Transcript Sudanic West Africa

African Societies
Life on the Margins of Islam
Diverse Land:
•10s of geographies
•100s of tribes
•100s of languages
→political unity rare
Sahara
Sudan / Sahel
~the savanna coastline~
Congo
Rainforest
Bantu Migration
 Sedentary
tribal
group
 Experience
population pressure
→ Migration
Bantu
Spreading:
Agriculture
Language
Ethiopia
Bantu Impact
 Proliferation
of agriculture →
States
arise
 Population booms
 Political organization → more complex
 Iron technology increasingly useful
 Long distance trade becomes possible
Stateless societies pushed to periphery
 Increased
interaction among cultures
States Form in 3 Regions
Ethiopia
Sudan
C. African
Forests
Swahili
Coast
(E. Africa)
…but along came Islam
Islamic
North
Africa
Ethiopia
Sudan
(West Africa)
C. African
Forests
Swahili
Coast
(E. Africa)
Traditional Society
 Kinship
= central to social & political life
Stateless:
societies with government
based on family & community not taxes &
centrality
 Animism
= religion of many natural
spirits w/ rituals for ancestors & land
 Women enjoy freedoms
Clearly
defined roles but economic
contributors, source of lineage, free to
socialize
Early States
Influenced by location
on periphery of
Mediterranean
Agriculture &
Christianity in:
Nubia
 Ethiopia

Ethiopia
Sudanic West Africa
 Home
of: Ghana, Mali, Songhay Empires
 Strategically
located to
profit from trade
 Islamic
empire =
dawn of new
international trade
 Muslims introduce
camel → trans-Saharan
trade easier
Sudanic West Africa
 Empires:
Territorial
core
w/ subordinate tributaries
 Highly
bureaucratic political
administration
 Emphasized justice & crime punishment
 Trading states
80%
of population = farmers
Gold (goes North) for salt, horses, cloth,
manufactured goods
Sudanic West Africa - Mali
 Sundiata
Founder
 Mansa
Musa
Famous
hajj brought attention of Islamic
world to Mali
Social & Political Blending
 Islam
↔ slow conversions
Foothold
mainly w/ ruler, elites, merchants
 Rulers = Muslim (probably for alliances)
but provide leadership of animistic rituals
 Sharia:
common laws & expectations for
merchants
does not apply to women
 Tradition
of slavery expands under
Muslim trade networks
Swahili East Coast
 Home
of: Mogadishu, Kilwa, Sofala
 Strategically
to Arabia
located to
profit from trade
 Islamic
empire
to S Asia intensifies Indian Ocean
trade
to SE Asia  Monsoons provide
seasonal transportation
route
Swahili East Coast
 City-states
trading goods from central
Africa to Arabs, Indians, Malay
Port
cities cosmopolitan, but unified by
Swahili
Ivory, gold, iron, slaves to coast for silks &
porcelain
 Highly
urbanized, wealthy, luxurious
 Kilwa
“One
of the most beautiful & wellconstructed towns in the world”
Central Africa
 Home
of: Benin, Kongo, Zimbabwe
 Strategically
located
to profit from trade
 Source
of goods
traded in East &
West Africa
 No direct contact
with Muslims
C. African
Forests
Central Africa
 Kongo
Agricultural
with highly divided gender
roles
Extremely well-organized government
 Zimbabwe
Complex
stone structures