| المستخلص: |
This paper discusses traditional African culture: its nature, characteristics, and the main factors that affect it, its values and worldview. Among those factors are: Christianity, Islam, colonialism, capitalism and recently globalization. Since culture is seen as the sum of the peculiarities shared by a people, and Africa being a vast continent with over (2000), varieties of languages, this paper has adopted the holistic view about the African culture. Also, some current transmitters of the cultural changes were discussed here, such as the Francophonie movement and the internet and social media networks, as well as some of the African responses to the foreign cultural influences such as: The Pan-Africanism, Negritude, the Kemit, the Afropolitan movements, the emerging African intellectuals that graduated from Arabic higher learning institutions known as the ‘Arabisants’, and some NGOs, etc. The African governments are not seen here as positive promoters or protectors of the African culture. However, it is argued here that, for the African culture to withstand the imposed imperial acculturation, Africa must, first of all, inevitably cling to the core elements of its culture. This is to articulate the process of the natural acculturation of the African culture with the rest of the world cultures. In addition to clinging to its cultural values, it is argued here that Africa cannot face the predatory imperial cultures alone, it is imperative on the African culture to join forces with its neighboring cultures that face the same treat and are struggling to secure their self-determination. Here, the triple heritage of Africa is invoked, namely: its traditional religion and values, Christian and Islamic cultural values and the Arabic culture. African culture has been a good contributor to each of the afore mentioned cultures. So, it is logical that the African culture returns to those constituents of its strength in order for Africa be an active and positive partner in the global cultural interactions.
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