Flashcards on African Studies: Culture, Society, and History
African Studies: Culture, Society, and History Guide
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Cultural Time Perspectives
13 cards
Card 1
Question: Did many pre-colonial African cultures have indigenous concepts or words for 'second', 'minute', and 'hour' as atomic/time-measure units?
Answer: No. Africans did not have indigenous concepts or words for 'second', 'minute', or 'hour' as measures based on atomic time.
Card 2
Question: How were Western time concepts (like 'clock') adopted into some African languages during colonial times?
Answer: Through loan words or neologisms; for example, Hausa uses the word 'agogo' for clock, and some Northern Ghana languages use words that translate into
Card 3
Question: What colonial practice arose from Northern Ghana languages referring to clocks/hours as 'metal'?
Answer: Colonial-era practice of sounding a metal block or object to signal the hour (e.g., striking a metal bar eight times to signal eight o'clock).
Card 4
Question: How did the metal-striking practice influence local names for certain days in some languages?
Answer: Saturday was sometimes called 'one metal day' or 'one-hour day' because work ended at one o'clock on Saturday afternoons in pre-independence Ghana, an
Card 5
Question: How is lateness used to indicate social importance in some African contexts?
Answer: Highly educated people, chiefs, politicians, and those of high social standing are often permitted or expected to arrive late as a sign of dignity or
Card 6
Question: Give an example where being late at a social event signifies dignity.
Answer: Among the Kakwa of Northern Uganda, one is expected to be late for feasts to signify dignity.
Card 7
Question: Why is it considered inappropriate to arrive early at a funeral in some African cultures?
Answer: Arriving early at a funeral can lead to accusations that the person caused the death (i.e., 'having done-in the deceased').
Card 8
Question: How do prioritizing relationships and extended-family needs affect punctuality?
Answer: People often prioritize caring for neighbors and extended family over official schedules, attending to welfare needs (e.g., driving someone to hospita
Card 9
Question: What kinds of social obligations commonly cause postponement of official work in African contexts?
Answer: Funeral ceremonies, wake-keeping, and other communal obligations (e.g., attending burial ceremonies or family events) that draw people away from offic
Card 10
Question: How do funerals and related obligations affect office attendance on specific days?
Answer: Many offices are empty on Fridays because people attend Friday-night wake-keeping; officials may start late on Mondays after attending Sunday funeral-