African Cultural Anthropology
by Political independence in any African nation opens the door not only to the right to self-rule but also to the right, the duty and the pride-filled urge to search for, discover and live one’s national identity and culture. In this exercise, Africans are asking themselves not just the question: who am I, but also the two related questions well: who was I? Who am I going to be? In asking these questions, the African sees himself as a member of a group. Anthropology therefore is the study of man.
Political independence in any African nation opens the door not only to the right to self-rule but also to the right, the duty and the pride-filled urge to search for, discover and live one’s national identity and culture. In this exercise, Africans are asking themselves not just the question: who am I, but also the two related questions well: who was I? Who am I going to be? In asking these questions, the African sees himself as a member of a group. Anthropology therefore is the study of man. While each of the other human sciences e.g. psychology, biology etc, concentrate on one or other aspect of man, Anthropology is not limited to any particular aspect of man. Rather, it studies man in his totality as a group member.
Accordingly, African Anthropology is the study of the African in his totality, in his group- affiliation. This is very interesting since Africans are remarkably community life-styled. In its study of man, anthropology is helped by philosophy which defines man as animale rationale (i.e. a rational animal). It was actually Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher who defined man as a rational animal. There are therefore two principal aspects in man: the rational and the animal, the soul and the body.
This definition of man influences anthropology in its study to have two logical and corresponding branches of specialization. One branch treats the animal, the body, the biological, the physical aspect of man. This branch of anthropology is called physical anthropology. It is a very highly specialized form of study with many branches. It studies for example, fossil, man, race etc. anthropologists agree that physical anthropology has both considerably contributed to the health of the human race and has as well helped dismiss the myth of racial superiority. The other branch of anthropology studies the rational, intellectual and the spiritual aspect of man. It specializes in what flows from the soul, mind or reason of man namely his culture. This branch of anthropology is consequently called cultural anthropology. When one speaks of African Cultural Anthropology therefore, one refers to that study of the African in what distinctly manifests the African mind, soul, intellect, rationale namely African culture.
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