Phoebe Grant's Fascinating Stories of World Cultures & Customs
by
Phoebe Grant
edited by
Phyllis Barkas Goldman
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
Allosaurus Publishers
The Editor wishes to thank all the contributors for their editorial assistance.
Dawn Askew, Lindsay Baird, Paul Brown, and Linda Goldman
Phyllis Barkas Goldman, Founding Editor
Created, Designed, and Printed by the North Carolina Learning Institute for Fitness & Education, Inc.
Revised © 2011 by The North Carolina Institute For Fitness & Education, Inc.
P. 0. Box 10245, Greensboro, NC 27404.
All rights reserved. This book or any parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0202-4
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Allosaurus Publishers is a division of the North Carolina Learning Institute for Fitness & Education, Inc.
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
Mother Teresa
"We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams."
United States 39th President, Jimmy Carter
"Everyone likes a good story."
Phoebe Grant
Aborigine Dreamtime in the Outback
Learn about these Australian natives and their beliefs.
Grandmother Maja was always lots of fun to visit. Maja was not only kind, warm, and funny, but a well-known Aboriginal storyteller. Jenny loved hearing her stories and hoped that she too could become a storyteller one day.
It was a long trip to her grandmother's small town m Australian wilderness. When Jenny and her mother arrived at Maja's cabin, Jenny asked. her grandmother how she had learned Aboriginal storytelling.
Maja replied, "I am so glad you like knowing about my stories. They were first told to me by my father. And they were told to him by his father. It is how the Aborigines learn their history, and how they are taught to respect the earth." She went on to explain the Dreamtime; according to Aboriginal tradition, the Dreamtime was a period in which their ancestors created everything that exists, through their dreams and ideas. For the Aborigines, Dreamtime could happen through private thoughts and sacred ceremonies.
In school, Jenny learned how the Aborigines came from Southeast Asia over 50,000 years ago, into what is now Australia. Groups of people spread across the continent, settling in deserts, rainforests, coastal plains, river banks, and on mountains. The women harvested plants, while the men used spears to hunt animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, birds, and reptiles. Aborigines also learned to throw a boomerang, and to play a wooden horn known as a didgeridoo. Many settlements developed their own languages.
After dinner that night, Jenny, her mother, and Maja set out to town for a gathering, also known as a corroboree. At the corroboree, people ate, sang, and danced. In the evening, several other people told fascinating tales about their ancestors. That night, as Jenny fell asleep, she began to dream.
An African Overview
It is home to the world’s longest river, the Nile and the world’s largest desert, the Sahara.
The Atlantic Ocean borders the west side of Africa and the Indian Ocean is on the east.
Egypt is located in northern Africa and is known for having a very amazing civilization. Thousands of years ago, the great Pyramids were built without the use of machinery or the technology we have today.
The Great Pyramid of Khufu was built using 2 million blocks of stone. These structures were built to bury pharaohs and their queens. Egypt is also a part of the Sahara Desert.
Covering the top one-third of Africa, the Sahara is about the size of the United States.
Below the Sahara Desert, is Kenya which is a popular area for tourists taking safaris to see the wildlife. Kenya covers an area about the size of Texas and on Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa, there are glaciers!
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, is located in the center of Africa and is the third largest country on the continent.
Botswana is further south and is the most progressive and successful country in Africa. Being one of the world's largest diamond producers has boosted the economy in Africa. Tourists also visit here and there are several wild life reserves.
Senegal is in northeast Africa and has a very modern capital city, Dakar. There are skyscrapers, hotels, shopping areas and wonderful beaches. With 250 miles of coastline, the Senegalese are among the biggest fish eaters in the world. Not only are fish a great source of protein, they are a source of income because fishing is a big business.
Many languages are spoken throughout Africa and some countries claim English as their official language. Because Africa is so large, the climate and geography vary across the continent and make each country unique.
| Algeria | Egypt | Madagascar | Sierra Leone |
| Angola | Equatorial Guinea | Malawi | Somalia |
| Benin | Eritrea | Mali | South Africa |
| Botswana | Ethiopia | Mauritania | Sudan |
| Burkina Faso | Gabon | Mauritius | Swaziland |
| Burundi | Gambia | Morocco | Tanzania |
| Cameroon | Ghana | Mozambique | Togo |
| Cape Verde | Guinea Bissau | Namibia | Tunisia |
| Central African Rep. | Guinea | Niger | Uganda |
| Chad | Ivory Coast | Nigeria | Zambia |