Lesson 14: The Cultural Legacy of West Africa Section 1

Lesson 14: The Cultural Legacy of West Africa Section 1

By Jennifer Trice

Music is an important part of life in West Africa.

​

• You are now going to listen to a song called, “Kpatsa/Toke.”

• This song features a common style of music in West Africa known as call and response.

• In a call-and-response song, a leader sings a short phrase, known as a call, while a chorus answers with a response.

• The song you will hear is performed by Obo Addy, a master drummer of Ghana.

This song, Everybody Ought to Know is performed by Sweet ​Honey in the Rock, an African-American quintet whose sound is rooted in traditional West African musical style. Play it on the next slide. Think about the similarities between the two songs you listened to.

​

​Some text here about the topic of discussion.

Call and Response in Music today

Call-and-response songs are one of West Africa's cultural legacies to the world. Today, they can be heard in the vocals and instrumentation of contemporary pop, gospel, blues, rock, and jazz.​

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is one effect of African slaves bringing their music to the Americas?

• The balafon is a popular instrument in South America.

• Their music has influenced jazz, rock, and rap music.

• The griots’ songs continue to be sung in North America.

In what ways do the cultural achievements of West Africa influence our culture today?

Consider this question as you go through the Quizizz.

For centuries, the values, beliefs and knowledge of West Africans were transmitted orally.

​​Oral Traditions

A griot is a poet-musician who tells stories, sings songs of praise, and recites poems, often while playing a drum or a stringed instrument similar to a banjo.

They educate their audiences with historical accounts and genealogies. They are the record keepers of their people.​

​​Griot

Poll

West African oral tradition includes proverbs, or popular sayings. They use images from everyday life to express ideas or to give advice. They tell us a great deal about the wisdom and values of West Africans.

Read each of the proverbs below, then select your favorite one. There are no right/wrong answers here.

• You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

• Rats don't dance in the cat's doorway.

• A good story is like a garden carried in the pocket.

• Every time an old man dies, it is as if a library has burnt down.

Multiple Choice

Learning and cultural ideas passed down orally, from one generation to the next.

• oral tradition
• story telling
• genealogy
• history

Multiple Choice

A talented poet-musician of the Mande people, who tell stories, sign songs, and recite poems to share history.

• grandparents
• elder
• griot
• king

Multiple Choice

What did griots do for their people?

• kept records and history
• performed weddings
• wrote history books
• recited the news

Oral Traditions today

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Some of the most famous West African artists today are griots who have changed traditional oral works into modern songs.

Multiple Choice

What was one important function of the oral tradition in Africa?

• extending leaders’ influence

• entertaining visitors to Africa

• preserving people’s history

Many African folktales were brought to America by enslaved West Africans and spread through the American South and West Indies.

Brought to America

A story about a clever animal or human who outsmarts others. In African stories the hare is popular. This hare became known as Brer Rabbit in the American South.

​​Trickster Tales

Folktales teach morals and values

Multiple Choice

How did West Africans use folktales?

• To teach young people history
• To teach young people songs
• To teach young people morals and values
• To teach young people religion and beliefs

Multiple Choice

What is a story about clever animals or humans who outsmart others?

• trickster tale
• fairy tale
• tall tale
• rabbit tail

Multiple Choice

A story that is passed down orally and becomes part of a culture's tradition.

• proverb
• folktale
• biography
• myth

Multiple Choice

How did African folktales get to the Americas?

• with explorers
• with immigrants
• with enslaved people
• with aliens

Proverbs​

West African proverbs use images from everyday life to express ideas or give advice and reveal a great deal about the wisdom and values of West Africans. Enslaved West Africans brought these proverbs to America.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

A popular or wise saying is a _______________.

• trickster tale
• folktale
• proverb
• old wives tale

West African Proverb on the importance of oral traditions.

" Every time an old man dies, it is as if a library has burnt down." 

Multiple Choice

What does the following proverb reveal about the West African society? Every time an old man dies, it is as if a library has burnt down.

• The importance of visual arts.

• The value placed on books.

• The importance of oral tradition.

Multiple Choice

What did folktales and proverbs have in common?

• Both were presented musically

• Both were written in Arabic

• Both were part of an oral tradition.