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How much do you know about the region of east Africa?
Test your knowledge with these tidbits from CultureGrams:
- What country, anciently known as Abyssinia, is the oldest independent nation in Africa?
- Which country is the world's fourth largest island?
- Rwanda's mountain ranges and highland plateaus have earned the country what nickname?
- Nearly all residents of Comoros adhere to which religion?
- Seychelles is home to what reptile, found only there and in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands?
- What country is made up of a mainland called Tanganyika and an island called Zanzibar, merged in 1964?
- In 1993, which country gained independence from Ethiopia, with which it has an ongoing border dispute?
- Large clans such as Darod, Isaak, Hawiye, Dir, Digil, and Rahanwayn make up the majority of which country's population?
- Which of Africa's two Great Lakes can be found in Kenya?
- Which east African country reserves legislative seats for women, the army, the disabled, workers, and youth?
Answers:
1) Ethiopia. 2) Madagascar. 3) "land of a thousand hills." 4) Islam (Sunni). 5) The giant tortoise. 6) Tanzania (which is a combination of the two names). 7) Eritrea. 8) Somalia. 9) Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf) and Lake Victoria. 10) Uganda.
Did you know...
- In Eritrea, four or five days after a baby's birth, family members visit and eat ga'at (a thick barley porridge) as a means of welcoming the baby into the world. Twelve days after the birth, the mother takes her baby outside for the first time. The baby's eyes are painted with a black eye pencil, partly for decorative purposes and partly out of a belief that it prevents eye infections. Eritrean Christians baptize their babies, usually after 40 days. The priest selects a biblical name, and the parents choose a second name. A party follows the ceremony.
- Khat, a leafy plant that produces a mildly stimulating effect, is not an illegal substance but is a great burden upon Djiboutian society and the economy. Imported from Ethiopia and chewed almost exclusively by men, it drains much-needed funds from the country and provides little in return, save a moment's relief from the difficulties of everyday life. A family can be greatly disrupted by the absence of the father to daily chewing sessions. The effects of khat, combined with Djibouti's intense heat, also result in low-level street violence. Though few injuries result, verbal disputes become physical, and rocks and punches may be thrown.
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