Describe the unique features of literature, music, and sculpture in African culture

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Diversity characterizes all aspects of Africa's history and culture. Literature, art, and music vary widely from region to region. Still, some common characteristics emerge. Most African cultures, for example, prize a synthesis of the arts of music, dance, poetry, and decorative display that mirrored shared spiritual and communal values.
Most African cultures were steeped in folk traditions, which they transmitted orally. As a result, the literary contributions of Africans remained unrecorded for hundreds of years—in some cases until the nineteenth century and thereafter. Over time, several of the traditional African languages have developed written forms and produced a literature of note. Even to this day, however, a highly prized oral tradition dominates African literature. The oral tradition was the province of griots, a special class of professional poet–historians who preserved the legends of the past by chanting or singing them from memory.
African music, an integral part of any major life event, is marked by a sophisticated use of polyrhythms. Reflecting the communal nature of African life, call-and-response techniques were also an important part of the music. A wide variety of percussion instruments, including various types of drum and rattle, is used in performances, as are pitched instruments, such as the balafon and the kora. African culture is notably musical, and the dynamic convergence of poetry, dance, and music generates a singularly dramatic experience.
African figural sculpture served many functions: grave figures were designed to watch over the dead, fertility images were invoked to promote pregnancy or assist in childbirth; still other sculptures served in rituals of divination and healing. In style, such objects range from realistic to abstract. The greater part of African sculpture was executed in the medium of wood, using axes, knives, and chisels to carve.