Several movements which took place in West Africa during
the nineteenth century have made their impact felt in the peoples’ social life.
The Fulani Jihads had the effect of transforming the
pagan Hausa, the Bambara and the Futa Toro States into muslims. Not that all
the people within these states became ardent muslims. The point is that some
abandoned their pagan practices entirely. They began to be guided by the
Islamic tenets of praying five times daily. They went on pilgrimage to Mecca
while they imbibed Arab culture as well.
It was not uncommon to see the muslims dressing like
Arabs. For instance, the moslem men began to put on the turban while the women
were now using the veil. Others who had not abandoned their old practices
entirely were mixed the pagan practices with the muslims ones
The Christian missionaries on their part converted many
West Africans into Christianity. They introduced missionary education as well.
The result was that Christian ideals vis-a-vis European traditions and customs
were also inculcated into the Africans. The killing of twins in Calabar in
Nigeria was abolished. Cannibalism, ritual murder and other mal-practices were
stopped by missionary efforts.
European goods were introduced. Many West Africans began
to imitate the act of eating European diet. Some began to prefer, for instance,
tea to “pap” and bread and butter to large scale eating of “gari”. European
styles in dressing were even preferred to the African ones by the more
sophisticated African elites. This was because the African dresses were rather
cumbersome while their European counterparts, namely, shirts, shorts, and
trousers, etc. appeared smarter.
Though the beginning of the twentieth century also saw
the conscious expression of nationalist aspirations especially among the
British West Africans, nevertheless, many including the nationalist agitators
had imbibed one European habit or the other.
The architectural taste of the African had also begun to
change. Before the twentieth century, many houses were built of mud and
tattered roofs made of palm and bamboo fronds. But by the beginning of this
century, not only had many people began to prefer brick-houses roof with
corrugated iron sheets, the pattern of building houses had also changed.
QUESTION
Summarise the main changes in the social features of West
Africans at the beginning of the 20th century as described in the
passage.
ANSWERS
1. Those
who had been Islamized had begun to pray five times daily in addition to
imitating the Arab mode of dressing
2. The
Christianized had accepted missionary education and western civilization to the
affect that killing of twins, cannibalism and ritual murder were stopped
3. People
began to eat European food and imitate European dressing
4. The
preference for brick houses roofed with corrugated iron-sheets to the
traditional mud houses was becoming noticeable.
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