Ghana/Mali Study Guide

kinship ties

• societies’ main organizing principle

• the connection among people by blood, marriage, adoption, etc.

family/clan/tribe

• clan - kinship group with common ances.

• tribe - group of clans with common ances.

causal chain for development of cities

better farm tools: more land can be cleared + cultivated more efficiently

—> food surplus

—> people can specialize in a trade

—> village trade food/specialized goods for others

—> successful villages become cities

roles of Ghana’s king (3)

• head of the army

• final decision maker in matters of justice

• religious leader

structure of Ghana’s army (3)

• regular army: kept borders secure, maintained peace throughout empire

• reserve forces: every man in the empire was required to have military training for this

• bodyguards, escorts, advisors

sources of Ghanaian king’s wealth

• tax collection

• all gold nuggets must be given to the king*

*people could keep gold dust

matrilineal descent (succession)

• succession is based on women’s bloodlines

- while this occurred, women in W. Afr. had more power than in most other civilizations at the time

patrilineal descent

• succession is based on the bloodlines of men

causes for growth of trans-Saharan trade

• taxes - traders paid large taxes when passing through Ghana

• location - Ghana was located between 2 places that wanted to trade

reason’s for salt’s value

• salt is an essential part of our bodies

• people in hot climates (such as W. Afr.) sweat a lot and lose salt

• therefore, salt was valuable because people craved salt

silent barter

• a trading system used in ancient Africa

- salt was in the Sahara, gold mines were in Wangara

• benefits

- people who spoke different languages could trade

- Wangarans could conceal the location of their gold mines

slave trade

• free men could not be enslaved + those faithful to foreign religious could live as protected people (dhimmis) if they paid a special tax

- sources of slaves: conquest, tributes, purchase, raiding (mostly during Ottoman Empire)

- dir. of travel: Sahara —> Morocco + Tunisia, Chad —> Libya, Nile —> East Afr., coast of East Afr. —> Persian Gulf

myth of King Sundiata

• Sundiata was forced out of Mali as a child & a hunter predicts his return

key differences between Ghana & Mali

• Mali has access to coast + borders & more gold mines

• large, full time army (protected trade)

• relocated capital = less vulnerability to invaders + more land

• Sundiata’s successor was first to make haij to Mecca

• opened direct trade campaigns

griots

• a poet-musician who performs music & tells stories to entertain people

- griots also taught people about historical events + genealogies

federation

• a union of self-gov. regions which are joined together under a central gov.

- Sundiata org. Mali as a federation

dictatorship

• a form of gov. in which a singular leader holds power

- ex. North Korea, Kim Jong Yun

relationship between Mali’s emperor & smaller kingdoms/tribes

• Mali’s emperor (Sundiata) united several smaller tribes [federation]

changes caused by Islam’s rise in Mali

• Africans kept their own culture & adapted to Islam

- many W. Afrs. learned Arabic (to study the Quran)

- began praying to God in Arabic, built temples…but also worshipped their ances.

role of Mali’s army

large, full-time army protected trade

Mansa Musa

devout Muslim, wealthiest man in the world, first Afr. to make haij to Mecca

impact’s of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage in 1324

rest of world thought Afr. was a land of gold, land of wealthy kings, and more connected to rest of world than originally thought

West African oral traditions

• for centuries, the beliefs, values, & knowledge of W. Afr. were passed down orally

- griots played a big part in this

Sahel

zone of semi-desert w/ short grasses, small bushes & some trees that was located between the Sahara and south

reasons for collapse of ancient Ghana (4)

• started declining in 300 BCE due to Almoravid invasions

• drought (CLIMATE CHANGE) —> population growth

• new trade routes opened (less usage of Ghana trade route)

• growing Mali empire

• Sundaita’s army + raids

Al Bakri

a 10th century geographer who wrote much of what we now about W. Afr. history

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim, traveled around the known world + wrote much of what we know about Mali