Cultural Heritage

From the Famadihana reburial ceremony of Madagascar to the elaborate Ghanaian fantasy coffins, African funeral traditions celebrate life as much as they mourn death.

The 25th Dynasty saw Nubian pharaohs rule Egypt. Discover the Nubian civilisation that built more pyramids than Egypt and forged an empire of its own.

From the Xhosa ulwaluko to the Maasai enkiama, African coming-of-age traditions are richly varied. This guide surveys the most significant rites of passage.

To understand where African masks come from, you have to let go of the idea that there is a single origin story. Mask making developed independently across thousands of distinct communities over thousands of years, shaped by local belief systems, available materials, and specific social needs. What follows is not a complete history of any…

Stretching from the Atlantic to modern Nigeria, the Songhai Empire was Africa’s largest. This guide covers its rise, golden age, and dramatic fall.

Long before tattooing became a global trend, African communities were using it to mark identity, status, and spiritual protection. Here are the key traditions.

Queen Nzinga of present-day Angola spent decades resisting Portuguese colonisation. Her story is one of the most remarkable in African history.

Henna and natural pigment art stretch across North and East Africa with distinct regional styles. This guide maps the traditions and their meanings.

At its height the Mali Empire stretched across much of West Africa and controlled the world’s gold trade. Here is the complete history.

Scarification traditions vary enormously across Africa. This regional breakdown shows how different communities approach body marking and what it signifies.

Tooth filing has been practised across Africa and Southeast Asia as a rite of passage and beauty tradition. This guide explores the cultures behind it.