Clothing preferred by the African folks is the traditional clothing, often vibrantly colored, worn by the folks of Africa. In some cases, these traditional garments have been replaced by western clothing as western clothing is common all over the globe.
In Northeastern Africa, particularly in Egypt area, styles of traditional dress have been influenced by Middle Eastern culture, this can be exemplified by the simply embroidered which are similarly worn in the Gulf States. The Northwest Africans are less influenced by foreign elements and have remained more in olden days. These people are very much possessive about their heritage and culture.
The people of Northwest Africa, where, the Dashiki, and the Senegalese kaftan. In Nigeria, women wear headbands In Africa, the dashiki and Senegalese kaftan are worn more prominently, though not exclusively. The dashiki is highly stylized and is rendered with an ornate V-shaped collar.
In East Africa, women wear the kanga. In Southern Africa distinctive shirts are worn, like the long dresses they wear. For example, South Africa is known for the Madiba shirt, whereas, Zimbabwe is known for the nice fancy and vibrant safari shirt. In the Horn of Africa, the attire varies by country. There exist non-profit organizations in all western societies that sell used clothes to for-profit enterprises in Africa. These "white man's clothes" are quite common in some parts of the continent.
Ritual and ceremonial masks are a vital feature of the traditional culture and art of the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa. While the specific suggestions associated to ritual masks widely vary in different cultures, some traits are common to most African cultures. For instance, masks usually have a spiritual and religious meaning and they are used in ritual dances and social and religious events, and a special status is attributed to the artists that create masks and to those that wear them in ceremonies. In most cases, mask-making is an art that is passed on from father to son, along with the knowledge of the symbolic meanings conveyed by such masks. These masks are traditional and it carries the family pride and heritage. The siblings take and a lot of pride and interest in learning this art from their parents.
The material for masks is wood, although a wide range of other elements can be used, including light stone such as steatite, metals such as copper or bronze, different types of fabric, pottery, and more. Some masks are painted. A wide array of ornamental items can be applied to the mask surface such as animal hair, horns, or teeth, sea shells, seeds, straws, egg shell, and feathers. For example, animal hair or straws are often used for a mask's hair or beard.
African goods are unique in nature and are appreciated all over the world because of its creativity.
Steve jo has performed a series of interview with the shop owner of online shop and has found out that African goods in Australia has provided a wide variety of products to the Australian market.