Central African Republic Guide: History, People, Culture, Geography
1. By Kieren Jessop
Africa
OContinent, Many Worlds
Central African Republic
Table of contents:
1 History and time line
2 People
3 Traditions
4 Landforms
5 Map, flag, location
6 Economy: imports/exports
7 Map, Flag and Location
8 Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Deserts
9 Landmarks
10 Resources
2. By Kieren Jessop
Africa
OContinent, Many Worlds
Central African Republic
Table of contents:
1 History and time line
2 People
3 Traditions
4 Landforms
5 Map, flag, location
6 Economy: imports/exports
7 Map, Flag and Location
8 Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Deserts
9 Landmarks
10 Resources
3. History
1889 1910-1920 1928 1930-1940 1958 1960 1962 1965 1979 1981 1986 1992-1993 1995 2001 2003 2005
French Forced Slave Cotton Autonomy Dacko one Coup#1 Coup#3 Constitution Elections Constitution Unsuccessful Rebel Gen Bozize
Coup#2
Arrival Labor Insurrection Coffee Renamed CAR Independence party state Military French Military #1 #2 Coup Overthrow wins fair
Tea elections
Diamonds
Gold
Origins:
• Between 1000BC and 1000AD, Adamawa-Eastern-speaking people spread eastward from Cameroon to Sudan.
• Muslim traders arrived in early 1800’s.
• During the “Scramble for Africa” (1875-1900), the French established a post at Bangui, the future capital of the CAR.
• During the1890’s, borders were established with Congo, Cameroon and Sudan
Independence:
• On December 1st 1958 the colony of Ubangi-Shari became an autonomous territory and took the name CAR.
• On August 13th 1960 the CAR gained its independence, but there was a power struggle.
• By 1962 President Dacko had established a one party state.
• There have been several coups in recent decades, and even to this day the country is still turbulent.
Present Conditions:
• The CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world and is heavily dependent upon foreign aid.
• The country is self sufficient in food crops, but much of the population lives at a subsistence level.
• In 2006 due to ongoing violence, over 50,000 in the country’s north west where at risk of starvation.
4. People
Childcare:
• Public education is free, and is compulsory from age 6-14.
• Everyone in the family is responsible for child care.
• Children are lectured by their parents about social behavior.
• A child's most important responsibilities are to respect, obey, and serve adults and to avoid causing trouble.
Population:
•4.8 million of them.
•Typically young - more than 40 percent are younger than 15 years old.
•Although the capital, Bangui, is a busy city, the majority of Central Africans live in small towns and villages.
•Central Africans are poor, and most farm to make a living.
•Divided among more than 80 different ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Gbaya, Banda, and Mandjia.
Marriage Traditions:
• Traditionally, and to some extent today, marriages are arranged by the families.
• The man is expected to work for the brides father for up to four years, after which he needs to pay a bride price.
• Due to the cost of weddings, there are far fewer Christian church weddings.
• A man can divorce his wife by leaving her belongings on the front door step and locking the door.
Death Traditions:
• Most people believe that death is the consequence of sorcery.
• At the wake, family members sometimes blame each other for killing the deceased.
• All night dancing and mourning lasts for several days.
5. Traditional Food, Clothing & Shelter
Traditional Food:
• The staple is a doughlike mixture of processed and dried cassava, accompanied by a sauce made of vegetables.
• Wild game, killed in the dry-season grass-burning hunts, supplements the rural diet.
• At roadside stands, bakery bread and homemade fried bread, sandwiches, barbecued meat, and other snacks are sold by women.
• The inhabitants of the forest area subsist on cassava, bananas, plantains, palm-nut-oil, forest caterpillars, and the leaf of a wild plant.
Traditional Clothing:
• Women often wear a loose top and a length of cloth around the waist as a skirt.
• Men's casual clothes - which look like pyjamas - are in the same distinctively 'African' designs, but most of the cloth is imported from the Netherlands.
• The most authentic cloths are the handmade, designed fabrics, such as woodblock prints and batiks and tie-dyed cloths.
Shelter:
• The typical dwelling, which must be replaced frequently because of termites, is made with sundried brick and thatched with wild grass.
• Floors are made of pounded earth, on which people sleep on mats with adults sometimes using home-made beds.
• A whole family lives in a single dwelling, the interior of which is divided, especially when the owners have been influenced by Western culture.
• Dwellings are used for storage and sleeping. However, in the six-month dry and hot season, people frequently sleep outdoors.
6. Climate and Weather
Climate
•Though the C.A.R. gets a lot of rainfall mostly May-October, it's not as hot and humid as many other countries,
thanks to its elevation. The dry season and best time to visit is December-April.
7. Economy
•The CAR is known as one of the world's poorest countries.
•The country only getʼs $310 from America since 2000, some people want more money in CAR.
•The countries main economy is from framing and forestry which means selling lumber.
•The main things that are very big in CAR market are cotton, coffee, tobacco, and timber.
•They are so poor that they receive more than they give.
8. Map, Flag and Location
The Central African Republic holds a
landlocked position surrounded by Chad,
Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Congo and Cameroon.
9. Landforms
The Central African Republic land contains several landforms including semi-desert, tropical rain forests, wooded forests and its
main features mountains and hills.
The country consists of a plateau between the Chad and Congo River Basins while the Bongo Massif in the northeast, the Yade Massif in the
northwest and the Fertit Hills are the most prominent features of the landscape. The vegetation varies from tropical rain forests in the
extreme southwest to semi-desert in the northeastern tip of the country while most of the land area is wooded. The country is drained by
two river systems, the Chari River flowing north into the Chad River Basin and the Ubangi River flowing south into the Congo River Basin.
Major Cities (pop. est.); Bangui 451,700, Bambari 41,900, Bouar 39,700, Berberati 38,600, Bossangoa 31,500 (1988). Land Use; forested
75%, pastures 5%, agricultural-cultivated 3%, other 17% (1993).
Mont Ngaoui
Mountains
• Mont Ngaoui is the highest mountain in Central African Republic, location 6° 36′ 0″ N longitude and 4° 54′ 0″ E latitude.
• Prominent features are the Bongo Massif in the northeast,Yade in the northwest and the Fertit Hills.
Rivers
There are two major river systems: the Chari River flowing north into the Chad River Basin and the Ubangi River flowing south
into the Congo RIver Basin.
Lakes
Deserts
10. Landmarks
Bangui:
Boali waterfalls 43 miles from the capital, Bangui.
The waterfall is 160 feet high and is 820 feet wide.
The locals carved steps in to the rock.
