Cultural Achievements

Welcome to the page of cultural achievements of East Africa! This page covers artifacts that relate to cultural achievements. Cultural achievements are manmade creations that have changed views on a certain topic. Cultural achievements can include art, architecture, sports, food, language, inventions, and adaptions to the environment. Examples of achievements in East Africa are masks that are created by people of many different cultures, Soccer (the most popular sport in Africa), and the Baha'i House of Worship. This section was created by Aster Snead.

Mandazi and Chai

Mandazi is an East African spiced coconut donut that originated in small villages of East Africa as an easy recipe for when there was no bread. Mandazi is now served in diners across Africa. Mandazi is most commonly served with milky spiced chai and eaten with savory curries. Mandazi aren't like the well-known western-style donuts, they aren't super sweet like the donuts you may get from Duck Donuts or Krispy Kreme. Mandazi can be served with the main course or as a dessert. You can also add peanuts or almonds to have a different flavor.

Kitenge Dress Fabric

Kitenge is a type of clothing often worn by women in East Africa. It's most common use is as a wrap skirt, but it can also be used as a headscarf or a baby sling. Kitenge is a wax dyed cotton fabric. The patterns on kitenge are very bright and geometric designs. The dying process is called batik. Batik is a wax-resistant dyeing technique/ancient art form that originates from Indonesia.  

East African Poems

The Country of the Dead was written by Jared Angira, a Kenyan author who was born in 1947. The poem The Country of the Dead isn't actually talking about "the dead" as literal dead people, but instead as a non-committal society. The source WordLit states that this population is non-committal because they don't take any social or political action when needed. Their analysis of this poem is interesting because this poem could be viewed in many different ways based on the reader.