Performers wearing traditional Zulu attire take part in the parade during the 112th African National Congress (ANC) Anniversary rally in Mbombela on January 13, 2024. (Photo by Phill Magakoe/AFP Photo)

A man crosses from a pirogue to another pirogue during the annual boat regatta in Yauri, Kebbi State, on February 15, 2025. The regatta festival started about 200 years ago as a display of naval strength of the Gungu people, where the Gungu warriors annually attacked dangerous hippopotamus that were destroying farmlands. Warriors would board various sizes of canoes with different types of weapons to attack the animal on the River Niger. This required expertise in canoe paddling and naval warfare. It also served as training exercise for upcoming Gungu warriors. (Photo by Toyin Adedokun/AFP Photo)

Labourers load a three-wheeled vehicle onto the back of a van at the Mercato market in Addis Ababa October 9, 2015. Addis Ababa's “Mercato” – Italian for “market” – is reputedly the biggest open-air market in Africa, lying in the west of the capital. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

Nigerian make-up artist, Mary Oni, creates artwork on her chest using make-up, in her home in Lagos, Nigeria on January 26, 2022. (Photo by Seun Sanni/Reuters)

A cyclist shops for a gift from a roadside open-air vendor during Valentine's Day celebrations amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Kamwokya, Kampala, Uganda on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Miriam Watsemba/Reuters)

Kamo Mphela, a South African dancer and singer performs Amapiano, a South African musical export that has crossed borders and cultural barriers, reaching as far as Japan, during a music concert in Pretoria, South Africa, July 22, 2022. (Photo by Shafiek Tassiem/Reuters)

A boy plays with pelicans in Yoff, commune of Dakar, Senegal March 14, 2018. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

A Gnawa traditional group performs in the city of Essaouira on December 14, 2019, to celebrate the decision of adding the Gnawa culture to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Gnawa culture, a centuries-old Moroccan practice rooted in music, African rituals and Sufi traditions, was added to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity earlier in the week. Gnawa refers to a “set of musical productions, fraternal practices and therapeutic rituals where the secular mixes with the sacred”, according to the nomination submitted by Morocco. Often dressed in colourful outfits, Gnawa musicians play the guenbri, a type of lute with three strings, accompanied by steel castanets called krakebs. (Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP Photo)