray (of the Guera Massif) and Abou Telfân are composed of refugee populations who, living on their mountainous terrain, have resisted various invasions. On the plains surrounding the Hadjeray are the Bulala, Kuka, and the Midogo, who are sedentary peoples. In the eastern region of Ouaddaï live the Maba, among whom the Kado once formed an aristocracy. They constitute a nucleus surrounded by a host of other groups who, while possessing their own languages, nevertheless constitute a distinct cultural unit. The Tama to the north and the Daju to the south have formed their own separate sultanates. Throughout the Ouaddaï region are found groups of nomadic Arabs, who are also found in other parts of south central Chad. Despite their widespread diffusion, these Arabs represent a single ethnic group composed of a multitude of tribes. In Kanem other Arabs, mostly of Libyan origin, are also found.

In the northern Chad regions of Tibesti, Borkou, and Ennedi the population is composed of Black nomads. Their dialects are related to those of the Kanembu and Kanuri.

Religion of Chad
About three-fifths of the population are Sunni Muslim. The great majority of Muslims are found in the north and east of Chad. Islamization in Kanem came very early and was followed by the conversion to Islam of the major political entities of the region, such as the sultanates of Wadai, Bagirmi, and Fitri, and—more recently—the Saharan region. Islam is well established in most major towns and wherever Arab populations are found. It has attracted a wide variety of ethnic groups and has forged a certain unity which, however, has not resulted in the complete elimination of various local practices and customs.

Animists account for almost one-fifth of the population. Animism flourishes in the southern part of the country and in the mountainous regions of Guera. The various traditional religions provide a strong basis for cohesion in the villages where they are practiced. Despite a diversity of beliefs, a widespread common feature is the socioreligious initiation of young people into adult society.

Slightly more than one-fifth of the population are Christian, primarily Protestant or Roman Catholic. In Chad, as elsewhere, Christian missionary work has not affected the Muslim population; it has been directed toward the animist populations in the cities in the western regions south of the Chari River and in parts of the central uplands area.

With its rich variety of peoples and languages, Chad possesses a valuable cultural heritage. The country is famed for the rock paintings of its ancient inhabitants, which can be found in abundance in the caves and rock overhangs of the Tibesti Mountains. Especially well-preserved sites are located at Gonoa and Zouar. Terra-cotta heads and figures found at Gaou, near Lake Chad, are believed to be relics of the early Sao civilization.

The country’s capital, N’Djamena, has a cosmopolitan air, with lively sidewalk cafés, small bars, and discotheques. These venues are sometimes used for a modern homegrown custom called pari-match, in which a private party is staged in a rented bar or public place, with the proceeds from alcohol sales going to the host to help pay for school tuition, home repairs, and other household expenses. The city is also known for its bazaars, which sell locally produced traditional goods and crafts such as textiles, camel-hair carpets and jackets, brass ornaments, and pottery. Also located in the capital is the National Museum, which houses prehistoric and traditional artifacts.

Chad has a small but well-regarded music industry. Modern Chadian musicians combine Western-influenced pop with traditional songs and instruments. Important indigenous instruments include a three-stringed lute featuring a bowl-shaped sound box covered with camel skin. By custom, only men are allowed to play these lutes. One of Chad’s most popular recording artists is the ballad singer Clément Masdongar, who has earned a following in the French-speaking countries of Africa and made several appearances at European musical festivals. Tibesti, a Chadian dance-music group, has also appeared internationally.

The local people of Chad have long enjoyed traditional contests of strength and skill. In the south footraces have often figured in the coming-of-age rites of several groups, with courses extending to a hundred miles and more. Such races have also popularly accompanied cattle-driving festivals and other celebrations. In the hotter, drier north, camel races, archery competitions, and wrestling matches mark traditional wintertime festivals, which are still observed alongside Muslim holidays.

More modern competitive sports such as football (soccer) and basketball are also popular throughout Chad, but intramural matches are rare, owing largely to the lack of travel funds and the impassability of Chad’s mostly dirt roads for much of the year. As a result, Chadians have not been able to field teams for many regional competitions, nor have they been able to gain the experience that comes from playing against a variety of teams. Chad made its Olympic debut at the 1964 Tokyo Games, but it has not yet won an Olympic medal.

The first written accounts of the West Africa region came from records of Arab traders in the 9th and 10th centuries AD, who established the trans – Saharan trade route for slaves, gold and ivory. The Portuguese took over this trade using maritime routes in the 15th century. At that time, The Gambia was part of the Mali Empire. Between 1651 and 1661 part of Gambia was (indirectly) a colony of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Colanders settled on the kunta Kinteh Island (James Island), which they called St. Andrews Island and was used as a trade base from 1651 until its captivity by the British in 1661.

The 1783 Treaty of Paris gave Great Britain possession of The Gambia, but the French retained a tiny enclave at Albreda on the north bank of the river, which was finally ceded to the United Kingdom in 1857.

It is believed that as many as three million slaves may have been taken from the West Africa region during the three centuries that the transatlantic slave trade operated. Slaves were initially sent to Europe to work as servants until the market for more labor was expanded in the West Indies and North America in the 18th century. In 1807, slave trading was abolished throughout the British Empire and the British tried unsuccessfully to end the slave trade in The Gambia. They established the military post of Bathurst (now the capital city, Banjul) in 1861. In 1888, The Gambia became a separate colonial entity. A year later an agreement with France established the present boundaries and The Gambia became a British Crown Colony, divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the territory). During World War II, Gambian troops fought with the Allies in Burma. Banjul served as an air hub for the U.S. Army Air Corps and a port of call for Allied naval convoys. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped overnight in Banjul en route to and from the Casablanca Conference in 1943, marking the first visit to the African Continent by an American president whilst in office.

The Gambia achieved independence on 18th February, 1965, as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth. Five years later, on the 24th April, 1970, The Gambia became a Republic within the Commonwealth, with Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara as the first Prime Minister and head of state.

A classical case of the chicken and egg situation is the relationship between language and culture: does culture mirror language or does language mirror culture? Or are the two inextricable? I believe in the Gambian context, language and culture are interlinked and complimentary. Our language groups are also cultural groups. That is, each and every language group has a corollary cultural sphere. B. K Sagnia has reiterated this in his 1981 study on language issues and policy in The Gambia when he asserted ‘language remains the principal instrument for the expression of a person’s culture and allied institutions’. Therefore, a window into a person’s culture is the use of his language. Language is therefore the ‘most effective instrument for the expression of culture’. Culture can be material like artefacts, and intangible such as traditions and folklore. Language however is only intangible.

In The Gambia, there are five major language groups which are in alphabetical order: Fula, Mandinka, Jola, Serahuli, Wollof. Each of these linguistic groups has peculiar cultures which their language seeks to express in proverbs, myths, riddles, sayings etc. In other words, in The Gambia language helps to express culture. Which is why a way of introducing a Wollof proverb is ‘Wollof Njie ne’ . This shows why people can be so attached to their language because it really is one strong symbol of culture; which is why when a language dies or becomes extinct to use the technical word, a whole culture or at least parts of that culture disappears.

Language helps us to authenticate culture. No ethnic group or people can express the essence of their culture- costumes, cuisine, architecture, riddles, folklore, music- in another language different from that of their culture. When we use our languages to express aspects of our culture we are able to better make others appreciate it. Through the use of foreign language, we are ill-able to express our culture to others.

Thus there is a link also between tourism promotion and national language preservation and use because the use of our national languages can in itself be an attraction in the form of language acquisition classes for tourists. National unity and cohesion, peace and stability which are required for the tourism industry, can be sustained through the promotion and use of national languages.

Gambians are generally polyglot- most speak more languages than that of their cultural origins, which is an asset against tribalism and adds to the cultural flourish and attraction of Destination Gambia.

Language and culture in The Gambia and elsewhere therefore deserve full attention and promotion, because language helps us to promote our cultural values through adequate expression.

Religious Tolerance
The Gambia is one of the most religious tolerant countries in the world. For the most part, Gambians are inter-related regardless of their religious background. It is also not uncommon to find related Muslims & Christians belonging to the same family.

ROOTS, a best-selling novel by Alex Haley takes us on an epic journey of slavery and freedom. It began in the rural village of Juffureh and tracking almost five generation of family history across the Atlantic Ocean to the USA and back to The Gambia.

The Gambia’s history is interlaced in this story of survival, love of country, people and freedom, with evidence of tradition and culture still seen today. The trail of Kunta Kinteh, hero of this epic tale, can still be followed from his birthplace Juffureh in rural Gambia.

A converted yacht takes you on a three and a half hour journey to Albreda, a former French trading post. Then, a 15 minute walk will take you to Juffureh, Haley’s ancestral home, where you will meet a descendant of the Kinteh family. You can view the slavery exhibition at the museum in Albreda before boarding the boat and continuing your journey to the former slave fortress of James Island,now called Kunta Kinteh Island, in memory of Kunta Kinteh. On the return journey, you may have the opportunity to swim with the dolphins!!!!

In memory of Kunta Kinteh and other slaves from The Gambia and West Africa, The Gambia Organizes a biannual festival called the ′′International Roots Festival′′ The week long festival is staged in May and attended by locals and international guests from other African countries, The USA, Jamaica, Poland, UK etc. Other Major festivals include but not limited to: The Annual International Food and Beverage Festival (February), The annual Bird Watching Festival (October) and the annual International Boat Fishing Competition (November). These festivals are complemented by other community festivals celebrated throughout the year in various parts of the country.

The wonderful diversity of natural attractions, historical heritage and the vibrant cultural identity offers visitors of Ghana a microcosmic taste of Africa. Known for the hospitality and friendliness of the people, Ghana is an obvious first port of call for especially first time travelers to the African continent and is a pleasant destination for travelers with children. Ghana is one of the few English speaking countries in the region.

People and culture
Experience rural life and enjoy the friendliness and hospitality of the local people during your visit to one of the many interesting eco-tourism projects in Ghana. Discover the various architectural styles of local houses and the distinctive way of living in the sub-Saharan northern part of the country. Visit the flamboyant festivals celebrated throughout the year and learn about culture and traditions of the various tribes in Ghana. Be amazed by the vibrant parades surrounding the traditional chiefs in their colorful dresses and the rhythmic beat of local drumming.

Visit the traditional weaving villages of Kpotoe, Daboya or Bonwire and explore other craft making villages like the pottery and art village Sirigu and wood carving section of Aburi or Kpando.

Nature
Enjoy the panoramic scenery after climbing to the top of Mount Afadjatoe, Mount Gemi or the Breast Mountains in Kyabobo Natural park; the highest peaks in the Volta Region. Take a refreshing shower under one of the surrounding waterfalls, like the Tagbo falls at Liati Wote, Wli falls or Ote falls.

Spot Mona monkeys living in harmony with the local people in the villages Tafi Atome monkey sanctuary and the Baobeng Fiema monkey sanctuary. Watch elephants, crocodiles and antelopes during a foot safari in Mole National Park. Spot other species of wildlife during an adventurous drive further into the park.

Paddle a pirogue on the Black Volta River and look for hippos. Take a canoe trip at the Amansuri Lagoon and visit the extra-ordinary stilt village Nzulezo. Highly interesting for bird watchers, like the Xavi Bird Watching Sanctuary!

Enjoy the shadow of the giant Baobab trees during your hike through the rock formation around the village Bongo or climb to the sacred caves of Tano. Enjoy the green rolling hills around the banks of the Volta Lake during a two day ferry trip up north.

City life
Go for club hopping in Accra or Kumasi! Browse at Kejetia Market, one of the biggest West African open-air markets, and visit the cultural center and Menhya palace in the Ashanti capital of Kumasi.

Relaxing and beach life
Taking respite from the Ghanaian heat and relax along the exotic beaches around Busua, Elmina or Ada. Relaxation is guaranteed at Ko-Sa Beach Resort, Green Turtle Lodge, Ellis Hideout and others. Enjoy the serene atmosphere and the gorgeous taste of grilled tilapia in the lovely hide-outs at the bank of river or Lake Volta. Relaxation guaranteed at Aloy’s Bay, Xofa village, Rainbow Gardens at Lake Bosumtwi and others.

Sleep in the open-air under a bright sky full of stars! The best places are Sirigu pottery village where you sleep at the flat roof of the decorated compound houses, or Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary where you spend the night on a wooden sleeping platform in top of the giant silk cotton tree.

Ghana was formerly known as the Gold Coast. On 6 March 1957 Kwame Nkrumah declared the country’s independence. On 1 July 1960, Ghana became a commonwealth republic with Nkrumah as the first President of the country. The flag of Ghana consists of the colours red, gold, green, and the black star.

In 1966 its first president and pan-African hero, Kwame Nkrumah, was deposed in a coup, heralding years of mostly-military rule. In 1981 Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings staged his second coup. The country began to move towards economic stability and democracy.

In April 1992 a constitution allowing for a multi-party system was approved in a referendum, ushering in a period of democracy. A well-administered country by regional standards, Ghana is often seen as a model for political and economic reform in Africa.

Manhyia Palace Museum
The Museum is a unique creation in West Africa by the Asante Kingdom, to commemorate their leaders, and to communicate the riches of their history and culture to the world. It is a relatively small Museum but stuffed with history larger and older than its size making a visit to the place a worthy one.

The Museum building is of great historical interest and importance as it also houses the Museum’s exhibits such as royal regalia, photographs, medals, furniture, drums and palanquins which are over two hundred years, a battle dress which dates back to 1900 and many objects of historical significance as well as effigies of all past kings and the current occupant of the Golden Stool.

Visitors to the Museum will be able to view video-presentations explaining Asante history and the richness of its culture, as well as splendid examples of the gold-work for which the Asante are world-famous. These include gold weights, bracelets and pots for gold dust which were removed from the Palace by Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts Movement and a member of the British expeditionary force in Kumasi in 1896. Here too are the life-sized effigies of the Nana Prempeh I, Nana Yaa Akyaa and the legendary Nana Yaa Asantewaa, Queen of Ejisu, who in 1900 led the uprising and last of the seven Asante wars with the British, when the British Governor demanded the surrender to him of Asikadwa (Gold Stool).

Kpetoe Kente Weaving Village
Kpetoe Kente Weaving Village is located near the Togo border, a cluster of villages called Kpetoe has produced kente cloth for generations. It is renowned for high-quality Ewe kente, which is unique in design and often less expensive than that from other regions.

Kpetoe has begun efforts to provide expanded and more structured services for tourists. Meanwhile, visitors can have an interesting time exploring the villages, its weavers and kente shops on their own.

 

Things to Do

• Visit the local kente weaving centre, a roofed, open-air building where up to 25 weavers work and display their products. Only about half of the weavers – speak English, but all will be happy to show their work and negotiate a sale price.
• Shop for kente in village stores, including Israel Trading Inc. on the main road in the centre of kpetoe. Products include kente strips, joined strips, table runners, hats, accessories and clothing. Ask residents to direct you to Bowman Kente Weaving and Desiadenyo Kente Store, which are located off the main street. Proprietors will expect you to bargain with them to arrive at a purchase price.
• Wander through the adjacent village of Abenyinase, where up to 100 weavers work and sell their cloth outdoors.

Ntonso Adinkra Cloth Village
Ntonso is the homeland of adinkra cloth and the only place in Ghana where traditional adinkra is made locally from scratch. Ntonso is still Ghana’s biggest producer of adinkra, a cloth famed for its symbols and proverbial wisdom. The cloth was originally worn only for funerals in the Ashanti Region and produced mainly in black, brown and red. These days, however, it is made in all colors and used throughout Ghana. Ntonso has a new visitor center and lays on official guided tours. On a walking tour, visitors can engage in the various stages of adinkra production, such as dye preparation, cloth dyeing, adinkra stamping and embroidery of stamped cloth.

Daboya Fugu weaving village
Daboya is the most famous of Ghana’s fugu weaving communities. Like kente, the fabric is hand-woven but the strips are narrower and have stripes, in contrast to the geometric patterns found in kente. Nearly all of the thousands of residents of Daboya are involved in the production of fugu. The village has developed into a fascinating site and residents are eager to share their heritage. Tour the village with a guide to see the production of fugu, from making dyes, dyeing cloth, creating designs, weaving and joining strips to finally sewing. Daboya also offers boat tours and cruises on the White Volta River, which flows beside the village. See some of the area’s birdlife, enjoy a fishing demonstration with a hand-thrown net and visit a beach where salt is harvested, all from a hand-made boat, paddled by villagers.

Bonwire Kente Village
They have been making kente cloth since the 17th century in Adanwomase, the royal weaving village for the Asante king. Around half the population of Adanwomase is involved in the making of kente, with weavers showing great pride in their work and often creating personal designs. Visitors are welcome in Adanwomase, which offers guided tours and a chance to buy your very own piece of kente cloth. The weaving tour includes a visit to the community kente workshop, where guests can try their hand at thread spinning, warping, and weaving, as well as a trip to the village shops to buy kente products and other crafts. The tour continues to the chief’s palace, the traditional healer’s shrine, the oldest house in the area (over 300 years old) and a cocoa farm and finishes up at a forest shrine. Visitors can also choose to go on a culinary tour of local farms, take part in palm wine tapping or learn to cook traditional Ghanaian dishes. An evening of dancing, drumming, and storytelling by a cultural troupe can also be arranged.

Sirigu Traditional Pottery, Art and Architecture
The village of Sirigu is a fascinating example of local women taking action to preserve their art and culture. This village is home to beautiful pottery and basketry, interesting architecture and decorative wall paintings. Faced with the loss of these traditional skills as many young women left the village to find jobs, seven women from Sirigu created SWOPA (Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Art), which began training local women in making traditional crafts and marketing their products. SWOPA has now grown to include over 350 women and has opened a visitor centre, gallery, workshop and guesthouse complex where visitors can see and buy functional pottery and baskets.

Forts and Castles in Ghana
The castles and forts were built and occupied at different times by traders from Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Germany and Britain. They served the gold trade of European chartered companies. Latterly they played a significant part in the developing slave trade, and therefore in the history of the Americas, and, subsequently, in the 19th century, in the suppression of that trade.

Cape Coast Castle
Cape Coast Castle is the largest of the buildings which contains the legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like most ancient fortifications in Ghana, Cape Coast Castle played a significant role in the gold and slave trades. But also, two significant contributions were made here: the arrival of Christianity, and the establishment of the first formal education system through Castle Schools.

A guided tour of the Cape Coast Castle will acquaint you with its many interesting features including Dalzel Tower, the slave dungeons, and the cannons and mortars used in the Castle’s defense. The West African Historical Museum is located inside Cape Coast Castle and contains a growing collection of art and cultural objects, including ceremonial drums, old muskets, shackles from the slave trade and ancient pottery.

Elmina Castle
St George’s Castle, a Unesco heritage site, was built as a trading post by the Portuguese in 1482, and captured by the Dutch in 1637. It was expanded when slaves replaced gold as the major object of commerce, with storerooms converted into dungeons. The informative tour (included in the entry fee) takes you to the grim dungeons, punishment cells, Door of No Return and the turret room where the British imprisoned the Ashanti king, Prempeh I, for four years.

Elmina Castle was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, so is the oldest European building in existence in suib-Saharan Africa. Elmina is also a picturesque fishing town along Ghana’s coast, not far from Cape Coast. It is home to one of Ghana’s biggest attractions, St George’s Castle. Built by the Portuguese in 1482, it was captured by the Dutch 150 years later and became the headquarters of their West Indies Company for the following 250 years.

Gold exports were soon replaced by slaves and the tours through the dungeons will give you a good idea of how gruesome a trade it was. The Castle houses a small museum and guided tours are available. The stark beauty of the white-washed Castle walls contrast deeply with the dark history of this place.

Fort St Jago lies across the lagoon from the castle, and is worth visiting for the views it offers of the town and Castle.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park
Located in downtown Accra, Ghana is the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum. The Mausoleum is the final resting place of Ghana’s first President and Africanist. The museum hosts rare artefacts relating to Ghana’s independence and tours at the park give visitors in-depth history of the Sub-saharan struggle for independence.

The mausoleum designed by Don Arthur houses the mortal remains of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and his wife Fathia Nkrumah. It is meant to represent an upside-down sword which in the Akan culture is a symbol of peace. The mausoleum is clad from top to bottom with Italian marble, with a black star at its apex to symbolize unity. The interior of the Mausoleum boasts marble flooring and a mini mastaba looking marble grave marker surrounded by river-washed rocks.

Komfo Anokye Sword Site
Situated on the grounds of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, is the Komfo Anokye Sword Site which is seminal in Asante history. A 333 year old sword wedged in the rockface is one of the the centre artefacts and legends of the rich history of the Asante nation. The history of the Asante people is eloquently told by the young curator. On a good day you may run into the Asante king who regularly comes to pay his respects at this important and sacred site.

A tour of the site offers one great insight about the beginning of the Ashanti Kingdom. The landmark has been protected for future generations. This site is a historical landmark where the Legendary Okomfo Anokye Sword is cited.

The Sword site is the exact place where the Golden Stool of Asanteman descended unto the laps of King Osei Tutu I, “Opemsuo” the founder of Asante Nation. The site was predicted by Okomfo Anokye to be a healing place for millions of people. Lo and behold, the site happens to be the exact place where the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is situated. One fascinating story about the Sword is that, since it was planted in 1695, countless number of attempts had been made to remove it from the ground but to no avail.

The ‘immovable’ Sword driven into the ground by Okomfo Anokye remains and is the venue of the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. History has it that the sword was pushed into the ground, almost 300 years ago. It is believed the Okomfo pronounced that no one would be able to remove the sword, and so it has remained in spite of attempts. The Ashanti state, it is believed, would collapse should the sword ever be pulled out of the ground.

Okomfo Anokye
Okomfo Anokye (also known as Kwame Agyei, Kotowbere, or Tsala) was a traditional priest in the Asante Empire. He is known for his participation in the expansion of the Ashanti Empire. There are multiple accounts regarding Okomfo Anokye’s origins.

According to Akuapem tradition, he was son of Ano and Manubea, both from Awukugua in the Nifa Division of the Okere state. His name would originate from an incident: This claim was apparently latter confirmed by Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II during his visit at Awukugua in 2014. According to Asante traditions, he was the grandson of a man called Amoa Gyata from Bona-Bom, Adanse. There are also claims that he was the son of Kyei Birie and Dwirawira Kwa, who was an Asenie woman from Adanse-Akrokyere. According to Anlo-Ewe traditions, Okomfo Anokye was from Notsie. His original name was Tsala, and he was the twin brother of Tsali. His name would thus originate from an Asante corruption of “Notsie” i.e “Okomfo of Notsie”. The Ewe mythology that Okomfo Anokye was from Notsie and Asantes called him Okomfo Anokye signifying “Okomfo a ofiri Notsie” (i.e.: Okomfo who comes from Notsie) cannot be reconciled with Asante or indeed Akan naming conventions.

Larabanga Mosque
The Larabanga Mosque is thought to be the oldest mosque in Ghana and West Africa. It is popularly referred to as the ‘Mecca of West Africa’, because of its rich historical and architectural values. The dimensions of the mosque are approximately 8m by 8m. The Larabanga Mosque made it to the World Monuments Fund’s List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

There is some controversy over when exactly the mosque was built, and who built it. The mosque is thought to date back to 1421. It is believed that an Islamic trader called Ayuba, who was travelling through the area, built the mosque. According to one story, Ayuba slept in the area and had a dream in which he was instructed to build a mosque. When he woke up the next morning, the foundation of the mosque had mysteriously appeared, so he continued with the construction until the mosque was complete.

The mosque is made of mud and stick, in Sudanese style. Right next to the entrance is a large baobab tree, under which Ayuba’s remains are buried. The mosque has four entrances: one each for the village chief, men, women, and the muezzin who leads the call to prayer. The mosque houses a very old Koran which is thought to have been delivered from heaven to an Imam called Bramah, around 1650, after he had prayed hard for a Koran.

The mosque is located in a small predominantly Muslim town, called Larabanga, near Damongo in the Western Gonja District in the Northern Region. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the mosque.

Apart from their usual role as Friday prayer grounds, the ancient mosques also serve as places of pilgrimage to the Muslim communities in the country. On eventful days, a lot of faithful worshippers gather at these mosques for prayers and listen to Koranic readings.

Private readings are also organized on request for individuals who have serious problems to solve, or who seek spiritual protection on their ventures. In return for the readings, the Chief Imam normally requests the sacrifice of a cow and other donations for the community.

Bisa Aberwa Museum
The Bisa Aberwa Museum is created to be one of the largest sculptural representations in clay, wood, cement, paintings and photographs of personalities whose sacrifices have shaped African history, both within the continent and the diaspora.

It has about 2,200 artefacts, sculptural pieces and photographs of heroes of the African struggle and the African American Civil Rights Movement as well as other Black personalities in the French, Portuguese and Spanish Caribbean.

Bisa Aberwa Museum houses one of the world’s largest private collections of artefacts, sculpture and audio-visual representations of the African story.

The Bisa Aberwa Museum is the brainchild of Mr Kwaw Ansah, one of Africa’s most respected award-winning filmmakers, founder and first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TV Africa Limited, is dedicated to preserving the history of the Black Race, promoting African values and celebrating Pan African heroes.

The specimens on display are about personalities whose sacrifices have helped shape African history, both within the continent and the diaspora.

They capture events within the slave dungeons in Africa, the toils of the Africans on the slave plantations and highlights of the Civil Rights Movement culminating in the election of the first African American as President of the United States of America.

The museum also contains documented stories of distinguished personalities such as Dr Esther Ocloo, Paa Grant, Nana Kobina Nketsia IV, A.S. Blay and Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River Site
Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River Park was one of the largest slave markets for gathering people to sell into slavery during the infamous trans-Atlantic slave trade. It is especially worth seeing as a prelude to viewing Cape Coast slave castle since you will be following the route taken by the ancestors of many African Americans.

It was the final link in the slavery route from northern Ghana and was known to have been the largest slave market for the merchant supplying slaves on the forts and castles on the coast.

Trans – Atlantic slave trade came about when people were needed to work on agricultural and mines since the Europeans are not suitable to the climate and not able to survive the tropical disease during the agricultural and mines work. Trans – Atlantic slave trade because, already manufactured goods (tobacco, spirits, beads, cloths, guns etc.) were taken from Europe to Africa in exchange of human beings. Then the exchanged goods (human beings) are shipped to work on plantations and mines. The merchants then return to Europe with the produce from the slave’s labor plantations (cloths, sugar, tobacco, etc.). The transport of the slaves from Africa to America forms the middle passage of the triangular trade.

Nakore Mosque
The Nakore Mosque is located just outside Wa in the Upper West region also shares similar features with the Larabanga mosque, but unfortunately, little is known of the place. The structure of the mosque is that of the Sudanic style. The Sudanic style, though rectangular, has timber frame structures or pillars supporting the roof. It is characterized by two pyramidal towers (the minaret and the mihrab), and by a number of irregular shaped buttresses, with pinnacles projecting above the parapet which give life to the mosque’s elevations.

Apart from the usual role the mosque serves as Friday prayer grounds, the ancient mosques also serve as places of pilgrimage to the Muslim communities in the country. On eventful days, a lot of faithful worshippers gather at these mosques for prayers and listen to Koranic readings. Private readings are also organized on request for individuals who want divine solutions to serious problems or those who seek spiritual intervention in their ventures. The Chief Imam normally requests the sacrifice of a cow and other donations for the community, in return for the readings the Koran.

Most of the communities of the regions of Northern Ghana are predominantly Muslim communities. Islam, which first entered Africa through Egypt in the 10th Century AD, progressed from Egypt towards the west and the south at the same time as the trans-Saharan slave and gold trade routes. In Ghana, these trade routes were used by Mande warriors, Islamic Traders and Missionaries. Occasionally, these routes were marked by incursions by the Almoravids, a Berber Dynasty, which played a major role in the spread of Islam in the area. At rest points for the Islamic traders along the routes, and in conquered territories people were converted to Islam and this led to the construction of mosques in the Northern part of Ghana. Some of these mosques still exist today and they date as far back as the 17th Century AD. Nicely built with ancient architecture, the Nakore Mosque although sacred to the people of the region also makes a great tourist attraction.

Incase you find yourself in the Upper West region of Ghana on a trip, you can round off your trip by visiting the 16th century Nakore Mosque, a very solemn place to visit and learn much about the Muslim tradition of the people in the region.

The territory now known as Lesotho was occupied as early as the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) by Khoisan-speaking hunter-gatherers. From about the 16th century, African farmers—the ancestors of the present population—moved across the grasslands of Southern Africa and settled in the fertile valleys of the Caledon River, where they came to dominate the hunters of the region. These stock-keeping agriculturalists belonged to the large Sotho group and were divided into numerous clans that formed the nucleus of chiefdoms, whose members occupied villages.

The Sotho kingdom (1824–69)
The violent upheavals of the early 19th century among the chiefdoms of Southern Africa intensified in Lesotho in the 1820s. During this turbulent period, known as the Difaqane (also spelled Lifaqane; Sotho: “crushing”), the members of many chiefdoms were annihilated, dispersed, or incorporated into stronger, reorganized, and larger chiefdoms positioned in strategically advantageous areas.

The leaders who headed the new chiefdoms had the ability to offer greater protection; one of these was Moshoeshoe I of the Moketeli, a minor lineage of the Kwena (Bakwena). In 1824 he occupied Thaba Bosiu (“Mountain at Night”), the defensive centre from which he incorporated many other individuals, lineages, and chiefdoms into what became the kingdom of the Sotho (subsequently also called Basutoland). Moshoeshoe was a man of remarkable political and diplomatic skill. By cooperating with other chiefdoms and extending the influence of his own lineage, he was able to create a Sotho identity and unity, both of which were used to repel the external forces that threatened their autonomy and independence. Moshoeshoe also acknowledged the importance of acquiring the skills of farmers, settlers, hunters, and adventurers, who increasingly moved across his borders from the south. He therefore welcomed the missionaries from the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society as a source of information about the rest of the world when they arrived at Thaba Bosiu in 1833. He placed them in strategically important parts of the kingdom, where they gave the Sotho their first experience with Christianity, literacy, and commodity production for long-distance trading.

Large numbers of Boer trekkers from the Cape Colony began to settle on the western margins of the kingdom in 1834 and to challenge the right of the Sotho to their land. The next 30 years were characterized by conflict and outbursts of warfare between the Sotho and the Boers. Ultimately, the Sotho lost most of their territory west of the Caledon River, from which the Boers formed the Orange Free State. The British, to whom Moshoeshoe appealed for intervention, were unable to resolve the dispute over where the boundary should be drawn.

Devastating wars in the late 1860s prompted Moshoeshoe to again appeal to the British for assistance, as he feared the dispersal and possible extinction of his people. Sir Philip Wodehouse, governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony, concerned with the region’s stability and British interests in Southern Africa, annexed the kingdom to the British crown in 1868.

Basutoland remained a British protectorate until Moshoeshoe’s death in 1870 (he was buried on Thaba Bosiu). The next year the colony was annexed to the Cape Colony without the consent of Basutoland. The former independent African mountain kingdom lost much of its most productive land to the Boers and its political autonomy to the British. Nonetheless, the Sotho still retained some of their land and their social and cultural independence.

Basutoland (1871–1966)
Attempts by the Cape Colony administration to disarm the Sotho led to the Gun War (1880–81). The Cape Colony relinquished Basutoland to British rule in 1884, when it became one of three British High Commission Territories in Southern Africa; Swaziland and Bechuanaland (now Botswana) were the other two.

At the end of the 19th century, mineral discoveries were made; their enormous potential laid the foundation for the creation of the Union of South Africa (1910). In order to acquire cheap labour and to end competition from independent African agricultural producers, landowners and miners encouraged the adoption of policies that deprived the indigenous population of its social and political rights and most of its land. Sotho farmers took advantage of the markets for foodstuffs in the growing South African mining centres, however. They utilized new farming techniques to produce substantial surpluses of grain, which they sold on the South African markets. Sotho workers also traveled to the mines to sell their labour for cash and firearms.

Lesotho’s history in the 20th century was dominated by an increasing dependence on labour migration to South Africa, which was made necessary by taxation, population growth behind a closed border, the depletion of the soil, and the need for resources to supplement agricultural production. Sotho workers became an important element of the South African mining industry, and Basutoland became the classic example of the Southern African labour reserve, its people dependent on work in South Africa for their survival.

The British set up a system of dual rule and left considerable power in the hands of the paramount chiefs—Letsie (1870–91), Lerotholi (1891–1905), Letsie II (1905–13), Griffith (1913–39), Seeiso (1939–40), and the regent ’Mantsebo (1940–60)—all of whom were descendants of Moshoeshoe I. Under these leaders, authority was delegated through ranked regional chiefs drawn from the royal lineage and the most important chiefdoms. A system of customary law was adopted, with the land held in trust by the paramount chief for the people, while crucial aspects of local government were also left to the chiefs. The colonial government was headed by a resident commissioner and advised by the Basutoland National Council, which was led by the paramount chief and dominated by his nominated members.

The British administration was concerned primarily with balancing Basutoland’s budget, which it facilitated by ensuring that a substantial proportion of the population worked for wages in South Africa. The local chiefs could do little to halt the increasing social and economic deprivation within Basutoland. Education was left to the missionary societies, and there was little development of economic infrastructure or social services. Between 1929 and 1933 the Great Depression coincided with a massive drought, driving so many people into South Africa that the population in Basutoland hardly increased for a decade.

Opposition to the colonial system grew, but no organizations were able to topple the colonial administration and its traditionalist allies. The Sotho were unified, however, in their opposition to Basutoland’s incorporation into South Africa and their fear that the British might cede the territory to South Africa without consulting them.

In the early 1930s the British attempted to reduce the number of chiefs, but after World War II (during which more than 20,000 Sotho served for the British in North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East) the development of nationalist parties pressing for independence outweighed the need for reform. Three major political parties emerged at this time: the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP; at independence the Basotho Congress Party) in 1952, under Ntsu Mokhehle; the more conservative Basutoland National Party (BNP; at independence the Basotho National Party) in 1958, under Chief Leabua Jonathan, which was supported by the South African government and was associated with chiefly power and the Roman Catholic Church; and the Marema-Tlou Freedom Party (1963), which was identified with the defense of the powers of the country’s principal chiefs.

The Basutoland Council, in existence since 1903, obtained the right to control the internal affairs of the territory in 1955. The region became self-governing in 1965, and general elections held in that year for a new legislative assembly were dominated by the BNP. On October 4, 1966, when Basutoland received its independence from Britain, it was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho and headed by paramount chief Moshoeshoe II (named for the nation’s founder) as king and Chief Jonathan as prime minister. Executive power was given to the prime minister in 1967.

Ethnic groups
The Sotho (also known as Basotho) form the overwhelming majority of the country’s population. They were originally united by a common loyalty to the royal house of Moshoeshoe I, who founded the Sotho nation in the 19th century. Internally, divisions between different chiefdoms—and within the royal lineage itself—have had political significance, but externally a sense of Sotho nationhood and cultural unity remains strong. Lesotho is also home to a Zulu minority, a small population of Asian or mixed ancestry, and a European community that is dominated by expatriate teachers, missionaries, aid workers, technicians, and development advisers.

Languages
Except for English, all the main languages spoken in Lesotho are members of the Niger-Congo language family. Sotho (Sesotho), a Bantu language, is spoken by the majority of the population, though both Sotho and English are official languages in the country. Zulu is spoken by a small but significant minority. Phuthi, a dialect of Swati, and Xhosa are also spoken in parts of Lesotho.

Religion
Some four-fifths of the population profess Christianity, of which the largest denomination is Roman Catholic; other denominations include Lesotho Evangelical, Presbyterian, and Anglican. Independent churches are also present, together with Zionist sects (small African sects that blend Pentecostal Christianity and indigenous ritual belief). Other religions—including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—are practiced by small percentages of the population, as are traditional religions. Some adherents of Christianity also embrace traditional religious beliefs.

Cultural Life
The Sotho combine modern and traditional ways, providing continuity in a society that is disrupted by a system of migratory labour. Although undermined by political developments since independence in 1966, traditional authority is still exercised through a system of chieftaincy, extending from the king through the chiefs to the village level. The chiefs are largely responsible for the working and distribution of land, although in certain areas this authority has been curtailed by the Land Act of 1979.

The contradictions created by Lesotho’s lack of economic independence in the face of political independence are reflected in the cultural life of the country. Despite increasing urbanization and the growth of modern institutions and bureaucracy, many Sotho are still interested in building a rural homestead and perpetuating traditional institutions. They also remain loyal to the chieftaincy system. Institutions such as the initiation schools, which perpetuate traditional values, are still significant but are changing in structure.

Daily life and social customs
Urban life is a blend of traditional and Western culture. In Maseru there are shops and markets that offer regional crafts and goods, as well as modern and Western hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs. Many buildings, however, were burned or damaged by looting following the general election of 1998. The city also contains urban villages where tourists can experience traditional life in Lesotho.

Village life centres largely on the fields, the chief’s court, the kraals, the school, the church, and the initiation lodge. Circumcision forms an integral part of the ritualized initiation ceremonies that train boys to take their place as full members of the family, clan, and nation—the three centres of social cohesion. Many young boys spend a large part of their lives as herdsmen, while women and young girls do much of the hard work in the fields. Because of the sharp variations in climate, both men and women wear blankets, often multicoloured, which they use as cloaks. Men and women also wear the typical Sotho hat, which is woven from reeds into conical shapes and has a decorative topknot.

Village life is dominated by basic agricultural tasks, with heavy responsibilities falling on women. Craftwork is still practiced in the villages and includes pottery, grass weaving (notably of traditional Sotho hats), and the painting of elaborate decorations on the walls of houses. Herders play a traditional musical instrument called the lesiba, a stringed and wind instrument consisting of a string and feather on which the musician blows. Dances such as the “gum boot dance” demonstrate the influence of migrant labour on traditional forms of cultural expression. The more traditional mohobelo is a men’s stomping dance that consists of synchronized movements and high kicks. Women perform their own dance by kneeling in a line and beating the ground with their knees.

Lesotho observes most Christian holidays, including Christmas and Easter. The country also celebrates such secular holidays as Moshoeshoe’s Day on March 11 (in honour of Moshoeshoe I, the founder of the Sotho nation), Worker’s Day on May 1 (see May Day), Heroes’ Day and Africa Day on May 25, Independence Day on October 4 (commemorating the day on which the country received its independence from Britain), Boxing Day on December 26, and King’s Birthday, which is celebrated annually on whichever day the reigning king’s birthday falls. The Morija Arts and Cultural Festival is held annually at Morija, south of Maseru, and provides a showcase for Lesotho’s various artists, performers, and cultural groups.

The arts
The work of Lesotho’s artists is prized by collectors. Many artists are active in the country, and the sale of their work is an important part of Lesotho’s economy. Many use motifs borrowed from the ancient petroglyphs left by the San people at Ha Baroana, a rock shelter east of Maseru. Contemporary artists include ‘Mathabo Nthako, a female potter who uses traditional African firing techniques to create objects with themes that are religious and filled with subtle humour. Tsepiso Lesenyeho, a painter whose work often depicts village scenes, has earned a following among the Sotho as well as among visitors to the country.

The Sotho culture enjoys a rich tradition of oral literature that is given expression in folk songs, proverbs, jokes, myths, and legends. The historical traditions and legacy of Moshoeshoe I remain strong, and there is national pride in Lesotho’s history of resistance, in the role of the Sotho in building modern Southern Africa, and in the achievements of such writers as Thomas Mokopu Mofolo, who wrote Western-style novels in Sotho, and such composers as Joshua Polumo Mohapeloa (1908–82).

Early history
The paleontological record of human cultural artifacts in Malawi dates back more than 50,000 years, although known fossil remains of early Homo sapiens belong to the period between 8000 and 2000 BCE. These prehistoric forebears have affinities to the San people of southern Africa and were probably ancestral to the Twa and Fulani, whom Bantu-speaking peoples claimed to have found when they invaded the Malawi region between the 1st and 4th centuries CE. From then to about 1200 CE, Bantu settlement patterns spread, as did ironworking and the slash-and-burn method of cultivation. The identity of these early Bantu-speaking inhabitants is uncertain. According to oral tradition, names such as Kalimanjira, Katanga, and Zimba are associated with them.

With the arrival of another wave of Bantu-speaking peoples between the 13th and 15th centuries CE, the recorded history of the Malawi region began. These peoples migrated into the region from the north, and they interacted with and assimilated the earlier pre-Bantu and Bantu inhabitants. The descendants of these peoples maintained a rich oral history, and, from 1500, written records were kept in Portuguese and English.

Among the notable accomplishments of the last group of Bantu immigrants was the creation of political states, or the introduction of centralized systems of government. They established the Maravi Confederacy about 1480. During the 16th century the confederacy encompassed the greater part of what is now central and southern Malawi, and, at the height of its influence, in the 17th century, its system of government affected peoples in the adjacent areas of present-day Zambia and Mozambique. North of the Maravi territory, the Ngonde founded a kingdom about 1600. In the 18th century a group of immigrants from the eastern side of Lake Malawi created the Chikulamayembe state to the south of the Ngonde.

The precolonial period witnessed other important developments. In the 18th and 19th centuries, better and more productive agricultural practices were adopted. In some parts of the Malawi region, shifting cultivation of indigenous varieties of millet and sorghum began to give way to more intensive cultivation of crops with a higher carbohydrate content, such as corn (maize), cassava (manioc), and rice.

The independent growth of indigenous governments and improved economic systems was severely disturbed by the development of the slave trade in the late 18th century and by the arrival of foreign intruders in the late 19th century. The slave trade in Malawi increased dramatically between 1790 and 1860 because of the growing demand for slaves on Africa’s east coast.

Swahili-speaking people from the east coast and the Ngoni and Yao peoples entered the Malawi region between 1830 and 1860 as traders or as armed refugees fleeing the Zulu states to the south. All of them eventually created spheres of influence within which they became the dominant ruling class. The Swahili speakers and the Yao also played a major role in the slave trade.

Islam spread into Malawi from the east coast. It was first introduced at Nkhotakota by the ruling Swahili-speaking slave traders, the Jumbe, in the 1860s. Traders returning from the coast in the 1870s and ’80s brought Islam to the Yao of the Shire Highlands. Christianity was introduced in the 1860s by David Livingstone and by other Scottish missionaries who came to Malawi after Livingstone’s death in 1873. Missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa and the White Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church arrived between 1880 and 1910.

Christianity owed its success to the protection given to the missionaries by the colonial government, which the British established after occupying the Malawi region in the 1880s and ’90s. British colonial authority was welcomed by the missionaries and some African societies but was strongly resisted by the Yao, Chewa, and others.

Colonial rule
In 1891 the British established the Nyasaland Districts Protectorate, which was called the British Central Africa Protectorate from 1893 and Nyasaland from 1907. Under the colonial regime, roads and railways were built, and the cultivation of cash crops by European settlers was introduced. On the other hand, the colonial administration did little to enhance the welfare of the African majority, because of commitment to the interests of European settlers. It failed to develop African agriculture, and many able-bodied men migrated to neighbouring countries to seek employment. Furthermore, between 1951 and 1953 the colonial government decided to join the colonies of Southern and Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, against bitter opposition from their African inhabitants.

These negative features of colonial rule prompted the rise of a nationalist movement. From its humble beginnings during the period between the World Wars, African nationalism gathered momentum in the early 1950s. Of special impetus was the imposition of the federation, which nationalists feared as an extension of colonial power. The full force of nationalism as an instrument of change became evident after 1958 under the leadership of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who had returned to the country that year after having been abroad to study and practice medicine. The federation was dissolved in 1963, and Malawi became independent as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations on July 6, 1964.

Ethnic groups and languages
Ten major ethnic groups are historically associated with modern Malawi—the Chewa, Nyanja, Lomwe, Yao, Tumbuka, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, and the Lambya/Nyiha. All the African languages spoken are Bantu languages. From 1968 to 1994, Chewa was the only national language; it is now one of the numerous languages used in print and broadcast media and is spoken by a majority of the population. In 1996 government policy indicated that education in grades 1–4 would be provided in the students’ mother tongue or vernacular language; from grade 5, the medium of instruction would be English, which, though understood by less than one-fifth of the population at independence in 1964, continues to be used widely in business, administrative and judicial matters, higher education, and elsewhere. Other major languages include Lomwe, Yao, and Tumbuka.

Religion
Some three-fourths of the population is Christian, of which the majority are members of independent Christian or various Protestant denominations and the remainder are Roman Catholic. Muslims constitute about one-fifth of the population. Traditional beliefs are adhered to by a small proportion of the population.

Daily life and social customs
Many Malawians observe holidays celebrated by Christian societies throughout the world, including Easter and Christmas. Holidays celebrated by the Muslim community—including ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, which marks the culmination of the hajj—are governed by the lunar calendar. In addition to these, other holidays include John Chilembwe Day on January 15, in honour of the missionary who was a forerunner of Malawian nationalism; Martyrs’ Day on March 3, commemorating those who lost their lives in a 1959 uprising against the British colonial administration; Freedom Day on June 14, in honour of the many Malawians who struggled for the country’s transition to a multiparty democracy during the early 1990s; Republic Day on July 6, commemorating Malawian independence; Labour Day on May 1; and Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in October.

The arts
Various traditional arts and crafts, including sculpture in wood and ivory, form part of Malawi’s material and aesthetic culture. A variety of musical forms, both local and international, are also important. One of the most distinctive features of Malawian culture is the enormous variety of traditional songs and dances that feature the drum as the major musical instrument. Among the most notable of these dances are ingoma and gule wa mkulu, performed by men, and chimtali and visekese, performed by women.

Through domestic broadcasts and international broadcasts received by way of shortwave radio, Malawians—especially those of the younger generations—have always been part of world pop culture and enjoy many international musical artists. Western popular music forms a major repertoire on local radio. It is associated with the more modern urban nightclubs, and most town-based local artists play it rather than music with a strictly African-sounding beat. African styles of pop music are also very popular among all ages in Malawi, however, and, because of strong historical ties with South Africa, township music such as mbaqanga has always occupied a significant place in the Malawian musical culture. Equally notable is the popularity of Congolese music (a mixture of traditional African rhythms and instruments and those borrowed from other cultures), which, along with mbaqanga, tends to be played in both villages and bars in the urban centres.

Cultural institutions
Important artifacts of Malawian history, art, and culture are preserved in the country’s museums, including the Malawi Museum, also known as the Chichiri Museum, in Blantyre; the Lake Malawi Museum, which displays ethnographic and historical exhibits, in Mangochi; the Cultural Museum Center, which features items of natural and cultural significance, in Karonga; and the Chamare Museum at Mua Catholic Mission, which specializes in arts and crafts and has training facilities for prospective sculptors. In addition, Malawian cultural expression is also preserved in situ at such locations as the Chongoni rock-art area (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006), where more than 100 sites feature rock paintings by agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers, the oldest of which may date back to the 6th century BCE.

The Malawi National Dance Troupe (formerly the Kwacha Cultural Troupe), formed in 1987, works to preserve the performing arts culture of various ethnic groups; the Chancellor College Travelling Theatre (affiliated with the University of Malawi), the Wakhumbata Theatre Ensemble, and other groups in Blantyre and Lilongwe have been an effective means of bringing traditional and modern plays to rural and urban populations.

Land of old civilization and cradle of great empires and kingdoms, the history of Mali has been marked by the passage of great celebrities such as: Soundjata Keita, Kankou Moussa, Askia Mohamed, Tieba Traoré, Samory Touré, El Hadj Omar Tall, Biton Mamary Coulibaly etc.

Mali, is a country of great empires and kingdoms that have generated brilliant African Civilizations:
– the Mali Empire 13th and 14th centuries;
– the Songhai Empire;
– the Bambara kingdom of Ségou;
– the toucolor kingdom of El hajj Oumar;
– the Peulh kingdom of Sékou Amadou etc.

The remains of these empires and kingdoms are major attractions for Malian tourism.

Mali is a veritable mosaic of cultures and peoples where different ethnic groups come together, expressing themselves mainly in national languages, the most common are Bambara, Sarakolé, Songhai and Peulh etc.

The main ethnic groups are: the Bambaras, the Peuls, the Bwas, the Bozos, the Dogons, the Khassonkés, the Malinkés, the Sonrhaïs, the Tuaregs, the Arabs, the Sarakolés, the Sénoufos, the Miankas.

Mali, a landlocked territory, located in the heart of West Africa has several wetlands, the main one being the Inner Niger Delta (DIN), classified as a Ramsar site. The Inner Niger Delta is a vast floodplain constituting the largest wetland in West Africa by size and the second in Africa after the OKAWANGO Delta in Botswana.

The climate in Mali is tropical and dry. There are two main seasons:
– a hot and rainy season;
– a cold and dry season.

The relief is essentially made up of plateaus and plains. Mount Hombori is the highest peak culminating at 1155 m above sea level. The country is crossed by two large rivers: the Niger (1,700 kms in Mali) and Senegal (800 kms in Mali).

Three types of climate characterize Mali:
– Sudanese in the South (humid tropical climate). The vegetation is that of the savannah dotted with forests.
– Sahelian in the west and in the center (semi-humid tropical climate).
– Saharan in the North (dry tropical climate).

In Mali two periods are favorable to tourism:
The great season which extends from October to March (cool season)
The short season which runs from July to August (rainy season)