346 CHAPTER 12

Agriculture in Eastern and Southern AfricaAgriculture is the primary industry of countries inEastern and Southern Africa, even though drought is aserious problem. An exception is the area around LakeVictoria, which tends to get enough rain to supportmany different kinds of crops. People in this area growbananas, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and yams. Cashcrops such as coffee and cotton are grown in parts ofKenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda.

TERMS & NAMESpastoralismovergrazingkinship

The economies of Eastern andSouthern Africa are based primarilyon agriculture.

Billions of dollars of U.S. aid goesto this region to boost its economy.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

ETHIOPIA, 1985—Ethiopia

has been experiencing a wide-

spread famine for a year. In 1984,

a drought hit Northern Ethiopia

and other parts of Eastern Africa.

Nearly all crops failed. Many

nations sent food, but it was not

enough. Almost one million

Ethiopians have died of starvation.

The government has moved

600,000 people to Southern

Ethiopia, where conditions are

better. Another 100,000 went to

Somalia, 10,000 to Djibouti, and

300,000 to Sudan. Currently, there

is no end in sight to this tragedy.

Economies and Cultures

Region • The drought has killed not only

crops, but also many of Ethiopia’s animals. �

Economies and Cultures

TAKING NOTES

Government

People

Economy

FuturePresentPast

Use your chart to take notes about Eastern andSouthern Africa.

Gulf of Aden

Red SeaSUDANSUDAN

ETHIOPIAETHIOPIA

ERITREAERITREA

SOMALIASOMALIA

DJIBOUTIDJIBOUTI

ETHIOPIA

ERITREA

SUDAN

SOMALIA

DJIBOUTI

0

0 150 250 kilometers

150 250 miles

N

Pastoralism In some areas of Africa, there is not enough rain togrow any crops. Somalia and most of Kenya receive less than 20inches of rain each year. People survive by raising grazing animals,such as cattle, sheep, or goats. This way of life is called pastoralism.Many pastoralists are nomads. Today, because of Africa’s increasingpopulation, there are fewer places for nomads to graze their animals.As a result, the land is suffering from overgrazing, or the process inwhich animals graze grass faster than it can grow back. Overgrazingis a cause of desertification in Africa.

Fishing Africa’s large lakes sup-port commercial fishing. LakeVictoria was once home toalmost 500 native species of fish.Most of these fish were too smallto support a large fishing indus-try. The large Nile perch was thenintroduced into Lake Victoria.Since then, nearly all the nativefish have disappeared. Today,commercial fishing of the Nileperch has brought many jobs tothe area and provided an impor-tant export.

Eastern and Southern Africa 347

Political Boundaries of Eastern Africa, 2001

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Place • What bodies

of water borderEritrea, Djibouti, andnorthern Somalia?

2. Place • On the satellite image, whichcountry in EasternAfrica is clearly landlocked?

Place • Tanzanianfishermen spreadnets along theshore of LakeVictoria. This cichlid is one ofthe native fishthreatened by the Nile perch inthe lake. �

Place • Sorghumis a cereal grainplant native toAfrica. It is amainstay in thediets of 500 million people in more than 30 countries. �

The Beat Goes On People have made and played drums since at least 6000 B.C.In many African cultures, drums are more than musical instruments. The Yorubaused drums that imitate the pitch and pattern of human speech to transmit mes-sages over many miles. These “talking” drums would, for example, send themessage to an unpopular king that his people wanted him to resign. In Uganda,kettledrums were used to symbolize the king’s power and offer him protection.Sacrifices of cattle were regularly made to the drums to give them a life force.

THINKING CRITICALLY

1. Making InferencesWhat status do you think drum players hold in African society? Why?

2. Analyzing MotivesWhy do you think the Yoruba people would use drums instead of a human messenger to send messages to their king?

For more on African music and culture, go to

CL AS SZONE .COM

RESEARCH LINKS

Africa’s Economic StrengthEastern Africa is the poorest region on the continent. Countriesin Southern Africa have more diverse economies than do those inEastern Africa. This means people have more ways to earn a liv-ing. For example, several countries in Southern Africa are rich inmineral resources, so there are jobs in mining. South Africa andZimbabwe also have many manufacturing jobs. South Africa hasby far the strongest economy in the region. In 2000 it had a grossdomestic product, or GDP, of approximately $369 billion.

348 CHAPTER 12

GDP of Southern African Nations, 2000

50 360 380403020100

Billions of Dollars

South Africa

Lesotho

Botswana

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

SKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Chart1. Which of these

countries had thelargest GDP in 2000?the smallest?

2. Which country had a GDP about twotimes the size ofLesotho?

A. AnalyzingCauses What contributes toSouth Africa’sstrong economy?

Transportation and Communication The countries of SouthernAfrica work together to improve the economy of the region. Thisincludes improving transportation and communication amongcountries. For example, the railway lines of Botswana, Namibia,Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland are linked. These linescarry goods from all areas of Southern Africa to major ports alongthe Atlantic and Indian coasts.

Cultures of Eastern and Southern AfricaMarriage and kinship are changing in Eastern and SouthernAfrica as people move to cities. Kinship means family relationships.Economic activity brings people together; as they trade goods,they trade ideas. Their behavior and attitudes change as well.

Music in Eastern and Southern Africa In Eastern and SouthernAfrica, musical traditions of many different cultural groups cometogether. One characteristic of Southern African music is repetition. The Shona people of Zimbabwe make mbira(ehm•BEER•uh) music. Mbira music forms patterns of repetitionusing different voices or instruments. In Zulu choral music, indi-vidual voices singing different parts enter a song at various pointsin a continuous cycle. This creates a rich and varied pattern ofsound. Another traditional way of making music is called hocket-ing. Groups of musicians play flutes or trumpets. Each musicianplays one note. Then they rotate, or take turns, playing one noteafter another to create a continuous, freeform song.

The Tumbukahealers of Malawiuse special songs and dances todiagnose and cure their patients’ diseases.

Culture • JosephShabalala, founderof the South Africanvocal groupLadysmith BlackMambazo, performswith women dancersin traditional Zuludress. �

B. MakingInferences Whydo you think goodtransportation andcommunicationwill improveSouthern Africa’seconomies?

Changing the Tune African musical traditionsmoved across North America, South America,and Europe because of the slave trade andEuropean colonization. African musicians haveadded elements of European, West Asian, andAmerican music to their own styles to createnew types of music. Jiti, for example, is a type ofShona mbira music that follows the traditionalmbira rhythms using an electric guitar.

Religion in Eastern andSouthern AfricaToday, about 85 percent of Southern andEastern Africans practice Islam or Christianity.Only 15 percent practice a traditional Africanreligion. Many traditional African religionsfocus on the worship of sky gods, ancestors, orspirits of rivers and of Earth. However, likeIslam and Christianity, African religions rec-ognize one supreme creator. Many Africanspractice a traditional African religion that iscombined with another religion.

350 CHAPTER 12

Imagine you have moved from a community of nomads in Kenya to South Africa. Write a letterdescribing what your life was like as a nomad and what kind of job you might find in your new home.

SECTION ASSESSMENT

Using Graphics2. Using a spider map like the one

shown, fill in details that describeeach type of economic activity. Addmore lines as necessary.

Main Ideas3. (a) What geographic factors are

responsible for the location ofpastoralism in Eastern Africa?

(b) How did cultural borrowingaffect African music? How didit affect other types of musicaround the world?

(c) What religious belief is common to all the major religions practiced by Africans?

Critical Thinking4. Recognizing Important Details

Describe unique characteristics ofthe music of some African peoples.What influence do they have incommon?

Think About◆ the variety of African music◆ how Africans incorporate

European, West Asian, andAmerican music

Terms & Names1. Explain the significance of: (a) pastoralism (b) overgrazing (c) kinship

Agriculture

Pasto

ralism

Fishin

g

Diversified

economy

EconomicSystem

Ancient Churches Ethiopiaadopted Christianity in the 500s.In the 1200s, King Lalibela ofEthiopia commissioned 11 churchesto be built in the town of Roha.The town was later renamed afterthe emperor. All of the churcheswere carved from solid volcanicrock. A network of tunnels wasbuilt to connect the churches.Today, a community of approxi-mately 1,000 monks presides overthese ancient churches and the pilgrims who visit them.