West Africa - African American History (copy)

(Nok, Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Forest Regions, Kingdom of Benin, Kongo and Angola, Society/Culture, Class, Religion, Art/Music)

Topography

(north) Sahara, Sahel, Savannah, Forests (south)

What happened during this time period 1,000 BCE to 200 CE

Animals were domesticated and grains were grown by the people in Savannah’s - sorghum, rice, millet

Nok culture

Existed from 900 BCE to 200 BCE in Nigeria. Disappeared mysteriously.

Terra-cotta statues

Still a mystery, statues have large eyes and elongated heads. They showed facial paralysis and elephantiasis, with human proportions. What do the statues represent, people of high statues or protective talismans against disease?

Iron objects and weapons

Started forging in 500 BC. Metal objects were used for trade and increased status of an individual. These objects were desired mainly because of their beauty.

Legal System of the Nok

Courts of differing levels, lower courts = family issues, higher courts = murder and theft. Crime brought curse on the family.

Culture of Ghana

First of the three Great West African empires, rulers were known for their wealth in Europe, the capital was Kumbi-Saleh

What value did gold equal

Salt

Slaves were from

War captives

Which part of Kumbi-Saleh was traditional and which one was muslim.

Indigenous - Muslim

When was writing introduced and by who

Arab traders in 900 A.D.

What led to Ghana’s collapse

Warfare

Who took over Ghana in the first loss

The Almorvids

Who was Ghana recaptured by after the first loss

The Soninke

Who took over Ghana in the second loss

The Sosso

What happened that was detrimental during the final loss of Ghana

The capital was destroyed.

What does the word Ghana mean

King

After the fall of Ghana the Sosso was defeated by

The Mandinka

Who was the first ruler of Mali

Sundiata

What does the word Mali mean

Where the emperor lives

What religion was Sundiata and religion did Mali follow

Muslim, and Islamic on the surface

What was a major city in Mali

Timbuktu

Mali had many learning buildings such as

Schools, libraries, and book dealers

Who is the most famous king from Mali

Mansa Musa

What famous things did Mansa Musa do

He haji to Mecca, and destabilized economies by giving out too much gold to anyone who greeted him along his haji.

What does Haji mean

Pilgrimage

What did the Mali empire fall too

The Songhai people

What great West African empire was Songhai

It was the last one and the largest

Who was the first ruler of Songhai

Sunni Ali

How did Sunni Ali die

He died by drowning

Who was Sunni Ali succeeded by

Askia Muhammad Toure

What religion did Asia Muhammad Toure spread through his empire

Islam, although it was more practiced in the cities not so much as the traditional rural areas.

What center of learning was the most important

The Sankore Mosque it was also internationally known.

Under what ruler did Songhai reach its peak

Askia Daoud

What changes in world affairs occurred during Songhai

Columbus sails to the new world, and the Portuguese establish trading routes along the coast of West Africa

Why did Songhai fall

Warfare with Morocco, since they had firearms aka. a better technological advantage.

When did people know that Songhai was defeated

When the capital of Gao fell

What does the forest region extend along and for how many miles

It extends along the West African coast for 2,000 miles

How many different cultures are in this region

Around 3, composed of the Senegambia, The Akan States, and the Kingdom of Benin.

What culture is Senegambia

Many people shared culture but were not united

What culture are the Akan States

They traded gold for guns this is how the Ashanti become powerful in this manner, slaves were traded with European.

Oba

King, or divine status

Benin shared cultural ties with which group of people

The Yoruba

What is the capital of Benin

Benin City

Important facts about Benin City to European visitors

The city was sophisticated, and there were no beggars on the streets

What did Benin trade for

Guns and gunpowder - Later on war captives were traded then as the kingdom began to fall their own people were also traded

Where were Igboland societies located in regard to Benin

To the east

What were Igboland societies like

They where stateless and elders provided guidance or leadership

Where was Angola located

In Central Africa

What was part of Angola culture

Villagers were composed of extended families, and rulers were semi divine

Mani Kongo means

King

Which country did the Kongo try to have open and fair relations with

The Portuguese

Why did the relations with the Portuguese not last

Corruption and unfair rules were created that favored the Portuguese over the Kongo. Soon enough the people in the Kongo were also traded as slaves

Matrilineal

Rank and status passes along the female line

Patrilineal

Rank and status passes along the male line

Nuclear Family

Husband, wife and children

Polygamous

Husband, wives, and children

Extended Family

Cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Women were known as the property of men but also had rights such as

Owning property, serve in government positions, and could control the wealth of a family

Women in West Africa had more freedoms than

Women in European or Arab nations

What was special about Islamic women in West Africa

They did not veil themselves, and they had friendships with men other than their husbands.

Secret socities did what for boys and girls

They initiated them into adulthood, Poro - Boys, Sande - Girls

Who were the slaves in West Africa

War captives, that could gain their freedom through assimilation that could occur after a few years or 2 generations, so slavery wasn’t permanent.

What were the two types of religion

Islam and indigenous or traditional

What did the Indigenous religion believe in

They were animistic, polytheistic, believed there was a creator god above all, and ancestor spirits could influence everyday life. People also held ceremonies for their ancestors.

Animistic means

Belief in spirits

What worship linked the living and the dead

Ancestor Worship

How was art related to religion

Fetishes were created for ceremonies, they could represent spirits or creatures. Dancing was performed at religious ceremonies.

What were the instruments used for the ceremonies

Drums, xylophone, and ubensa

What was part of the oral tradition

Literature

What are griots

They are storytellers who traveled place to place telling tales

What was passed down generation to generation

Literature