Underpants+Gnomes~+East

East Africa What are the major religions in East Africa? There are two religions in East Africa. One of the major religions is Christianity. Alexandria is a city in Egypt. It was one of the first centers of Christianity. After a while the Christians in Alexandria came to differ with the Christians in Rome and Constantinople. In 451 A.D. the Christians in Alexandra separated from the rest of the Christian church. The Christians in Ethiopian were blocked of from the Christians in other parts of the world. They were blocked from the rest of the world because the Ethiopian mountains made it hard for the people in the inside to travel. Another major religion is Islam. Islam began when in the 600’s A.D. when Arabs began to travel across North Africa, they brought their religion with them. Over time Arab traders built cities along the trade routes. Eventually some Ethiopians adopted Islam.



This is the Crescent Star of Islam. The star represents knowledge and light, and the crescent represents progress. I picked this picture because the Crescent Star of Islam is one of the many icons of Islam. __**Vocab:**__ 1) Monastery- where a priest lives, work, and study 2) Multiparty system- a country with two or more political parties 3) Foreign dept- money owed to another country 4) Swahili- a Bantu language that contains many Arabic words 5) Geez- one of the world’s oldest languages, also an ancient form of the language spoken by the Amhara

 Before Europe took over Africa in the 1800s, individual Africans did not own land. People did not buy or sell land. The idea of owning land did not exist. Families had the right to farm areas of land near the village, but the actual areas might vary in size and location over time. Usually, extended families farmed the land to produce food for the group. Men cleared the land and broke up the soil. Women later planted the seed, tended the fields, and harvested the crop. Meanwhile, the men herded or traded goods. This division of roles still exists in most parts of East Africa today.  This picture was found at http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/66/24/22582466.jpg. I chose this picture because it is where people in east Africa farm and they don’t actually own the land. Vocab: Plantation: is a large farm where cash crops are grown. Indian Ocean: this ocean is bordered by East Africa. Ethiopian Plateau: is a large plateau that is in East Africa.
 * 2. What was East Africa like before land was owned? **

3. Who are the Swahili people? The Swahilis are people who are mixed Africans with Arabs ancestors.The Swahilis speak Bantu language but it contains many Arabic words. The Swahilis are just one of hundreds of ethnic group in East Africa. But their language is spoken commonly for business and communication among this region. Swahili is the first language world wide and is also the second most used language for millions of East Africans. The two countries that have Swahili as their major religion are Kenya and Tanzania. In Tanzania children are educated in the primary grades but later they learn English as well. By using this language these nations are trying to preserve their African heritage.



I chose this picture because it show a Swahili man.

Vocab 1. Swahili is a Bantu language with many Arabic words. Another definition is Swahili are people who have African and Arab ancestors. 2. Bantu people are the very first ethnic group in Africa. Works Cited: Dowling, Mike, "mrdowling.com," World Explorer. "Ethiopian Christianity." __Eastern Hemisphere__. World Explorer. "Islam." __Eastern Hemisphere__. World Explorer. "Christians and Muslims." __Eastern Hemisphere__.