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The Eclipse of African Identity: How Western Ideals Are Overshadowing Our Heritage

By Morris Wambua

Africa African culture cultural heritage

Chasing Shadows: Have Africans Traded Their Heritage for Western Ideals?

Africa, the birthplace of human civilization is a dynamic continent, harboring over 3000 ethnic groups, and is beautifully steeped in history, languages, traditions, and innovations that have shaped the world for centuries. However, despite Africa's primacy in the human civilization discourse, it feels as though we are losing touch with its legacy, chasing after Western ideals as though they are the ultimate key to modernity.

We fill stadiums to watch European football, dress in the latest European fashion, and teach our children the works of Shakespeare and Beethoven as though they hold the only path to knowledge and progress.

In doing so, are we not risking the erasure of our own identity?

Why are we so quick to follow foreign norms, and what do we stand to lose in this pursuit?

Football vs. Traditional African Sports: Rediscovering Our Own

Football has become a global obsession, and Africa is no exception. From Nairobi to Lagos, Cairo to Cape Town, it is hard to find a community that doesn't have football fever. And yet, as we cheer for European teams and idolize their players, our own traditional sports seem to fade into obscurity.

Where is the excitement for Ngolo, the Angolan martial art, or Laamb, Senegal’s traditional wrestling?

Why is football—a game where 22 grown men chase the skin of a cow for 90 minutes celebrated with such fervor that it often borders on the fanatical?

Laamb is more than just a sport in West Africa—it’s a celebration of culture. Athletes are revered as warriors, embodying both physical strength and spiritual resilience. It reflects values of community and unity, ideals that are often overshadowed in Western sports by multimillion-dollar contracts and individual fame.

But where are the television broadcasts for Laamb?

Why does it receive only a fraction of the attention lavished on football?

Similarly, in Southern Africa, Zulu stick fighting is a sport deeply rooted in tradition, teaching discipline, respect, and resilience. Yet it remains a cultural footnote compared to football’s global dominance.

Why have we allowed our traditional games, which speak to the heart of who we are, to be sidelined?

Football may be entertaining, but it is our own sports that carry the essence of our heritage. They tell stories of who we’ve been and who we are.

It’s time to bring them back to center stage.

African Education: Why Do We Know all the Sonnets of Shakespeare but Nothing about Sankara?

Walk into classrooms across Africa—from Accra to Addis Ababa—and you’ll find students who can quote Shakespeare, analyze Hamlet, or recite the symphonies of Beethoven.

But ask these same students about Thomas Sankara or Queen Nzinga, and there’s often silence.

How is it that we’ve come to celebrate foreign figures at the expense of our own?

In Kenya, students may quote Macbeth with ease, but they are never taught about the revolutionary writings of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a staunch advocate for African literature and teaching in local languages.

In North Africa, ancient Egypt’s vast contributions to human civilization are often brushed over in
favor of European history. Timbuktu, once the world’s intellectual heart, is rarely mentioned alongside European universities.

This imbalance in education feeds a troubling narrative: that intellectual excellence is a Western achievement. Yet, long before European thinkers made their mark, African civilizations were leading the world in knowledge, science, and philosophy.

The libraries of Timbuktu, the advanced metallurgy of the Nok people in Nigeria, and the architectural marvels of ancient Egypt are all powerful reminders of this legacy.

Why, then, are we not honoring our own intellectual traditions in our schools?

Our history is not mere folklore; it is a source of strength and identity. It deserves to be taught and celebrated alongside the Western classics.

African Innovation: The Quiet Revolution We Should Be Celebrating

African traditional technology. African heritage.

When the conversation turns to innovation, Silicon Valley often steals the spotlight. The latest iPhone or tech startup from California captivates imaginations worldwide.

But Africa has its own rich history of technological breakthroughs, many of which remain underappreciated.

Kenya’s M-Pesa, a mobile banking revolution that brought financial services to millions who had no access to traditional banks is a perfect example. This innovation wasn’t born in Silicon Valley—it came from Africa, designed to meet the unique challenges of the continent. Or consider ancient Egypt, where engineers mastered irrigation techniques that sustained an empire in the desert for
centuries.

West Africa’s ancient Mali civilization was another hub of innovation, particularly in agriculture, medicine, and astronomy. Yet these achievements are often overshadowed in global conversations about technological progress.

Instead, we are bombarded with the latest Western gadgets and software, forgetting that our own continent has produced solutions that are just as groundbreaking—if not more so, given the challenges they address.

Why is it that Africa’s advances in areas like off-grid solar energy and sustainable farming techniques don’t receive the same global recognition?

Our achievements are remarkable, and it’s time we celebrate them with the same enthusiasm we have for Western technology.

The Westernization of African Beauty: From Melanin to Marilyn

African women African beauty African hair black beauty


Perhaps the most painful aspect of Western influence in Africa is how it has shaped our perceptions of beauty. The Western obsession with light skin, straight hair, and Eurocentric features has left deep scars on African societies.

Many African men and women have come to view their natural beauty as something to change, rather than celebrate.

In Southern Africa, the demand for skin-lightening products has created a booming industry, all fueled by the idea that lighter skin is more beautiful.

In West Africa, many women straighten their natural hair with damaging chemicals to meet Western beauty ideals.

Even in North Africa, where Berber and Arab communities have their own rich beauty traditions, the pressure to conform to Western standards persists in entertainment and media narratives.

This is a tragic departure from the past, when African beauty was celebrated in its many forms. The Himba women of Namibia wear their natural hair adorned with ochre, a symbol of beauty and pride.

In East Africa, the Maasai’s intricate beadwork and attire are symbols of status and beauty, worn with dignity.

Why, then, have we allowed Western beauty standards to overshadow our own?

Africa, how did we get here?

African beauty shines in its natural form—our rich, melanin-infused skin, our coiled and textured hair, our vibrant, traditional attire.

It’s time to reject these harmful narratives and return to celebrating the diversity of African
beauty.

Is Westernization Really Progress?
As we consider the above examples, from sports, to education, technology to beauty, we must ask ourselves whether Westernization really signifies progress, or if we are erasing the very fabric of who we are in its wake.

Is a suit and a tie really more professional than the bold, beautiful patterns of traditional kitenge or dashiki?

Who decided that dressing in Western fashion signals success, while our own fabrics and designs, which are rich in meaning and cultural pride are relegated to ruracios only?

In Somalia, men once wore the traditional macawiis with pride but now many have already adopted Western business wear. In West Africa, the vibrant Kente wear is increasingly becoming reserved for special ceremonies, with Western fashion dominating daily life.

Are we sacrificing something invaluable in this trade?

Our clothing, like our customs, carries stories — stories of who we are, where we come from, and the values we hold dear. It is time to honor these traditions, not to wish them away.

Reclaiming African Identity

So, how do we reclaim our identity?

The ultimate answer lies in unapologetically embracing our heritage, our history, and our traditions.

We do not need to look to the West to find greatness; the greatness we seek has always been within us.

Let's begin by restoring African history, literature, and philosophy to our education systems. In our classrooms, may we read both Achebe and Shakespeare. May Sankara's revolutionary ideals be studied alongside the Bolsheviks, and Jefferson's ideals.

Let's reclaim our sports —Ngolo, Laamb, and stick fight from the dusts of obscurity.

We must celebrate African solutions to African challenges. We must own our start ups, from Nigeria's renewable energy startups, to South Africa's space technology.

Our society must emancipate itself from the fetters of the Western concept of beauty, and celebrate the radiant texture, appeal, and beauty of our people. We must begin to admire African beauty; from Ethiopia to Rwanda, from Namibia to Egypt, and from the Eastern highlands of Ukambani, Kenya, to the suburbs of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa.

Our melanin, our hair, our traditional attire, are symbols of pride, power, and not relics of the past. Africa does not need Western ideals to be validated.

We have always been extraordinary— from the pyramids of Giza, Egypt, to the libraries of Timbuktu, and from the beautiful traditions of the Zulu people to the modern African startups. We are a nothing short of a wonderful, resilient breed.

Look, the shadows we've been chasing were never real. It's time to step into the light, claim our identity, and celebrate the richness that has always been ours. Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika!



 

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