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West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa.The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom Overseas Territory).
The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic , Khoisan , Niger-Congo , and Nilo-Saharan populations.
The Mandé-speaking people are still active in West African politics; Many individuals from Mandé-speaking ethnic groups have been elected as presidents in several states. [ citation needed ] Existence amongst the Mandé-speaking peoples concerning conflict with other African ethnic groups has been exacerbated since the start of the 20th century.
Sample of the Egyptian Book of the Dead of the scribe Nebqed, c. 1300 BC. Africa is divided into a great number of ethnic cultures. [17] [18] [19] The continent's cultural regeneration has also been an integral aspect of post-independence nation-building on the continent, with a recognition of the need to harness the cultural resources of Africa to enrich the process of education, requiring ...
The history of the indigenous African peoples spans thousands of years and includes a complex variety of cultures, languages, and political systems. Indigenous African cultures have existed since ancient times, with some of the earliest evidence of human life on the continent coming from stone tools and rock art dating back hundreds of thousands of years.
In addition to having similarity with the remnant of a more basal Sub-Saharan African lineage (e.g., a basal West African lineage shared between Yoruba and Mende peoples), the Sub-Saharan African DNA in the Taforalt people of the Iberomaurusian culture may be best represented by modern West Africans (e.g., Yoruba).
Mandinka people, Soninke people, other Mande speaking groups. The Bambara ( Bambara : ߓߡߊߣߊ߲ , romanized: Bamana or ߓߊ߲ߡߊߣߊ߲ Banmana ) are a Mandé ethnic group native to much of West Africa , primarily southern Mali , Ghana , Guinea , Burkina Faso and Senegal .
The Mandinka people have traditionally been a socially stratified society, as are many West African ethnic groups with castes. [ 59 ] [ 60 ] The Mandinka society, states Arnold Hughes, a professor of West African Studies and African Politics, has been "divided into three endogamous castes – the freeborn ( foro ), slaves ( jongo ), and ...