Bantu: organized by clan villages with leaders, moved a lot throughout southern Africa, FROM RAINFOREST MIGRATED TO GRASSLAND

• Bantu influenced over 700 languages

• Moved, settled, took over, and integrated into many other societies

• Made canoes to sail up and down rivers

• Provided pottery and stone axes for meat, honey, etc

• Extended cultivation of yams, grains, sheep, and cattle into east and south Africa

• Believed that divine force can take form of individual spirits; divine force responsible for rewards and punishments in humans 

• Bananas from Madagascar - increased supply of food available to Bantu, enriching their diets, able to expand more rapidly

Iron metallurgy: produce iron weapons and tools ex. hoes which allowed them to clear land + expand agriculture (bantu)

Kin-based societies/kinship groups: extensive family related based societies without an elaborate hierarchy system of governing officials

• Took responsibility for policing their members and discipling those who fell short of proper moral behavior

• Kingdoms such as Ife, Kongo, and Benin emerged after kin-based societies decline

• Divided people into age grades

Ife and Benin: put human faces and figures on sculptures

Kongo: active in trade networks of copper, raffia, cloth, and shells. Highly organized - king and officials 

Jenne-jeno: center of iron production and trade as well as manufactured textiles, principal commercial crossroads of west Africa

Islamic slave trade: high demand for slaves so large states made war on smaller states and kin-based societies to get captives to use as slaves

• Slave owning was a symbol of social status due to little available ownership of land

• Most slaves were captives of war, some were debtors and criminals 

Diviners: individuals with innate abilities to mediate between humans and supernatural beings, usually men but some were women

• Ex. when affected by illness, crop failure, disaster, etc. consulted diviners to learn cause of their misfortune

• Diviners consulted oracles to identify cause of trouble, prescribe medicine, rituals, or sacrifices to eliminate the problem

• African religion were concerned with explaining, predicting, and controlling the experiences of individuals and groups in the world – emphasized morality and proper behavior as essence of an orderly world

Trans-Saharan Trade: 

• Camels introduced from Arabia + camel saddle -> camels could travel long distances w/o water, a necessity for arid regions, replaced horses and donkeys

• Islamic merchants looked for gold and established trading centers such as Gao

Ghana: provided gold, ivory, slaves for horses, cloth, and salt (super important!!) 

• Tax: The king of Ghana charged a tax on all people entering and leaving Ghana. The tax was paid in salt, iron, peacock, etc… In exchange, Ghana warriors would keep routes protected and open

• System of Silent Barter: Rather than meet and argue a price, gold would be left at a price for the traders to take. If ample goods WEREN’T left in exchange for the gold, trade stopped. Other traders would leave more just to keep the trade flowing. Many Ghana traders didn’t speak the language of new traders. 

• A second city: The king didn’t want traders to enter his city in an uncontrolled manner. To protect his people, he built a second city – reserved for Muslim traders, merchants, and foreigners. This city had many mosques. It allowed people of Ghana to continue worship in a familiar way. 

• Fell to Mali Empire

Koumbi-Saleh: capital of Ghana, commercial centers with a lot of mosques. City’s health supported qadis and muslim scholars.

Mali Empire

• Mali kings converted to Islam and provided protection for Muslim merchants

Sundiata: built the Mali Empire

• Controlled and taxes almost all trade passing through West Africa 

Niani: capital of Mali, attracted merchants seeking to enter gold trade

Timbuktu: market city on caravan routes, prosperous center featuring buildings of brick and stone

Mansa Musa: ruler during Mali’s highpoint

• Made pilgrimage to Mecca. Bestowed lavish gifts on his way and made gold temporarily decline

• Inspired from his pilgrimage to mecca to build more mosques

Griots: professional African singers and storytellers

• Responsible for many oral traditions such as Sundiata

Indian Ocean Trade Routes:

Swahili: coasters, those who engaged in trade along the east African coast, spoke Swahili

• Started from bantu migration and merging; eventually settled on coasts and offshore islands 

• Supplemented Bantu’s agricultural production with ocean fishing and maritime trade

• Traded for gold, slaves, ivory, shells, etc; gave pottery, glass, and textiles from Muslim merchants 

Swahili City-States: kings who supervised trade and organized public life in the reign 

• Made buildings of coral and stone

• Ruling elites dressed in silk and fine cotton and had porcelain (from China)

Kilwa: busiest city-states on the East African coast, inhabitants relies on fishing and imported pottery and stoneware

• Erected stone buildings nad used copper coins 

• Ibn Battuta reported that Muslim scholars from Arabia and Persia lived at Kilwa and consulted regularly with local ruler

• Imported cotton, silk, pearls, and porcelain and gave gold, slaves, and ivory

Zimbabwe: meaning dwelling of a chief

Great Zimbabwe: magnificent stone complex, city of stone towers, palaces, and public buildings that serves as capital 

• Kings in GZ, controlled and taxed trade between interior and coastal regions

• Organized flow of gold, ivory, slaves, and regional products

• Because of control, forged alliances with local leaders and to profit a lot 

Al-Bakri: Spanish Muslim traveler that described Koumbi-Saleh

Ethiopia’s Solomonic Dynasty: rulers claimed descent from Israelite Kings David and Solomon

Kebra Nagast: fiction work that traced the lineage

ROLE OF WOMEN

• Women served as potters – received prestige for this job

• Planting and harvesting of crops, domestic chores, and child rearing

• Some women were aristocrats

• Merchants 

• Some were even in all-women military units 

ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY

• Soon reached Egypt and north africa. 

Alexandria: one of most prominent centers of early Christian thought 

Axum: Christinaity established a foothold, converted through merchants + missionaries

• Kings also converted

• After fall, Ethiopia promoted Christianity

• Kings ordered a carving of 11 churches out of stone -> rock shines prominent feature in Ethiopian religion

Kebra Nagast: fictional work “The glory of the kings”

Ethiopian Christianity

• Had little contact with Christins in other lands for a long time

• Reflected interests of African devotees

• Believed a large host of evil spirits populated the world

SUNDIATA - many parallels to Islam!

• Righteous one like Muhammed -> able to win many battles even when tide was against him

• Exiled like Muhammed

• Took refuge in a new city (like muhammed!)

• Breaks down Soumaro’s palace like Muhammed broke down the idols

• Embraces the people he defeated like Muhammed (after conquering Mecca)