Individualism and Communalism. While some West African societies, such as the Igbo, are generally considered individualistic, others, such as the Yoruba, are often characterized as communalistic. In societies where the individual is provided the incentive to excel, tensions always exist about how to maintain social harmony in the midst of disparities in wealth and status. In societies that emphasize the welfare of the group over that of the individual, there are invariably anxieties about stifling the individual creativity necessary for innovation and renewal of the social whole. The societies of West Africa between 500 to 1590 were a mixture of different social forms—from feudalism in the Muslim north and the kingdoms of Ashanti, Ile-Ife, and Oyo to the republican confederacies of the Igbo.

Socialization. Basing his observations on fieldwork, Segun Gbadegesin has observed that, among the Yoruba, the socialization of the...