Ria's Colony
Warm collage celebrating African culture, featuring traditional clothing, Ethiopian coffee, injera, music, festivals, rock-hewn churches, crafts and landscapes surrounding a glowing map of Africa at sunset.

Series

Exploring the Cultures of Africa: 54 Countries, One Continent

55 posts · Aug 2026 – Sep 2026

What does Africa actually look, sound, taste and feel like from country to country? This series explores the culture, history, people, traditions, food, music, languages, beliefs and everyday life of all 54 African countries. Each story starts with a real scene and then goes deeper, looking at where the culture came from, how people live today, what they eat, wear and celebrate, and the traditions that continue to shape life now. Fifty-four countries, fifty-four different stories, and no two starting from the same place.

  1. 1

    Ethiopia: The Country That Kept Its Own Time

    August 31, 2026

  2. 2

    Nigeria: Culture, History, Ethnic Groups & Traditions

    September 6, 2026

  3. 3

    Mali Culture: The Country That Remembers Out Loud

    September 6, 2026

  4. 4

    Ghana: History, Culture, Traditions and the Story of Independence

    September 6, 2026

  5. 5

    Senegal: The Culture of Teranga, History, Food and Life

    September 7, 2026

  6. 6

    Burkina Faso: The Land of Upright People

    September 7, 2026

  7. 7

    Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast): Culture, History, Food, Music and Cocoa

    September 7, 2026

  8. 8

    Guinea History: Independence, Culture, Music and the Story of a Country That Said No First

    September 9, 2026

  9. 9

    Benin: History, Culture, Vodun and the Kingdom of Dahomey

    September 9, 2026

  10. 10

    South Africa: The Country With Twelve Ways to Say Hello

    September 11, 2026

  11. 11

    Madagascar: The Island That Sailed in From Somewhere Else

    September 11, 2026

  12. 12

    Togo: Where Evala Wrestling Still Marks the Passage into Manhood

    September 11, 2026

  13. 13

    Sierra Leone: The Country Built for People Coming Home

    September 11, 2026

  14. 14

    Liberia: The Republic Two Different Africas Built

    September 12, 2026

  15. 15

    Niger: Where Men Compete for Beauty

    September 13, 2026

  16. 16

    The Gambia: The River That Became a Pilgrimage

    September 14, 2026

  17. 17

    Cape Verde: The Country Built From a Feeling

    September 14, 2026

  18. 18

    Guinea-Bissau: The Islands Where Masks Still Rule

    September 14, 2026

  19. 19

    Mauritania: Where Tea, Memory and Culture Meet

    September 15, 2026

  20. 20

    Rwanda: The Culture, History and Traditions of a Country Remembering Together

    September 15, 2026

  21. 21

    Egypt: The Country That Never Fully Let Go of Its Gods

    September 15, 2026

  22. 22

    Tunisia: The Country That Lit the Match

    September 16, 2026

  23. 23

    Libya: The Country Written Twice, on Rock and in Silence

    September 16, 2026

  24. 24

    Algeria: The Country That Sang Its Way Through Fire

    September 16, 2026

  25. 25

    Cameroon: Africa’s Miniature, in Every Direction

    September 16, 2026

  26. 26

    Morocco: The Country That Never Replaced Anything

    September 16, 2026

  27. 27

    Burundi: The Country Where the Drum Was King

    September 17, 2026

  28. 28

    Uganda: The Kingdom That Refused to Stay Abolished

    September 17, 2026

  29. 29

    Tanzania: The Country That Turned Familyhood Into a National Idea

    September 17, 2026

  30. 30

    Kenya: The Country Measured in Age-Sets, Not Just Years

    September 17, 2026

  31. 31

    Sudan: The Country of Two Fridays

    September 17, 2026

  32. 32

    Djibouti: The Country the Suez Canal Made Strategic

    September 18, 2026

  33. 33

    Somalia Culture and History: The Nation of Poets

    September 18, 2026

  34. 34

    South Sudan: The Country Sung to Its Cattle

    September 18, 2026

  35. 35

    Eritrea: The Country That Fought Thirty Years for a Line on a Map

    September 18, 2026

  36. 36

    Comoros: The Marriage a Man Cannot Avoid

    September 18, 2026

  37. 37

    Seychelles: The Dance That Survived Colonial Restrictions

    September 21, 2026

  38. 38

    Chad: A Country of Sahara, Sahel, Kingdoms and Many Cultures

    September 21, 2026

  39. 39

    Central African Republic: People, Culture, History and Life

    September 22, 2026

  40. 40

    The DRC: How Congolese Rumba Carries a Country’s History

    September 22, 2026

  41. 41

    When Dressing Sharp Became a Statement: The Story of La Sape in Congo

    September 22, 2026

  42. 42

    Gabon: The Forest That Gave Away Its Deepest Secret

    September 22, 2026

  43. 43

    Equatorial Guinea: Languages, Peoples, History and Culture

    September 23, 2026

  44. 44

    São Tomé and Príncipe: The Stories, People and Traditions Behind the Islands

    September 23, 2026

  45. 45

    Angola and Brazil: The Atlantic Story Behind Semba, Samba and More

    September 23, 2026

  46. 46

    Zimbabwe: The Country Named After Its Own Ruins

    September 23, 2026

  47. 47

    Zambia: The Country That Moves Its King by Water

    September 23, 2026

  48. 48

    Malawi: The Dance You Are Not Allowed to Watch Too Closely

    September 24, 2026

  49. 49

    Mozambique: The Guitar That Broke and Built a Genre

    September 24, 2026

  50. 50

    Namibia: The Dress That Turned Genocide Into Defiance

    September 24, 2026

  51. 51

    Botswana: The Meeting Where People Come to Be Heard

    September 24, 2026

  52. 52

    Lesotho: The Fortress in the Sky

    September 24, 2026

  53. 53

    Eswatini: The Dance Where a King May Choose a Wife

    September 24, 2026

  54. 54

    Mauritius: The Dance That Turned Grief Into Celebration

    September 24, 2026

  55. 55

    Fifty-Four Countries Later: What This Series Actually Found

    September 24, 2026