West Africa: Quick Notes

Decision-making in traditional families

  • Decision-making: head of the family sits in council; one family, one vote.
  • More democratic than many systems, though with internal contradictions.
  • If someone is killed, the most likely offender is a spouse or other family member.

Social hierarchy and power

  • Gerontocracy: rule of the old; wisdom from experience (not just intelligence).
  • Wisdom vs intelligence: wisdom comes from experience; intelligence is innate; wise ≈ intelligent.
  • Patriarchy: male domination.

Age-grade system and communal socialization

  • Age grade groups: children born within a 33-year window raised together as a cohort.
  • Purpose: crosscut the domination of the family; emphasize social relations over blood.
  • Communal upbringing emphasizes social ties over blood ties.

Life expectancy and historical context

  • Life expectancy historically around 30−35 years30-35\text{ years}.

Mali Empire constitution and early human rights

  • The Mali Empire drafted a constitution in December after conflict; seen as progressive and among the first human-rights documents.

Slavery in Africa and economic context

  • African societies practiced slavery but were not slave societies; enslaved people did not drive the entire economy.
  • In 1860, of US exports, 75%75\% were produced by enslaved people.

Collective survival and ethics

  • Collectivist survival ethic: if one member survives, the group survives; survival is tied to the group.

Beliefs: ancestors and deities

  • Common belief in gods governing aspects of life and in communicating with ancestors for intercession.

Social organization: tributary vs communalist

  • Tributary systems → kingdoms and empires; communalist systems → noncentralized societies.

Women’s rights

  • African women have relatively greater rights within societal constitutions; many rights are oral and embedded in social relations.

West Africa geography and focus

  • West Africa spans a Savannah belt roughly 3,500 miles3{,}500\text{ miles} across, south of the Sahara and between the rainforests; focus on three West African societies.