r/AskAnAfrican • u/Cheap_You_6420 • 3d ago
Culture Why many Africans support Russia?
How did Russia come to be seen as an anti-colonial or anti-imperial power in this current context of invasion
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Cheap_You_6420 • 3d ago
How did Russia come to be seen as an anti-colonial or anti-imperial power in this current context of invasion
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Morales_Sheila8478 • Jun 13 '26
not like Ghanaians and Nigerians arguing about jollof but beefs where the tribes or countries legitimately detest eachother.
edit: also can you explain a bit about what the beef is about?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/bcuket • Mar 28 '26
I heard the African-American live streamer "IShowSpeed" visited Africa and would say the N-word around Africans, because that is normal for black people in America and Europe to say. I was wondering do Africans say this word in a friendly way to other Africans or is that only a African diaspora thing? For example where I live in Texas USA, a lot of the black population will say things like "Whats up, my N-word?" or refer to a black man as "N-word" when telling a story. Is it the same inside the African continent?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Sweaty-Click2342 • 1d ago
What is an African language outside of your language family and country that you've been intrigued by either in music or general speech? Mine would have to be bambara and wolof but only when the women speak it, it sounds uniquely sahelian and in my opinion I'd say very musical.
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Effective-Toe-8108 • Feb 20 '26
There is no single African culture. There is no automatic fellowship just because we share a continent. There is no "African" food or clothes or language. Why is Africa made to feel obligated to amalgamate its identities and reduce itself to a landmass, when other places arent made to do so? Have you ever seen a pan-Asian movement? No? Probably because theyre very diverse right? WELL SO IS AFRICA! I feel like you should always put your country first before your continent, because thats your true identity. It is a very ignorant mindset to place a landmass before your own people. Yes, ethnic group, not tribe. Majority of African countries are comprised of ethnic groups and not tribes. But the word "tribe" is used because history books told you that there isnt a big enough distinction between your peoples that an ethnicity can be formed. Wake up! Put your country first, because theyre your people. Not "Africans" in a vague sense. People like to talk about how diverse africa is, but many of you dont even truly believe it. A somali is genetically closer to west asians than he is to a nigerian! Their languages have zero relation to eachother. That is how hugely diverse we are. So i believe we should be patriotic to our country first instead of emphasizing "Africanness", because there is NO shared african experience.
r/AskAnAfrican • u/NightRunnerAfterDusk • Sep 21 '26
r/AskAnAfrican • u/krymzynnova • 5d ago
Only asking out curiosity as I identify with my mum’s tribe (ever since I was a little girl), but I have heard others say regardless, they follow their dad’s tribe - even if they don’t know their dad very well
It only got me thinking which is why I decided to ask
Thanks all 🙏🙏
r/AskAnAfrican • u/canyoulikechilll • Aug 06 '26
For example, in TZ we have a lot of Indians and Arabs, with Arabs being our colonisers; however, we see them all as Tanzanian, there is no distinction. It's to the point I was shocked when my Indian friend who emigrated here at a young age didn't know Kiswahili at all since it's so common to have Swahili-speaking Indians and Arabs. I know in ZA it's the same with the Afrikaaners being African but what about other places (if you're from ZA still comment below!)?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Roseate-Views • Sep 15 '26
My question is about her novels, short stories and other publications, including her famous TED talk "The danger of a single story", rather than her current family headlines.
Background: I (M 63, white European immigrant to Namibia, formerly expat in DR Congo, but never been to Nigeria) simply adore her work, most of which I literally devoured in audiobook format (which I consider to be better than the printed versions). Yet, I'm aware that I'm biased and that what allures me and makes me listen to her novels again and again may feel very different for Nigerians in particular, and potentially (black) Africans in general.
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Ecstatic-Section-978 • Jun 08 '26
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Patient_Revenue8727 • Jun 17 '26
(1) Using the phrase "There is no hurry in Africa" to justify time wastage and poor time management.Someone will justify a meeting/session starting 30 minutes late, creating the standard that Africans are irresponsible with time.
(2) Accepting the widespread corruption and mediocrity of our leader by saying they're "African leaders", and so? Corruption and extravagance is a mark of effectiveness?
(3)When we say "African parent", we often mean parents who are (often) wildly strict and sometimes have internalized homophobia and misogyny. We try to rationalize poor and abusive parenting as "them being strict"
(4) Using African culture to justify hatred against homosexuals and trans people. Is that what our culture is about? Hating people and things that are different cause our people haven't been doing it
r/AskAnAfrican • u/KnicksHope • Dec 14 '25
Hi, I'm trying to educate myself about the African continent, a good friend of mine told me something interesting: the reason why here in Europe we don't really "get" Africa is because in the Western World we are accostumed to differentiate people based on nationality, while in Africa most of the time is the ethnic culture which prevail over the national one. His assumption is simple: it would be useless trying to educate myself studying Nigerian or Ghanaian history if I don't know the difference between Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani etc. Is it true?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Akiratos816 • Jul 17 '26
As a European who has only recently started studying the cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa, I was surprised to read that ethnic or tribal identity is often considered the strongest aspect of a person's identity, to the point that it can discourage or even prevent marriage between people from different ethnic groups, even when they share the same religion.
Is this actually true?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Mental-Statement2941 • Sep 16 '26
I'm an Atheist in a Christian majority country being Botswana. It doesn't bother me when I'm in the city as there are many like me. Problem is, we only have 2 cities in our country and I live outside the city and yeaaahhhh the Christian culture shows with how many times God comes up in general conversation.
Still, I have many friends from the city and most are somewhat Christian and I have friends from outside the city that are heavily Christian.
I only have 1 Atheist friend and I'm a pretty social guy so I make a lot of friends. Doesn't help that Im the only Atheist in my Christian family. It's uncomfortable sometimes especially since I used to be a Christian until I learnt more about other faiths, grew a love for religous studies and appreciated other Faith's in all their flaws and beauty. I visited Mosques, Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, Gudwara's and I enjoyed seeing it. The diversity in beliefs and it brought the anthropologist in me to tears of joy, it also opened my mind to see various flaws in these beliefs alongside their beauty.
That's a big no no where I'm from to say "I appreciate Islam and what it brings to the table, and the hyms dedicated to Allah in Arabic are beautiful" because the response is.
"So you're appreciating falseness and lies"
I refused to believe all followers of these other faiths are going to hell. I also empathized with the queer community especially when my best friend of a decade came out as Bi.
Now I'm not here to argue about ethics for those reading this that are religous and might be typing "Well you see the bible or quran says this so Hindus and Gays are xxxxx"
I'm not here to argue that or any theological point.
I was talking to a Shona and Sudanese friend of mine (both religous) telling me how much Islam and Christian permeates throughout each of their home countries. Alot of African countries if not most are heavily religious.
For the Atheists in Africa, what are some challenges you face?
Do you face some stigma?
When did you become an Atheist and how (if you deconverted ofc)?
How do you navigate that in countries that are really religious?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Flaky_History12 • Aug 27 '26
I have always wanted to ask this question. I know there are a lot more important issues in African countries than this but… why have a majority of African countries kept the official language of those who colonised them after all this time? I would understand if by the time they got independence a majority of people were already speaking this language but this doesn’t seem to be the case for the most part. I also understand the idea of picking a different language as to not favor any specific tribes or people but to pick one that isn’t even from your country seems so sad. Does anyone want this to change for their country?
Questions: Why have a majority of African countries kept the official language of those who colonised them to present day? Does anyone want this to change for their country?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Low-Appearance4875 • Feb 14 '26
I’ve been noticing that, even online, a lot of Ethiopians and Eritreans identify with their tribe first and their country secondly. They even have subreddits on here divided by tribe! And on TikTok, there is such a thing as “HabeshaTiktok”. To me this was really surprising.
I’m not going to act like Congo tribal patriotism. Like we know our tribe, we make jokes here and there, but that’s about it. For someone to go and make popular accounts dedicated solely to a specific tribe in Congo or try to identify primarily as members of a specific tribe is virtually unheard of. I grew up in the capital and I didn’t even know what tribes my friends were until high school when we were given homework to research our tribes and present about it in class. I asked my dad and he told me he didn’t know the tribes of his childhood friends until well into adulthood either.
But then I realized it’s not just Ethiopians and Eritreans! I feel like Fulanis in West Africa do this a lot too. Touareg as well.
So my question is, do you identify more with your tribe or your country?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Ok-Ocelot-774 • Apr 13 '26
I ask cause I was watching, albeit, documentaries about German princesses and how some of them went to Greece or even Russia and came off as cold, to where local Greeks and even Russians viewed them as cold. Even if they didn't necessarily have bad intentions. To which that made me wonder.. Are the Germans of Namibia, let's say, different than the Germans in Germany or the Dutch people of South Africa different than the Dutch people in the Netherlands? When I say different, I mean.. Could it be said that German Namibians would be more warm than Germans in Germany or not different?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/LockedOutOfElfland • Aug 08 '26
I was reading online about South Africa because I don't know much about it and was really curious about learning the cultural differences between Zulu, Xhosa, etc. It also made me wonder if people belonging to those groups identify more with their ethnic group or with the country they're a citizen of (South Africa).
I felt like asking about this more broadly to people who live across the African continent. Do you identify more with the country you're a citizen of, or with a specific ethnolinguistic group you belong to?
r/AskAnAfrican • u/mwateejudah • 10d ago
In Kenya, the High Court in Kisii upheld an order for a divorcing wife to return dowry (cows and cash) that had been paid to her parents, and held her responsible, not her parents. Meanwhile, Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled back in 2015 that refunding bride price on divorce was unconstitutional because it undermines women’s dignity.
Same region, similar traditions, opposite answers.
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Amazing-Persona-101 • Sep 10 '26
If so, for either religion, why do you think that is?
I read that LDS is the fastest growing religion in Africa which would be ironic based on what that religion used to think about black people.
Scientology is even more confusing to me about what would make someone join.
r/AskAnAfrican • u/satanicpastorswife • Sep 08 '26
Like in the US we have like “the Karen” (who is a mean often somewhat prosperous suburban lady), or like the metalhead (I am pretty sure metalheads are universal at this point), the suburban home depot dad (he wears cargo shorts and is obsessed with barbecue and his lawn), or like the sort of vaguely artsy new age crystal lady who wears like… purple shawls. They’re sort of stock characters, but also will tend to resemble many actual people you might meet. I’m less interested in mean spirited ones and more in like “oh yeah that type of guy!” Where it’s mostly affectionate and sometimes people use it as a self description
r/AskAnAfrican • u/anglois_aficionado • 4d ago
Hello! I'd like to know whether the Congolese fashion movement known as La Sape has spread significantly to other African countries, and if so, how widespread it is.
I've come across some Instagram posts suggesting that similar fashion scenes exist elsewhere on the continent, but I'd love to hear from Africans who might have firsthand knowledge of this. Is La Sape recognised or practised outside the two Congos?
Thank you for your insight!
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Bobelle • May 29 '26
I just think that should be our default in general - but colonialism and all that unfortunately.
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Sport_Milf_EU • Mar 23 '26
I know there is no one right answer. I am just open to hearing points of view and experience. I am a single mother, and we are from a mostly all white country in EU (Czech). I have randomn thoughts about paths to take.
- Should we maybe move to a more diverse country just for her not to stand out/face racism?
- Should she have identity as just a bi-racial Czech or should I feel I should proactively support/guide into African heritage?
- Should indeed her future be encouraged to be more connected to Africa or Europe?
- There is an image of African men feeling less obligated for a parental role- is there any positive/culture/traditional explaination that is a positive framing for me when I discuss it?
Please only supportive/positive comments or DMs.
(and please don't make assumptions about him being a "deadbeat" etc. He is supportive but was unable to stay in Europe.)
r/AskAnAfrican • u/Serious_Somewhere765 • Dec 04 '25
American here. I live in a very ethnically/culturally mixed area of the US.
Multiple news outlets have been reporting about Muslims versus Christians for a bit now. I hate to see people die for their beliefs.
It seems other African origins have been fine, just Nigerians where I see the most tension.
I'm curious how much of this is an American bias and how the rest of the continent views this.