Download or read book African Life and Customs written by Edward Wilmot Blyden and published by Black Classic Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In African Life and Customs, Blyden examined the culture of "pure" Africans-- those untouched by European and Asiatic influences. He identified the family as the basic unit in African society and polygamy as the foundation of African families. He described African social systems as cooperative; everyone worked for each other. No one went without work, food, or clothing. Blyden challenged white racial theorists who held Africans were inferior and whose arguments supported their preconceived ideas. He assumed Africans to be "distinct" rather than inferior, and he analyzed African culture within the context of African social experiences.