If you start your day with a cup of coffee or end your evening listening to jazz, you can thank African people. Traditions and practices from across the continent have found their way to practically every corner of the globe. From the music we love to the art we admire, Africa’s influence is undeniable. Check out a few of the amazing things Africa has introduced to the rest of the world.
Long before people hit up Starbucks for 5-dollar lattes, coffee can trace its roots to Ethiopia in the 9th century.
As the story goes, a goat herder first discovered the amazing energy-boosting effects of coffee after noticing his goats getting super hyped after eating certain berries. The herder shared what he learned with local monks who figured out how to make a drink with the berries that kept them awake during their evening prayer and now keeps us awake during long days at work.
The practice of wearing makeup dates back to ancient Egypt, when people wore lipstick, blush and eye makeup regularly. But back then, makeup was used for more than complementing features. Black eyeliner (or “kohl”) was also used to protect the eyes from the sun.
Great for everything from dry skin to stretch marks, shea butter is a natural beauty wonder that moisturizes and protects the skin and hair without being oily. Used for thousands of years, shea butter comes from the fat of nuts from the shea tree, which is native to West Africa.
Jazz, a musical genre cultivated in New Orleans in the early 20th century, was born out of a fusion of African and Caribbean rhythms with European melodies. Known for its creative use of improvisation and call and response techniques, jazz has had a tremendous influence on other genres, including hip-hop.
Tap dance is a creative and rhythmical dance style with an interesting origin story. A combination of African, Irish and Scottish step dancing, tap first gained popularity in the mid-1800s in what was known as the Five Points area of Manhattan, where African Americans and Irish immigrants lived together.
According to scientists, the earliest watermelons were found in Northeast Africa over 5000 years ago before spreading across Europe. The first fruits were bitter before evolving into the sweet treat we enjoy today.
Some newly freed African American slaves used harvesting and selling watermelons as a means of generating income. But whites, who became threatened by their economic independence, turned the fruit into a racist stereotype that was pervasive in the Jim Crow era.
Box braids, cornrows and Bantu knots are just a few of the beautiful braided styles you see everywhere these days. But the practice of braiding is a tradition that dates back centuries to 3500 B.C, when African women used various styles to indicate things like tribal affiliation, social status and marital status.
Now a sugary soft drink enjoyed around the world, Coca-Cola made its debut in the late 1800s. Developed by Atlanta pharmacist John S. Pemberton, the formula was developed from the extract of the coca leaf and the nut of the kola tree, which is native to West Africa.
During the early 1900s, European artists like Matisse and Picasso were inspired by African sculpture and masks. Between 1907 and 1909, Picasso’s style was heavily influenced by the colors, shapes and lines of West and Central Africa.
