I. African Society and Culture

• The family was the basis of Africa society.• Lived in extended families, or families

made up of several generations.• Matrilineal societies that traced their

descent through their mothers rather than fathers.

A. Education

• Children learned the history of their people and skills they needed from their family and the village.

• Griots, or storytellers kept alive their village’s oral history through stories passed down by word of mouth.

Religions of Africa

46% Christian40% Muslim12% Traditional African Religions

B. Traditional African Religions• Varied from region to region.• Most believed in one Creator.• Provided rules for living and helped people

stay in touch with their history.• Believed that spirits of the dead stayed with

the community.• They believed these spirits could talk to

God and could help solve problems.

C.Women’s Roles• Women were mostly mothers and wives.• Men had more rights and controlled much of what women did.• In some African kingdoms women served as soldiers.• Some women were famed rulers:1. Queen Dahia al-Kahina led a fights against Muslim take over of her

kingdom in 600 A.D. (modern day Mauritania)2. Queen Nzinga spent 40 years battling Portuguese slave traders. (she

ruled where modern day Angola and Congo is)

D. African Art and Dance

• Masks and statues were made to celebrate African religious beliefs.

• Artist worked in wood, ivory, or bronze to show faces of important leaders.

• Music and dance allowed them to express themselves and to celebrate important events such as birth and death.

http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/um/painting06.jpg

I. Who were the Bantu

• 3000 B.C. fishing groups along the Benue River packed their belongings and began moving throughout Africa.

• The wonders called themselves “Bantu” meaning “wonderers.”

• They spread throughout Africa bringing their culture.

• 120 million Africans speak hundreds of Bantu languages

II. Trade Caravans Begin

• The vast Sahara kept the Bantu from migrated to Northern Africa.

• For 1,000 of years the North was isolated until 400 B.C. the North African Berbers found a way across the Sahara to West Africa, and trade began.

• Romans introduced camels to N. Africa-this revolutionized trade.

I. Ghana

• The first empire to develop in West Africa in 400 A.D.

• Ghana was located where several trade routs came together-anyone who wanted to used these trade routes had to pay a fee-this made Ghana rich.

• Ghana made weapons of iron and controlled people who had gold mines.

A. Ghana’s Government• King relied on a council of ministers• As the empire grew-divided empires into provinces-lesser

kings governed these.• King held power tightly• Local rulers had to send their sons to the royal courts.• Nobody could trade without the permission of the king.• Nobody could own gold nuggets except the king.• People had to trade in gold dust.• The kingdom was inherited only by the son of the king’s

sister.

B. The Fall of Ghana

• Their power declined when gold mines outside Ghana’s control reduced the taxes it collected.

• Heavy farming depleted the minerals and made it harder to grow enough crops.

• Constant warfare• Rulers accepted Islam • In 1200’s the kingdom of Mali conquered what

was left of the empire.

Ghana developed in West Africa between the Niger (NI-jhur) and the Gambia Rivers. It was an important kingdom there from about AD300 to about 1100. The rivers helped Ghana to grow rich because they were used to transport goods and develop trade. Ghana also collected taxes from traders who passed through the kingdom. The people called their nation Wagadu; we know it as Ghana --that was the word for war chief.

http://www.nevadasurveyor.com/africa/web/pages/niger_river.htm

The kingdom of Ghana probably began when several clans of the Soninke people of west Africa came together under the leadership of a great king named Dinga Cisse.

Ghana had few natural resources except salt and gold. They were also very good at making things from iron. Ghanaian warriors used iron tipped spears to subdue their neighbors, who fought with weapons made of stone, bone, and wood.

http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/mm/eng/mm_rs_01.htm

"The King . . .(wears). . . necklaces round his neck and bracelets on his forearms and he puts on a high cap decorated with gold and wrapped in a turban of fine cotton. He (meets people) in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses covered with gold-embroidered materials…and on his right, are the sons of the (lesser) kings of his country, wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold.

At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree. Round their necks they wear collars of gold and silver, studded with a number of balls of the same metals."

10th century geographer Al-Bakri, quoted in Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History.

This is a primary source that describes

the court of one king of

Ghana. Complete the worksheet on the modified

reading.

Ghana became a rich and powerful nation, especially when the camel began to be used as a source of transport. Ghana relied on trade and trade was made faster and bigger with the use of the camel.

Click here to learn about camels. Use

your notetaking sheet to record your

answers.http://es.encarta.msn.com/media_461532998_761558787_-1_1/Caravana_de_camellos.html

news.nationalgeographic.com/. ../salt/photo6.html

After 700 AD, the religion of Islam began to spread over northern Africa. Followers of this religion are called Muslims. Muslim warriors came into Ghana and fought with the non-Islamic people there. This weakened the great civilization of Ghana. Local warriors then decided to break away from the power of Ghana and form their own local kingdoms. This ended many of the trade networks. This eventually weakened the civilization of Ancient Ghana.

Islamic Mosque in Ghana

Return

blankbluesky.com/ travel/ghana/

http://www.btsadventures.com/img/mosque.jpg

I. Mali

• 1230 to 1255 the great warrior king Sundiata Keita “the Lion Prince” conquered Ghana.

• Seized the capital of Ghana in 1240.• He controlled lands from the Atlantic coast

to the trading city of Timbuktu.• He was able to rebuild the gold and salt trade.

A. Mansa Musa• Leader of Mali who used the wealth of Mali to

build mosques and libraries to collect books from all over the Muslim world.

• 1324 Mansa Musa makes a famous pilgrimage to Mecca.

• While in Mecca, convinced some of Islam’s finest architects, teachers, and writers, to accompany him back to Mail-this helped spread Islam in West Africa.

• After Mansa Musa’s death in 1332 the kings that failed to stop Berber invaders who conquered Timbuktu.

B. The Griots• Storytellers were called

Griots or djeli• They were important

people in Mali• They told the land’s

history• Most of what we know

about ancient Mali came from the storytellers

• They were advisors to the kings

This is a 19th century griot of Mali with his instrument

C. Why was Salt Important?• Mali often traded its gold

for salt• Salt was sometimes more

valuable than gold!• People’s bodies need salt to

live– In the desert heat, salt is

lost through perspiration• Salt was used to preserve

food• Salt was brought in large

slabs (coins)MiniFactMiniFact: The : The picture behind picture behind these words is also these words is also a slab of SALT!a slab of SALT!

The man is holding a slab of salt mined recently near Timbuktu

D. Timbuktu• A very important

city in Mali– Center of learning for

Muslims– Universities and

schools– Largest trading

center in Mali– On the Niger River

• Trade• Food• Washing

Timbuktu

19th century traders in Timbuktu

A powerful king named Sundiata ruled this area from around 1230-1255 AD. He led the people in conquering and expanding his kingdom to be as great as Ghana had been.

Perhaps the greatest king of Mali was Mansa Musa (1312-1337). He developed the gold and salt trade of Mali and his kingdom became very powerful and rich.

Mansu Musa: Lord of the Negroes of Guinea. (Photo courtesy of History of Africa)

Mansa Musa was a Muslim, meaning he followed the religion of Islam. He built many beautiful mosques or Islamic temples in western Africa.

http://travel.u.nu/pic/ml/djenne.jpg

A Muslim church is called a Mosque

This is the mosque at Djenne in Mali. It’s built of mud! Click for a movie

In 1324 Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage ( a journey to a holy place) to Mecca, which is a holy city in Arabia, with 60,000 servants and followers and 80 camels carrying more than 4,000 pounds of gold to be distributed among the poor. Of the 12,000 servants 500 carried a staff of pure gold. This showed his power and wealth to the other people he visited.

http://bseleck.bei.t-online.de/timbuktu/img_tim/mansamusag.gif

What did Mali trade?

• Gold

The dotted lines are trade routes from Mali to other parts of Africa

What else did they trade?

• Salt• Copper• Ivory• Cloth

• Kola Nuts• Slaves• Books• Shells

Camels, the ships of the desert, traveled in Camels, the ships of the desert, traveled in caravans bringing to Mali:caravans bringing to Mali:

MiniFactMiniFact: This was before Columbus even : This was before Columbus even sailed to the New World!sailed to the New World!

When Mansa Musa died there were no kings as powerful as he was to follow. The great kingdom of Mali weakened. Eventually a group of people known as Berbers came into the area and other people came up from the south to claim territory that was once part of the kingdom. Although Mali fell, another advanced African kingdom took its place, the kingdom of Songhai.

http://www.uchicago.edu/docs/mp-site/plaisanceplan/graphics/berbers.jpg

The Berbers still live in North Africa. This picture, taken in 1893, shows a Berber group.

Mali Today

http://www.exzooberance.com

I. Songhai

• In 1468 Sunni Ali took back Timbuktu and drove out the Berbers.

• He swept throughout western Africa and took Berber salt mines.

• He declared himself Muslim to keep the support of the townspeople.

• By his death in 1492-he has built the largest empire in Western Africa.

A. Songhai and Askia Muhammad• Sunni Ali’s son refused to follow his father’s

example.• Sunni Ali’s general, Muhammad Ture, saw a

chance to take over the government.• With the support of the townspeople he drove out

Sunni Ali’s family and made himself leader- renamed Askia Muhammad.

• Built the largest empire in medieval West Africa.• Made Timbuktu an important center of Islamic

culture with a university and set up some 150 schools to teach the Quran.

B. The End of Songhai

• Lasted for 100 years-was conquered in 1591 by a small army from the Arab kingdom of Morocco crossed the Sahara.

• Soldiers with cannons and guns easily cut down Songhai soldiers armed with swords, spears, and bows.

http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Travelers/Catal_AtlasAfrica.jpg

This map was created in 1375. The same trade routes were used by the merchants of the Songhai kingdom. What kinds of pictures do you see on the map and why do you think the mapmaker put them there?

The picture above is one artist’s idea of what the great Songhai leader, Sunni Ali might have looked like. Sunni Ali saw that the kingdom of Mali was weakening and he led his soldiers to conquer the area. He began the kingdom of Songhai. He also set up a complex government to rule all the lands he had conquered.

http://www.abcorpaffairs.com/gallery/

All three kingdoms of West Africa relied on trade for their strength and wealth. Look at the map at complete the “In and Out of Africa” worksheet in your packet.

Timbuktu GaoJenne

Gold, Ivory, Wood, Slaves

Silk, Ceramics, Beads, Islam from Europe and Asia

Coming into West Africa

Coming from Africa and going to Europe and Asia

Salt

Click here to complete a scavenger hunt about western Africa. Use the

“Scavenger Hunt” worksheet in your packet.

http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/4_4tradekingdoms.html#

Sunni Ali died in 1492 CE. His son took over the rule of Songhai but he did not accept Islam as a religion. Islam was accepted as a religion by many people in northern Africa. One of Sunni Ali’s generals, named Muhammad Ture, overthrew the new king and made himself king of Songhai. Ture was a follower of Islam (Muslim) and so he made Islam the religion of his kingdom.

This is a photo of a mosque, or place of

worship for Muslims, in western Africa. Many mosques were built of

local materials.

http://www.thewoz.ca/ghana/_larabanga1.jpg

Songhai remained a rich and strong kingdom under Muhammad Ture’s rule. It had a complex government centered in the city of Gao, and great centers of learning. But later rulers were not as powerful. In the late 1500s, Morocco invaded Songhai to take its rich trade routes. Moroccans had a new weapon, the gun, and the army of Songhai did not. This led to the fall of Songhai.

(Photo courtesy of African Origin of Civilization by Cheikh Anta Diop)

For more detailed information on Songhai, click on the picture.

The Great ZimbabweGreat Zimbabwe is huge stone structure in the modern nation of

Zimbabwe. This 800 foot long structure has outer walls 32 feet

high and 17 feet think in some places. It was probably started

around 1200 C.E. IT is thought that the Great Zimbabwe was a

religious, governmental, and ceremonial center for the Bantu-

speaking Shona people: as many as 20,000 people lived around it.

The Portuguese were sure that it was built b y the Queen of Sheba.

Other people felt it was built by Egyptians, Greeks, or even aliens

from out space. What YOU think?

South African CivilizationsZimbabwe on the Zambezi (River)

•located on the grasslands between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers •1871- German explorer Karl Mauch found the remains of a powerful and prosperous civilization•city (10,000) wall of cement and stone 38 feet high•found ornaments of gold, copper, porcelain from China•wealth source- tax on cattle and gold trade•German Mauch- did not give credit to Africans- prejudice•historians recognize and give credit to Africans.

I. The Development of Slavery• Slavery already existed throughout the world including in

Africa.• Bantu chiefs would raid nearby villages and would take

captives which became laborers or were released for a fee.• Criminals and prisoners of war also became slaves.• Slaves in Africa could win their freedom through work or

by marrying a free person.

II. Slavery in Africa

• Muslims owned traded slaves-had to be non-Muslims.• Began in Europe in 1441 with the Portuguese.• Mostly used on Portuguese plantations because of their

farming skills and ability to make tools.• By late 1400’s other European countries began to enslave

Africans.