African Cultures Trivia

1. For what reason are the Tuareg people sometimes referred to as the blue people?

From Quiz The Tuareg People

Answer: Because of the indigo dye in their clothing

The Tuareg are sometimes called the blue people because they traditionally wear clothes dyed with indigo that sometimes wears off the clothing and can stain their skin. This is a common occurrence with the tagelmust, a men's turban and face garment that is dyed blue and is believed to ward off evil spirits. Although blue is still the traditional and most common color for Tuareg clothing, nowadays the Tuareg frequently wear all colors.

From Quiz The Maasai People

Answer: Eastern Africa

The Maasai live almost exclusively in Kenya and Tanzania. Traditionally, the Maasai are welcoming to outsiders and speak Maa, the local language. Some Maasai speak English and Swahili as well. The Maasai are primarily nomadic but in recent years, younger people have been attending universities in urban areas and then return home.

From Quiz A Collection of Cultures

Answer: Unkulunkulu

The Zulu people believe that Unkulunkulu sprung from the reeds and created all animals, water, mountains, the sun, and the moon. They also considered him to be the same as Adam, the first man to walk on earth.

From Quiz Getting To Know Ewes

Answer: Togo, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria

The Ewe tribes and their relatives in Africa live primarily along the coastal areas of the mid northwestern countries including the Volta area of Ghana (formerly Gold Coast). The language they speak is called Ewe (aka 'Evegbe') and is somewhat related to languages of tribes in the same general area such as the Fon, Phla Phera, Gen and Aja. These languages belong to the Gbe group, which is in the Kwa family in the Niger-Congo areas. There are approximately 3 million speakers of these and variant languages in the area. Variations in Ewe can be heard from one settlement to another, but are mutually intelligible.

From Quiz The Dogon

Answer: Mali

The majority of the Dogon tribe live in Mali near the city of Timbuktu. There is also a smaller population living in Upper Volta, also known as Burkina Faso.

From Quiz Ethnic Groups in Africa

Answer: Yoruba

The Yoruba have a high incidence of twin births. If one twin dies, the 'Ibeji' takes his place.

From Quiz The Tuareg People

Answer: Sahara Desert

The vast majority of Tuareg people live in the Sahara Desert region of Northern Africa. Niger is by far the nation with the most Tuareg people and is also the nation where the Tuareg make up the largest percentage of the population. The Tuareg are nomadic people whose society is hierarchical.

From Quiz Zulu

Answer: Durban

Using 2016 data, Pietermaritzburg is the tenth largest city in South Africa, while Durban is the third largest. Johannesburg, in Gauteng Province, has by far the largest population with more than twice as many inhabitants as Cape Town. Pietermaritzburg was founded in 1838 and is inland, while Durban (eThekwini in the Zulu language) is a large port city on the Indian Ocean.

From Quiz A Collection of Cultures

Answer: He kidnaps a female

After the kidnapping, an elder of the suitor's family goes to the bride's father and asks for a blessing of the union. If the father accepts, he beats the suitor as a sign of acceptance. If the father doesn't accept, the suitor may still force the union if he wishes.

From Quiz Customs and Culture in the Maghreb - Mauritania

Answer: Sweet green tea flavoured with mint

Yes, as strange as it may seem, slavery is still practiced in Mauritania! The Mauritanians are particularly fond of sweet foods and drinks and also drink sour camel milk and water; a drink known as 'Zrig', hibiscus flower juice and the juice of the fruit of the Baobab tree.

From Quiz Getting To Know Ewes

Answer: Patrilineal kin

Paternal kin was the usual line of succession, but extended family connections are also very important to the Ewe, as they prefer not to have too high a concentration of power in only one family. During European colonization, parts of then Togoland were held by the British and the French. After WWI French Togoland was named Togo, and independence was achieved in 1960. While French was the official language in Togo, Ewe and Kabiye are the recognised indigenous languages and are taught in school. There is a considerable amount of flow between French, English and native languages so words and phrases are borrowed wherever needed.

From Quiz The Dogon

Answer: Niger

The Niger river has its source in Guinea, runs through northwestern Africa, and empties into the Gulf of Guinea.

From Quiz Ethnic Groups in Africa

Answer: Masai & Maasai

From Quiz The Tuareg People

Answer: Islam

The Tuareg adopted Islam as their religion around the 7th century. Not only were the Tuareg amongst the first groups of people to convert to Islam, they were instrumental in spreading Islam throughout North Africa. The city of Timbuktu was founded by Tuareg and was a major city for Islamic and general education which the Tuareg used to spread Islam. Notably, the Tuareg are generally considered to be lax in the observation of certain Muslim traditions and women play a much more prominent role in society than in other traditional Muslim communities.

From Quiz Zulu

Answer: Dance

These are just two of the traditional Zulu dances, with the ingoma having two versions. The isizingili is performed by girls and boys together, with a chanted accompaniment. The isishameni has boys and girls, but they dance separately with each gender clapping while the other dances. Indlamu is derived from a traditional war dance so is performed only by men, who wear full ceremonial dress. These dances are frequently part of Zulu weddings.

From Quiz A Collection of Cultures

Answer: Run across the backs of several bulls

The young boy must jump on the back of one bull in a corralled herd and then run across the backs of the pack many times. The young boy usually has to do it while naked.

From Quiz Customs and Culture in the Maghreb - Mauritania

Answer: Only circumcised adult males

At the end of Ramadan and the feast that celebrates the end of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the only meat that will be accepted as a sacrifice is lamb; any meat from this animal must be eaten after three days or it will be discarded. It is also customary for an animal to be slaughtered during the celebrations of the giving of a name, a tribal initiation ceremony, marriage and funerals.

From Quiz The Dogon

Answer: Sirius & dog star

Sirius is actually a binary system, and it has even been theorized to be a tertiary system. The Dogon base their beliefs on a tertiary Sirius system.

From Quiz Ethnic Groups in Africa

Answer: Kente

The Kente probably has its roots in weaving traditions in the 11th century. Often the cloth is given different names to suit the occasion and the wearer. For instance, a special Kente called 'One Man Cannot Rule A Country' was designed especially for Ghana's first President.

From Quiz The Tuareg People

Answer: Slaves

The Ikelan caste was made up of slaves from other parts of Africa, most commonly those from areas just outside traditional Tuareg lands and were people who did not speak the Tuareg language. Although slavery is more or less abolished in Africa, it is still practiced in various forms in some Tuareg communities. In the most nomadic and remote communities, it is not uncommon to find slaves in chains like in the days of old. The word "ikelan" literally means "to be black" referring to the darker skinned people of sub-Saharan Africa who were usually enslaved by the Tuareg.

From Quiz Zulu

Answer: Shaka

Shaka kaSenzangakhona, also known as Shaka Zulu, was born in the late eighteenth century and was the man who brought together various African tribes as the Zulu nation. His reign lasted until 1828, when he was assassinated by his half brothers following his extreme, and cruel, actions following his mother's death. The date of his death became a day of pilgrimage for the Zulus and was adopted by South Africa as Heritage Day in 1995.

From Quiz A Collection of Cultures

Answer: Red

Predominately red clothing is worn by the Masai especially when doing their traditional dancing. The color red is used to blend in with the red soil of their environment.

From Quiz Getting To Know Ewes

Answer: Weaving of running feet

The design is repeated in different sizes and colors, and looks like modernistic footprints in the sand. The Ewe seem to favor blue, purple, black, tan and green in their weaving, perhaps because those were the available dye colors in their region.

From Quiz The Dogon

Answer: Extraterrestrials

The Dogon believe that an extraterrestrial race visited Earth and created life.

From Quiz Ethnic Groups in Africa

Answer: Tuareg

The Tuareg are generally found in Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The men start wearing a veil at the age of 25. They never remove this veil even amongst family members. The women however, are not veiled.

From Quiz The Tuareg People

Answer: Drink it

Atai is a type of gunpowder green tea that is a popular beverage in Tuareg communities. One of the characteristics of atai is its frothiness. Traditionally, it is served in very small glasses and poured into the glasses from a great height, causing the tea to froth. It is a sweet tea with lots of sugar and flavored with mint leaves.

From Quiz The Maasai People

Answer: A dance

Adumu is the jumping dance the Maasai are well known for. It is performed usually by men holding a rigid posture. The heels do not touch the ground. Onlookers surround the performers in a circle and shout at different pitches depending on how high the performers are jumping. Adumu can be competitive as men will often compete to see how high or for how long they can jump.

From Quiz Getting To Know Ewes

Answer: Noah

Noah's second son, Ham, settled in the Mesopotamian area (now Iraq) after the great flood. Ham is believed to be the ancestor of the Egyptians, Canaanites and Cushites as well. According to Ewe tradition, their ancestors at some point had their languages confused by God before they left Babel (a suburb of Sumeria or Mesopotamia). When the people followed Gu, their leader, they settled in Egypt where they were joined by many other peoples, including the Jews. There was a severe drought and famine in that time that lasted seven years. The Ewe adopted the rite of circumcision from the Jews. They named their God Yewe, from Jehovah. They also adopted the rite of pouring libation, which is done usually by chiefs; the libation is poured three times a day in honor of life, ancestors and the one who pours. The Ewe and others migrated through many areas of northern Africa, including the Sahara Desert, and between 500 and 1200 AD they also lived in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Arab invaders drove the Ewe further west where they eventually settled.

From Quiz Ethnic Groups in Africa

Answer: Sotho

Formerly known as Basuto, the Sotho are mountain people from the Maluti Range. They are generally on horseback.

From Quiz A Collection of Cultures

Answer: Turban-like scarves

Clothing has an important status for the Xhosa people. A married woman must have her head covered and by the elaborate use of scarves wrapping around it is made into a turban-like hat. The more elaborate the headpiece the higher up in the community the person is.

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Last Updated Oct 18 2025 5:45 AM

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