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 us. This continent was the cradle of humankind. 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 world-class 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. 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 metres below sea level, emitting salty, sulphurous vapours. 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 kilometres wide, thousands of metres deep in some places. 6,000 kilometres long, the rift threatened to tear off the entire east of Africa. And the crack that's been forming is the great East African Rift Valley. And so it's this tectonic crack which has been the cradle of 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. Today, the team has discovered a stone wedge, an inconspicuous tool with a surprising range of functions. Chilean tools were very important because they're kind of a Swiss army knife. So you can use it, a multipurpose 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 toes. 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 range 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 climatic 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 pray from afar had better chances of survival. Our ancestors stood up. This upright gait 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 Africa and across Asia and down into Australia and across the Bering Land Bridge 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 for that purpose of 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. 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 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 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 savanna 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 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 leached out. Africa has very many different types of environments, ranging from arid to semi-arid parts of Africa, to the savanna grasslands, to the equatorial 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 across. Humans also developed a way of life for survival in the steppes and grasslands in the centre of the 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 meagre 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 steppes. Societies like the Kalenjin developed into fast runners. The Kalenjin'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 steppes. In the collective memory, the story of how the Kalenjin evolved into a tribe of runners is still kept very much alive. Our people in the Pokot 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 a way of life. I run four kilometres to and from school, every day. Even if it's raining, I don't care, I just go. They are not driven to school in posh cars, they run to school. They go back home for lunch, they are running. Going back to school for the afternoon session, they are running. During break time, they are running around, playing. During games time, they are also playing. They are 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 activity. That means they have developed certain aspects of hemoglobin that really helps them to endure that exercise of running. As a result of their skill and endurance, the Kalenjin are often considered a tribe of runners. Today, they are 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 Kipchoge. Elliot Kipchoge from the Kalenjin 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 Kalenjin acquired this special ability by adapting to the challenges of their natural environment. In 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 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. The strong wind systems we find blowing with the trade winds and the westerlies. On the eastern coastline, the shore being lapped onto by the Indian Ocean, it's a much 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 wind. 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 landmass heats up strongly in relation to the water temperature. Warm air rises above the land, drawing in more air from the sea. This creates predictable, strong winds towards the east in summer. In the cooler seasons, the system reverses, and the wind blows equally predictably towards the west. The best possible conditions for merchant shipping. 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 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 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 Maghreb, 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 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 Pole Pole. 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 foodstuffs 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 price. You start bargaining. It is not a question of a vested right to the lowest price. The price is determined by getting to know and appreciate the other side. The culture of the souks, the markets, has spread to the Islamic-influenced 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 environment. But there are 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 fauna. The Sahara as a green paradise and ideal habitat. This is what it must have looked like until 6,000 years ago. The Sahara is an example of abrupt climate change. Even if external factors only change very, very gradually, the climate can still change very fast. All of a sudden, cattle raising and fishing were over. 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 occurrence. The geography of Egypt is one of the keys to this civilization's success, because the river and its regular flooding provided bountiful harvest. The Nile also formed a natural transport system. The river flows towards the north and the Mediterranean, but the winds in that part of the world blow to the south. So you can flow downriver 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 the agriculture, but also armies, to unify Egypt 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, albeit 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 the beasts of burden they're using to carry your wares. But the Saharan desert wasn't impassable. There were trade routes with caravans of camels, leasing back and forth across the desert. So although the Sahara did serve as a large barrier between north and south of Africa, it wasn't impassable. Berber nomads 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. This water still supplies 500 people here, as well as visitors who want to find out more about life in the oasis. Vegetables and date palms grow in the fields of the oasis. The desert fruit's 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 two 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 dunes. See the big dune over there? This is where the water comes from. There are 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 ketara. But these vital reserves are in danger. New wells cannot be drilled. The groundwater level could drop too far to be 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 is. 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 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. Nestled between swamps and rainforests 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 defined by what resources they have access to. We see 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 mined 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 dinar was ruined for a decade. The Mali Kingdom was one of the most prosperous civilizations in human history and the King Mansa Musa 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 Mali's fabulous riches. The Sahara trade dried up. Even the location of the former royal city and its palaces is completely unknown. Almost 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 just passing on information from one generation to another. And you can still find that. Their common history is upheld by shared rituals. In Djenne, in 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 Krepisaj festival. They repair the damage that the rain has done to the mosque. This is how Mali's largest sacred clay building has been preserved to this day. The gold centre has, for over a hundred years, been in the south of the continent, in the heart of the Witwatersrand mountains. In 1886, adventurers discovered the largest known gold deposit on earth. Within ten years, a city grew at the site which the indigenous Zulu called Iguli, 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 apartheid dominated life in South Africa for a long time. In the mountains of Namibia, rich deposits of tourmalines, aquamarines, topazes and other semi-precious stones have been found. In many places today, disused mines are a beacon of hope for the local population, which sets itself up as a mining 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 stones, 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 conditions. Around the world, rivers often form arteries of communication. 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 Zambezi River crosses three countries over a length of more than two and a half thousand kilometers. 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 two kilometers wide, the Zambezi plunges a hundred meters into the depths below. Made of hard basalt, this is a fault line in the African continental plate, a typical formation for the continent. 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 continent. The important lifelines for trade and information transfer are non-existent. 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 river-borne 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 diseases. 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 Livingstone 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 1884-85, 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, en masse, for export. And communities were actually having better trade. So there was no form of currency or form of 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 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 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 herero, the original inhabitants of the region. My name is Mbemu Karipata. I am from the Mbakunguna clan. I like making our traditional herero 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 herero. In the process, the herero lost their lands and had to work for the Germans. In the households, the women were taught to wear modest clothing. When local communities revolted, Kaiser Wilhelm sent in his troops. His general orders herero to be exterminated, shot or chased in droves into the desert to die of thirst. For descendants of the survivors, the dress of their tormentors, of all things, is today a sign of self-determination and remembrance. Wearing the herero dress is a sign of identity because it really sets me apart. It differentiates me from somebody who is either in Europe or somebody who is anywhere else on the African continent, or even in Namibia. Wearing my herero 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 herero. The linking of traditions is part of an emancipation and a political 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. 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're communicating in, is all inherited from the colonizers. It was not until 2021 that Germany officially recognized the genocide against the herero. Today, the men wear the uniforms of their colonial occupiers. In post-colonial Africa, many people have had to redefine themselves. People have realized that without their own identity, then they may not be able to move far enough 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, Dar es Salaam and Addis 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 geographical factors are much, much less important than they had to be. 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 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 world. 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 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 landscape. Africa was always a continent on the move, and it will have to remain so in the future.