Culture Of Hospitality and Generosity: Some of Its Customs in The African Societies

Abstract:
 Generosity and hospitality are ideal human values that all pre-industrial societies strive to achieve, due to people’s mobility necessities, which cannot be done without shelter, food, and drink. In this context, the current paper has attempted to trace the culture of hospitality in African societies, in its theoretical and applied aspects, by following a documentary approach. This paper has explored the philosophical patterns of generosity and hospitality in African societies, and stopped at some customs and traditions that are a practical translation of the philosophical views of hospitality in African societies. Therefore, this paper has concluded that hospitality is one of the pillars of African culture because of its direct relationship to the concept of  ‘Ubuntu’  which forms the African worldview. Africans firmly believe that hospitality is a religious duty, and that failure to perform this duty undermines a person’s humanness and exposes them to the wrath of the ancestors and the punishment of the gods. Moreover, the current paper focused on three African ethnic groups: the Gikuyu from the East, the Ibo from the Central, and the Mande from the West. Exploring some of the hospitality rituals and customs of these ethnic groups, it appeared that they all celebrate the guest with great warmth and empathy, and in this celebration, they follow precise and strict rituals to make the guest happy and achieve their well-being. This paper also discussed the controversy over the feasibility of the value of hospitality in African societies, and its involvement in solving some of the continent’s problems, such as immigration and asylum, and achieving peace and social harmony in modern African countries.