Africa - A Journey Through Nature & Tradition | Documentary | Continents of the World Ep. 1

our Earth is a Marvel its forces created the continents that are our home the story of Africa is the story of of us this continent was the Cradle of human kind it means that we are already talking about modern humans at that point 1.5 million years ago nearly all climate zones on one continent Africa is an enormous challenge for humans there is no human community that lives in a very comfortable environment as such Africa's Rivers often pose insurmountable barriers many make the exchange of goods and ideas impossible and this may have been one of the

main geographical factors that has held back the development of Africa a disadvantage for the continent conquerors came slaughtered and enslaved people and destroyed the historical memories of the indigenous peoples a people without a past is like a nation without a soul humans have always achieved incredible Feats in Africa climate refugees from the Sahara founded the advanced civilization on the Nile to this day the river still provides an extraordinarily Rich Harvest in the vast Savannah live tribes whose people cultivate running they produce worldclass athletes we have to keep thinking of what we need to change in

the future so you have to evolve either biologically socially or technologically for you to survive on the landscape shaped by the conditions of the continent the peoples of Africa are facing a challenging future [Music] the story of Africa is the story of us of our Origins we emerged and evolved as a species on the African continent we evolved our big brains to be able to outthink this unpredictable chaotic environment that we found ourselves in here parts of the Earth have sunk to 100 M below sea level emitting salty sulfurous Vapors power powerful forces from the

Earth's interior are at work Rising beneath the continent of Africa has been a huge plume of molten rock and that's forced up the skin of the planet the crust of the earth and it's begun to crack open it began 35 million years ago in Eastern Africa tectonic forces were pulling and tearing apart two continental plates this created a rift between 30 and 100 kilm wide thousands of meters deep in some places 6,000 kilm long the rift threatened to tear off the entire east of Africa and the crack that's been forming is the Great East African

riff Valley and so it's this tectonic crack which has been the Cradle our species the birthplace of humanity where Nature has challenged our ancestors to such an extent further development is essential for survival nowhere is this truer than in the rift valley it's here that archaeologists are tracking down the connection between natural conditions and human development because the rift valley is full of Clues as to how early humans developed in this part of the continent [Music] [Music] today the team has discovered a Stone Wedge an inconspicuous tool with a surprising range of [Music] functions julan

tools are very important because they're kind of a Swiss army knife so you can use it a multi-purpose tool you can use and it's a technology that persisted for a very long time from 1.6 million years up to 400,000 years experts see a connection between the use of this wedge and an upright gate probably our most important developmental step from early humanoids to modern humans for us to find Footprints that have survived the record for millions of years it's a big deal if you look at the print itself you could be able to identify and

see that the big toe was more aligned to the other tools so it means that we are already talking about modern humans at that point 1.5 million years and they could be able to range over long distances because if you are walking upright then you are able to rage over long distances and they are looking for resources around the landscape a change in climate accelerated the development towards modern human beings suddenly man's ancestors no longer lived in rainforests but on the open Savannah during short periods of climactic chaos the environment swung between being wet being

dry being wet being dry and so we evolved a solution to this problem of intelligence in the new environment those who could see their enemies and prey from afar had better chances of survival our ancestors stood up this upright gate developed over many generations the hands were left free for other activities man developed hunting strategies and improved his diet protein rich food made his brain grow Modern Man matured in the rift valley but we didn't remain in our birthplace Humanity has dispersed and migrated Out of [Music] Africa and across Asia down into Australia and across

the bearing landbridge into the Americas human beings have conquered all ecozones in the world the biggest migration in the history of the planet they not only use their biological genetic abilities to survive but also bring in culture as a supplement uh for that purpose of uh survival for adaptation and so culture and environment for human beings is a very strong connection in the icy zones of the north people have learned to survive in the cold and to find food [Music] in the red desert of Australia people have discovered water creating the conditions needed to survive

for Millennia into the Modern Age even on the steep slopes of the Andes people developed Agriculture and domesticated plants that today feed the whole world over millions of years humans have colonized all the continents and adapted our appearance and way of life to the challenges of [Music] Nature and yet we still share the same Roots all the different peoples around the world today are very very genetically similar but nonetheless we have this incredible diversity of humanness around the planet the natural environment in Africa has fostered this development nature on this continent is exceptionally rich and

[Music] diverse from the rainforests of the Congo to the Sahara Africa encompasses many different climate zones on one continent Africa is also the only continent where many different species of large animals have survived among them the so-called Big Five Buffalo elephant Rhino lion and leopard not least because they were able to develop alongside humans for Millennia but as a habitat the continent is still a challenge in its interior a dry Savannah makes human life difficult the Sahel Monsoon rains are sporadic here droughts are regular and dangerous this makes crop cultivation very hard when the rain

showers fail the soils of the Sahel change they become uninhabitable hot [Music] zones since the continent was created its soils exposed to climatic extremes have been fragile because in the Collision of the African and the European continental plates there were no new huge mountain ranges created in Africa that could push up nutrient-rich soils the Earth leeched out Africa has uh very many different types of uh environments ranging from arid to semi arid parts of Africa to the savann grasslands to the equatorial uh rainforest climate there is no human community that lives in a very comfortable

environment as such the USP of us as our species is our adaptability we could adapt to many different habitats and ecosystems we came [Music] across humans also developed a way of life for survival in the steps and grasslands in the center of the [Music] continent cattle raising was part of it but because the grass only grows when there's enough rain people moved in nomadic groups over long distances in pursuit of the meager Greenery staying on the Move became a question of survival also because the groups competed for each other's cattle and with that for their

livelihood speed became an advantage on the steps societies like the cenin developed into fast runners [Music] the kenan's habitat changed after a long period of migration they settled in the highlands of Kenya the climate and soils were better suited for livestock raising and agriculture but they preserved their lifestyle from the steps in the collective memory the story of how the kenin evolved into a tribe of runners is still kept very much [Music] alive our people in the poot tribe used to fight over grazing land we had to escape to the Savannah and that is why

now we are good Runners today there are no threats from nature or other groups of people and yet running is still part of their everyday life [Music] I run 4 kilometers to and from school every day even if it's raining I don't care I just go they're not driven to school in in in por car they run to school they go back home for lunch they're running going back to school for their afternoon session they are running during break time they are running around play during games time they also running around playing so running becomes

part of them Kenya's high altitude facilitates this unusual Talent people who live in areas of hypothermia they are used to low levels of oxygen therefore they can endure vigorous athletic activ ity that means they have developed certain aspects of um hemoglobin that really helps them to endure that exercise of running as a result of their skill and endurance the kenin are often considered a tribe of Runners today they're making a name for themselves all over the world Kenya's cinder tracks have been the birthplace of many world champion careers and Olympic winners one day I want

to be a professional Runner like Elliot kipi Elliot kipa from the kenin ethnic group is one of the best Runners ever seen World Marathon record holder and Idol of many Kenyan children and young people my family helps me so I can succeed the cenin acquired this special ability by adapting to the challenges of their natural environment in the this way the lifestyles of many of the Savannah peoples still bear evidence of the special conditions of their habitat the characteristics of the continents still shape our lives and our history to the present [Music] day that also

goes for the coasts of Africa there's a fundamental difference between the east and west coastlines of Africa on the western coastline it opens up onto the vast expanse of the Atlantic and the strong wind systems we find blowing with the trade winds and the westes on the Eastern Coastline the shore being lapped onto by the Indian Ocean it's a more contained system to the east the coastline curves gently the tides are moderate the climate is mild and inviting here the continent provides Pleasant conditions people accepted them gladly thanks to another Advantage bestowed by nature and

the system of winds we find off the coast of East Africa are that of the monsoons the monsoons are a seasonal winds they reverse back and forth in Direction reliably predictably the reason for this can be found on the other side of the Indian Ocean in summer India's land mass heats up strongly in relation to the water temperature warm air rises above the land drawing in more air from the sea [Music] this creates predictable strong winds towards the east in [Music] summer in the cooler Seasons the system reverses and the wind blows equally predictably towards

the West the best possible conditions for merchant shipping [Music] that's predictability of the monsoon winds fostered trade you could set sail in One Direction with the monsoon winds blowing you across the Indian Ocean taking your your trade with you arrive at Port sell it buy new produce and simply wait for the winds to reverse Direction and allow them to blow you all the way back across the Indian Ocean in the opposite Direction Sailors from Asia only had to set sail to reach Africa Landing was easy on the shallow beaches spices Tea and Other trade goods

reached the east coast of Africa from India Indonesia China the earliest visitors however were the Arabs who came across the Red Sea they brought with them Islam it became popular on the East [Music] Coast Islam is still the dominant religion here today also because it has given the many different nomadic groups and places a common identity Swahili the word comes from Arabic and means those from the coast on the east African Coast there was predominantly peaceful islamization change through trade on the other hand Islam spread through military conquests across North Africa from Egypt via Tunisia

and Morocco throughout the mreb and from there along the trade routes of the Sahara into present day Ghana and central Africa Islam was attractive it brought science and medicine with it and regulated many aspects of everyday life in very practical [Music] ways Islam gave rules to life and this discipline helped people because it influences all aspects of everyday life you can't separate it whether it's weddings or funerals or other things Islam has become a way of life on the coast of East Africa a typical daily routine develops for those who speak Swahili after visiting the

mosque the men meet at the waterfront to drink tea together peace be with you we call this place the English garden people come here to relax they discuss what moves them they enjoy the Sea and the breeze and they come here to rest the motto is po po take it slowly because in a tropical climate haste doesn't help the Tea Ceremony slows down the pace of everyday life the tea is very nice and is infused with a lot of ingredients as you enjoy it it is very delicious and it warms the heart life on the

coast is characterized by Arab and Indian Heritage today Food Markets still carry the food stuffs that arrived early on in East Africa thanks to the monsoon winds cinnamon and the Indian spice mixture garam masala here they stock ingredients for the popular Kebab which comes from the Middle East trading methods and practices also arrived with the Traders across the sea there are no fixed prices here like there are in Europe if you are given a price there it is definitely not a fixed [Music] price you start bargaining it is not a question of a Ed right

to the lowest price the price is determined by getting to know and appreciate the other side the culture of the Suk the markets has spread to the Islamic influence parts of the continent each category of goods has a fixed place here the large markets are hubs of a trade Network that stretches from the coast to the most inhospitable interior areas of the continent among them is the Sahara the largest arid desert on Earth the Saharan Desert is an incredibly inhospitable [Music] environment but there was still huge amounts of human activity and hubs of civilization traces

in the landscape bear witness to this researchers have interpreted them as dried up River courses Rock paintings show a completely different Sahara archaeological finds of humans wearing jewelry made of hippopotamus Ivory also speak of a rich flora and FAA the Sahara as a green paradise and ideal habitat this is what it must have looked like until 6,000 years [Music] ago the Sahara is an example of abrupt climate change even if interal factors only change very very gradually the climate can still change very fast all of a sudden cattle raising and fishing were over with fish

fun when the climate changed with a tilt of the Earth's axis the once Lush habitat in Northern Africa turned to dust Paradise became a desert in an unimaginably short time almost all life was driven out of the desert the people retreated eastwards into the Nile Valley the Nile is the only river in North Africa that carries enough water the flooding of the Nile provided the fertile ground needed for population growth giving rise to one of the most powerful Advanced civilizations in history ancient Egypt major power on the Nile one of the most powerful empires in

history emerging from a uniquely human friendly natural [Music] occurrence the geography of Egypt is one of the keys to this civilization's success because the river and its regular flooding provide Bountiful Harvest the Nile also formed a natural transport system the river flows towards the North in the Mediterranean but the winds in that part of the world blow to the South so you can flow down river in a boat and then sail back up again it's a natural artery of communication and trade which helped move around people and the produce of your agriculture but also armies

to unify Egypt in into a single Empire Egypt still benefits from the conditions in the Nile Valley today it's a very densely populated country after South Africa the Nile region has the most modern industry on the continent but its Lifeline increasingly under threat Remains the Nile with the agriculture on both Banks still intended largely for export as it has done for millennia but the Sahara has also been a habitat for humans down the Millennia orbe it an extremely difficult one it is hard to cross a place where you can't rely on stopping to take on

water to keep your Traders alive the merchants alive as well as Beast of Burden they're using to carry your wares but the Saharan Desert wasn't impossible the were trade routes with Caravans of camels lacing back and forth across the desert so although the Sahara did serve as a large barrier between the North and South of Africa it wasn't impossible Berber no man ads are key figures in this region commissioned couriers with their camels introduced from the Arabian peninsula in the first Millennium they commuted between the coast and the Trading Post warehouses in the desert with

Goods such as Sahara salt so valuable that for a time it was used as a means of payment Oasis cities from the Middle Ages bear witness to this remarkable human effort the largest ones were built on the edge of the Sahara for example to the south of present day Morocco people still live here in the desert today they rest a habitat from the inherently hostile nature the secret is as simple as it is unbelievable water in the middle of the desert [Music] this water still supplies 500 people here as well as visitors who want to

find out more about life in the [Music] Oasis vegetables and date palms grow in the fields of the [Music] Oasis the desert fruits high sugar content means it dries well in the hot climate preserving it and the date palm copes well with the parched soil but it only bears fruit every 2 years if the irrigation is not right the work is in vain this impacts the locals attitude life is good and hard at the same time but with a little patience even the difficult times also pass Farmers inspect the water level regularly whether the Harvest

succeeds or fails depends on a whim of nature in the midst of an extremely unfavorable habitat the water source is in the middle of the June see the big June over there this is where the water comes from there are a few places in the Sahara where the water table lies so close to the surface so for centuries the desert dwellers have maintained underground canals that channel the water into a system of reservoirs the system is called Kara but these vital reserves are in danger new wells cannot be drilled the groundwater level could drop too

far to be [Music] accessible the water here is unique this water is a blessing from Heaven and the more people it is shared with the more precious it as long as the desert still gives them some water people will continue to populate its natural spaces even if things are getting critical for the Sahara oases more and more industry hotels and even huge solar plants are digging up the Oasis dwellers valuable Water [Music] Resources south of the desert in the tropical West very different conditions determined people's fate no other habitat offers such a challenge and so

much opportunity at the same time [Music] nestled between swamps and rainforest lies some of the oldest rock strata on the African continent their Treasures were pivotal the destiny the economics of different nations around the world are partly to find what resources they have access to we say the same patterns today that have been true for thousands of years through history some areas of the African continent consist of rock that is billions of years old so-called cratons remnants of primeval continents that were formed very early in the Earth's history the cratons are loaded with what magma

has since transported upwards from the earth diamonds but also metals like platinum and gold 40% of all deposits ever Mind well worldwide were found in Africa these deposits were already legendary in the Early Middle Ages fabulous gold kingdoms emerged such as the kingdom of Mali Legend has it that when its ruler Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca he bought so many souvenirs in Cairo that the value of the gold-based Dina was ruined for a decade the Mani kingdom was one of the most prosperous civilizations in human history and the king masamusa is widely considered

to be one of the wealthiest people in history he was also a slave trader on a grand scale long before the Europeans started transcontinental slave trafficking the Europeans minted their coins using his gold today there is virtually nothing left of Marley's fabulous riches the Sahara trade dried up even the location of the former Royal City and its palaces is completely unknown foremost African history was mainly told orally it was never written so you can't find those records traditionally it was through narrations and songs and poems and um just passing on information from one generation to

another and uh you can still find that their common history is upheld by shared rituals in J and the Inland Delta of the Niger local inhabitants have been coming together for Generations at the end of the rainy season to take part in the kis Festival they repair the damage that the rain has done to the mosque this this is how mari's largest sacred clay building has been preserved to this [Music] day the gold Center has for over a 100 years been in the south of the continent in the heart of the vidvat Run mountains in

1886 adventurers discovered the largest known gold deposite on earth within 10 years a city grew at the site which the indigenous Zulu called igoli place of gold today Johannesburg it's where the first Rand was minted many thousands of gold mines have been exploited in South Africa since then also mines for iron ore Chrome nickel copper most of the Platinum Metals in the world and diamonds early on the cape with its temperate climate was a magnet for Europeans the mineral riches turned the Port of Cape Town into Africa's gateway to the world although the racist doctrine

of apartate dominated life in South Africa for a long time in the mountains of Namibia Rich deposits of turmalin aquamarines topazes and other semi-precious stones have been found in many places today disused mins are a Beacon of Hope for the local population which sets itself up as a mining [Music] Community I used the money to buy kettles and then the rest of the money I used for my wedding the next pocket I just put it in the bank for my kids because I knew that not every day I will get so I have to have

money for my kids to attend school even though everyone can take part the biggest profits here are made by Foreign investors it was also people from far off lands who conquered the continent with its challenging [Music] conditions around the world Rivers often form arteries of communication and so before reliable roads and motors and engines Rivers were often the best way of Distributing trade and commerce throughout the land masses Africa has Mighty arterial Rivers the zambesi river crosses three countries over a length of more than 22,000 kilm but Africa's vast landscape makes a boat trip impossible

its course is abruptly interrupted at the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia by the Victoria Falls almost 2 kilm wide the zambesi plunges 100 m Into the Depths [Music] below made of hard bassal this is a fault line in the African continental plate a typical formation for the continent [Music] [Music] during the history of the formation of Africa movements in the Earth's mantle pushed the center of the continent up into a plateau that sloped steeply down to the coasts in this rugged topography rivers from the interior often have to overcome huge differences in altitude on their

way to the Sea the result is that most of Africa's rivers are not navigable their steep gradients cause waterfalls and Rapids there are no unbroken connections between the East and West coasts across the [Music] continent the important lifelines for trade and information transfer are non-existent [Music] it's almost as if many of the rivers in Africa are cut off from the outside world there are systems of cataracts or waterfalls that stop that link that communication from riverborne traffic inland and then seafaring vessels on the ocean and this may have been one of the main geographical factors

that has held back the development of Africa its Economic Development over the hundreds of years and the Millennia of History especially since further north an almost fatal Zone straddles the continent throughout Africa's long history its tropical belt has become a zone of diseases malaria sleeping sickness and yellow fever are among the most dangerous diseases in the world transmitted by the insects of the wetlands although on one hand they present a burden to the local population there's also an advantage like a home field advantage in a sports match because the populations living in Africa developed resistance

or immunity to these local tropical diseases whereas Outsiders European colonizers had no such resistance to these disease they were prevented from colonizing Africa unlike how they're able to sweep across the Americas or Australia for example only once remedies for malaria were discovered could explorers like David Livingston and Henry Morton Stanley penetrate into the interior of the country in 1877 for the first time even as far as the Congo Basin the run on Africa began at the Congo conference in Berlin in 1884 to 85 European countries staked their claims to New Markets and land for Rubber

and other plantations the differences in development between the continents collided with full force the indigenous societies adapted to their Barren habitats encountered industrialized armies with far superior weapons this quickly turned into subjugation of the African peoples the Europeans forced various ethnic groups away from their natural habitats on the continent into administrative units and dependent labor in construction and on plantations the communities were asked to produce things that could be exported for the benefit of the colonizers in Mass for export and communities were actually having better trade so there was no form of currency or form

of um you usage of money so again that was disrupted because then communities could not exchange in terms of the crops that they used to exchange so they did not have anything of their own at the end of the day the colonial Masters often put different ethnic groups in common schools clothing imposing foreign languages on them the consequences continue to affect societies on the continent to this day the difference between white and black Africans is expressed in a striking wealth Gap a very large part of the economically productive land is devoted to simple unprocessed products

such as fruits tea berries or roses for [Music] Europe today most ethnic groups have lost their original habitat and way of life a people without a past is like a nation without a soul so that's why it's important to have Heritage and culture um as something that is so important for Any Nation or community in former German Southwest Africa unmistakable signs bear witness to the past in the architecture and in the dress of the Herrero the original inhabitants of the region my name ISU karip I am from theak [Music] Clan I like making our traditional

Herrero dress a lot I really do but it is reminiscent of the worst chapter in herero history in the course of colonization more than 80% of these people lost their lives under the pretext of protecting them against rival groups the Germans concluded treaties with the Herrero in the process the Herrero lost their lands and had to work for the Germans [Music] in the households the women were taught to wear modest [Music] clothing when local communities revolted Kaiser vilhelm sent in his troops his general orders Herrero to be exterminated shot or chased in droves into the

desert to die of thirst for descendants of the survivors the dress of their Tormentor of all things is today a sign of self-determination and Remembrance wearing the the herro dress is a sign of identity because it really sets me apart it def it differentiates me from somebody who is either in Europe or somebody who anywhere else on the African continent or even in Namibia wearing my Hao dress really goes down to the root of where I come from as a person it's something that makes me proud when you see me walking you can see that

this is a herero woman the herero have demonstrably transformed the 19th century dress into something uniquely their own the wide headdress symbolizes how important cattle are to the Herrero the linking of traditions is part of an emancipation and a political [Music] movement sometimes it's criticism you are so proudly wearing the dress that you adopted from the colonizers it's kind of an ignorant argument because you look at everything else that we have adopted and the house that I slept in today the clothes that I was wearing before I changed into this the food that I ate

and everything so everything about our life the education and the language that we communicating in is all inherited from the [Music] colonizers it was not until 2021 that Germany officially recognized the genocide against the Herrero today the men wear the uniforms of their colonial occupiers in postcolonial Africa many people have had to redefine themselves themselves people have realized that without their own identity then they may not be able to move far enough uh and to have their own ideas and aspirations known by the rest of the world meanwhile many parts of Africa are experiencing a

boom cities like Lagos in Nigeria daras Salam and Adis Ababa in the rift valley have grown into multi-million metropolises with high-tech companies digitalization now overcomes the natural barriers that have always characterized Africa what we're finding nowadays in Africa is that these traditional historical forces or graphical factors are much much less important than they had been satellite signals and radio transmission win out over distance and sparse population the Internet connects where rivers and traffic arteries cannot and where landline telephones were scarce before there are now 650 million mobile phones in use today Technical Innovations can solve

some of the continent's [Music] challenges for example medical drones can deliver blood plasma to remote areas the internet helps where there are no banks people in Africa are now jumping straight to having a mobile phone to be able to communicate to run their business through the internet without having had to have gone through the stages of the telegraph wire or the telephone or radio plans for future cities are booming all over the continent great Visions Great Hopes but because there are also many problems in the big cities the challenges for the future are significant and

today it's also clear no continent will be hit by climate change as hard as Africa we have to keep moving and uh thinking of what we need to change in the future so you have to evolve either biologically or socially or technologically for you to survive on the [Music] landscape Africa was always a continent on the move and it will have to remain so in the future [Music]