Equatorial Guinea culture

Equatorial Guinea culture people food and festivals 

In the late 15th century, the Portuguese colonized the area that makes up what is known today as Equatorial Guinea. The Bantu migrated there in the 17th and 19th centuries. The Portuguese eventually handed the territory to the Spanish in 1788, and until 1959, the country was ran as the protectorate of Spanish Guinea. The colony was granted full independence in 1968.

Equatorial Guinea’s first decade of freedom was dark because of the incompetent and brutal rule of the president, Macias Nguema. In 1979, Lieutenant Colonel Teodoro Obiang, his nephew, overthrew President Nguema through a military coup. Conditions initially improved after international aid was administered and the country became a part of the Franc Zone of the CFA.

Obiang continued to oppose the creation of a fair political system in the 1980's while continuing to establish his position through repression. This led other countries—Spain, in particular— to stop sending support. In 1991, a democratic constitution was finally created. Equatorial Guinea’s first multi-party legislative elections were conducted in 1993. Unfortunately, boycotts at the poll influenced and intimidated voters, but Obiang’s PDGE (Partido Democratico Guinea Ecuatorial) earned most of the positions. Placido Mico Abojo was the most recent leader of the opposition, who was imprisoned in 2002 for allegedly planning a coup against the president

Culture

The mainland’s culture is heavily influenced by ancient rituals and songs, while Bioko Island is ruled by colonial Spanish traditions. Music and dance is at the core of Equatorial Guinea, and they are treated by the natives as religiously significant. Traditional musical instruments include xylophones, big drums, the small thumb bamboo-made piano called, sanza, the harp, and the wooden trumpet. The literary culture is mainly about legends and myths passed down by word of mouth.

Equatorial Guinea has no official religion, but its people are mostly Roman Catholic, while a small percentage of the population practicing animism. Many ancient customs have been preserved by the Bubi. One of the nation’s most famous celebrations is the abira, which is performed to drive evil away by cleansing the community. Traditional dances like balélé can be seen throughout the year and on special occasions like Christmas.

equatorial guinea dance  

equatorial guinea holidays

equatorial guinea traditional clothing

equatorial guinea interesting facts

 balélé

equatorial guinea food

equatorial guinea languages

abira celebration equatorial guinea

El Salvador culture

El Salvador culture people food and festivals 

The culture of El Salvador is similar to other countries in Latin America, and more specifically to other countries in Central America. The European influences are emphasized in the architecture of the colonial churches, museums and theaters throughout most of El Salvador.

The majority of Salvadorans who are of Mestizo ancestry can trace their American Indigenous ancestry to the Lencas and Pipil people. Salvadorans also have Arab ancestries that include Lebanon, Syria, Iran and the majority come from Palestine that immigrated to El Salvador

El Salvador's population numbers 6,377,358. Ethnically, 86.3% of Salvadorans aremixed (mixed Indigenous Native American and European Spanish origin). Another 12.7% is of pure European descent, other 0.23% are pure indigenous descent, 0.13% black people and others 0.64%

El Salvadorans are good conversers and very comprehensible with foreign people. You do not have to be worried for your Spanish; they will try to understand you one way or another, and a lot of people in the country can speak English due to the close relationship with the United States. Don’t be shy; you can make a lot of friends in El Salvador.

El Salvadoran society is very polarized, even after the long war and the signing of the peace treaty in 1992. I think that a bad topic to begin a conversation is by asking about the political situation of the country, unless you know the political orientation of the person with whom you are talking. Of course, after knowing the person and the context, you could talk about internal politics. The same idea applies if you try to talk about religion. These are topics that should be avoided at first contact with El Salvadorans.

El Salvadorans enjoy speaking about everything but, particularly, about their job, family, and customs. If you do not begin the conversation, they will. It is possible that El Salvadorans would like to know more about Canada and its people. Do not be surprised by the spontaneity of the people. El Salvadorans feel proud about their beaches, typical foods and some other beautiful places in the country. As an initial recommendation, any of these topics can be a good beginning for a conversation and a future friendly relationship with a Salvadoran.

El Salvadorans are recognized as hard workers and responsible persons. A manager who works a lot, often outside of the normal schedule and who has a lot of experience in the field is perceived as a good manager. El Salvadorans like humble people who are open to new ideas - people who want to share their knowledge. In our country it is easier for foreign people to be respected and believed because we are considered a "malinchista" society. However, a selfish and arrogant foreign manager could run into problems. El Salvadorans like to work hard, but they will not tolerate this management style from a foreigner.

Regarding education, Canada is a country where, normally, you need a certification or a diploma to work in any specific field. In El Salvador, sometimes experience is more important than education. Of course, there are some regulated fields, like medicine or dentistry, but in some situations you will find people working in jobs without the required education.

Religion:
The official religion is Roman Catholic, but there are others religions such as Baptist and other denominations. You will not find any strong barriers to establishing a relationship with someone of another religion.

Class:
There are different social classes, with marked differences between them. Higher classes are located in the capital and in the rest of the country it is fairly rare to find rich people. 35% of the population is considered very poor and another 30% as poor.

Ethnicity:
due to political and social problems, inherited by colonialism, native people were forgotten and our roosts almost disappear, however the Mayan culture is still alive in some areas along Central America. The native dialect is "nahuat", which just few people know. There is not a predominant race.

It is common to see wealthy businesswoman/man, but some of them treat their employees with no respect. This is noticeable through: a different kind in communication, their expressions when taking about poor people, differences in opportunities, and mainly in the salary. This situation can be clearly observed in some sectors as the industrial, commercial, and agricultural and you can find your self involved implementing some decisions, in the organization, which could affect impoverished employees.

Religion:
The official religion is Roman Catholic, but there are others religions such as Baptist and other denominations. You will not find any strong barriers to establishing a relationship with someone of another religion.

Class:
There are different social classes, with marked differences between them. Higher classes are located in the capital and in the rest of the country it is fairly rare to find rich people. 35% of the population is considered very poor and another 30% as poor.

Ethnicity:
due to political and social problems, inherited by colonialism, native people were forgotten and our roosts almost disappear, however the Mayan culture is still alive in some areas along Central America. The native dialect is "nahuat", which just few people know. There is not a predominant race.

It is common to see wealthy businesswoman/man, but some of them treat their employees with no respect. This is noticeable through: a different kind in communication, their expressions when taking about poor people, differences in opportunities, and mainly in the salary. This situation can be clearly observed in some sectors as the industrial, commercial, and agricultural and you can find your self involved implementing some decisions, in the organization, which could affect impoverished employees.

Egypt culture

Egypt culture culture food and festivals 

The culture of Egypt has thousands of years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations. For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture.

.Egypt is the internationally used name but not the name used by the people of the country. It derives from the GreekAegyptos,which in turn probably comes from ancient Egyptian words referring to the land (Hut-ka-ptah,or "house of the essence [ka] of Ptah," a local god). Western names derive from this, as does the word "Copt" (in Arabic,qibt). "Copt" can be taken to mean "Egyptian" in general, but now commonly means an Egyptian Christian, technically one belonging to the majority Coptic Church.

In Arabic, the name isMisr.This name is older than the Muslim conquest, but is attested to in the Koran. It can refer to either the whole country or the capital city. The name itself is an icon, spoken, written, or sung.

The population of Egypt is relatively homogeneous. The overwhelming majority (over 90 percent) are Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims. About 6 percent are Christians, who are indistinguishable in other respects from the Muslims. Most of the Christians belong to theCoptic OrthodoxChurch, the historic church of Egypt, but minorities within the minority are Catholic or Protestant, or derive from the churches of the Levant (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic). There are a few small linguistic minorities, of which the largest is the Nubians, who speak two Nubian languages (Kenuz and Mahas) related to the Nilo-Saharan languages of the Sudan. They represent less than 1 percent of Egypt's population, and are concentrated around Aswan. Other linguistic minorities include a few thousand Berber speakers in Siwa oasis, the easternmost outpost of Berber speech, and the small population of Beja (Ababda and Bisharin) in the eastern desert east of Aswan. All these groups are Muslim. There are also urban linguistic enclaves of Armenians, Greeks, Italians, and others. Another urban enclave was the Jews, now largely emigrated, who spoke either Arabic or various European languages. The urban minorities were much larger before the middle of the twentieth century.

Food in Daily Life.Eating is an important social activity, and is central to marking special events and ceremonial occasions.

The most important food item in daily life is the bread loaf. In rural areas, bread is usually baked by women in mud ovens at home. In cities, bread is sold in bakeries. The standard loaf is strictly regulated by the government in terms of weight and

.

price, and is one of the very few items that still receives a state subsidy.

The indigenous cuisine relies heavily on legumes. The main national dish isfoul. This is a dish of fava beans cooked slowly over low heat and seasoned with salt, lemon, cumin, and oil. It is usually eaten for breakfast. Another common dish istamiyyaor falafel which is made from crushed fava beans mixed with onions and leeks and fried in oil. Also popular iskoshari, a mixture of rice, black lentils, and macaroni covered with tomato sauce and garnished with fried onions. These dishes are prepared at home, but are also sold in stalls all over Cairo.

Marriage.One of the critical decisions a woman can make is the choice of marriage partner. The pattern here is one of negotiation among the members of her family about whom she will marry. She is a participant, and must in some sense agree, but many others are involved, including matchmakers. Similarly a young man may find constraints on his choice of marriage partner.

The trend is for marriage partners to be increasingly more like one another in age and level of education. The old hierarchical marriage is giving way to a companionate marriage, especially in the urban middle classes. Marriage to cousins, however, remains frequent, accounting for 39 percent of marriages in a 1995 sample. Since premarital sex is rare, the pressure to marry is high, and almost everyone marries.

The actual marriage ceremony is distinct from the legal contract of marriage. It is a major event in the lives of all involved. The young couple must prepare a place to live, while at the same time seeing that the often considerable costs of the ceremony are covered. People spend as much as they can, if not more, on a marriage, and in the upper classes, the sky is the limit.