Africa’s cultural bond: Five countries that feel like home to South Africans

Across Africa, countries share vibrant cultural threads. South Africa, with its diversity, is closely connected to at least five nations by food, music, language, rituals and art.

These ties aren’t just interesting, they help build a sense of unity and belonging.

Here are five shared cultural elements that bring South Africa together with other African countries, and one unique trait for each nation:

1. Music, rhythms and dance

Between South Africa and Nigeria, both nations use call-and-response singing in Afrobeat and traditional music.

• Unique in Nigeria: the explosive global reach of Afrobeats and its stars like Burna Boy.

2. Traditional fabrics and clothing

With Ghana, South Africa shares the love for bold, symbolic fabrics and woven motifs.

• Unique in Ghana: Kente cloth, a highly symbolic woven textile with colours and meaning in every pattern.

3. Shared Bantu language roots

With Kenya and Tanzania, South Africa shares roots in Bantu languages, which influence Zulu, Xhosa, Swahili and others.

• Unique in Tanzania and Kenya: Swahili culture as a coastal lingua franca and identity. (Swahili culture offers a strong mercantile, coastal heritage).

4. Communal food culture

With Ethiopia, both countries cherish communal eating, shared stews and bread, and hospitality to guests.

• Unique in Ethiopia: injera serving style, with spongy sour flatbread used as both plate and utensil.

5. Art, sculpture and storytelling

With Mozambique, South Africa shares artistry in wood carving and cultural storytelling.

• Unique in Mozambique: Makonde wood carvings, especially the “tree of life” sculptures admired across Africa.

These cultural bridges remind us that while each country offers something unique, our shared values of music, community, creativity and language bind us.

Let us celebrate those differences and shared roots to grow stronger together as Africans.