CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

Section 4 – Historical and Artistic Traditions - Page 396 - 399 

Oral history griots proverbs kente

VOCABULARY:

Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the

growth of societies in West Africa.

BIG IDEAAlthough the

people of West Africa did not have a written language, their

culture has been passed down through oral

history, writings by other people,

and the arts.

PRESERVING HISTORY

Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the

growth of societies in West Africa.

MAIN IDEAWest Africans

have preserved

their history through story

telling and the written accounts of

visitors.

West Africans

have preserved their history through

story telling

and the written account

s of visitors.

Writing was never very common in West Africa.

In fact, none of the major

early civilizations

of West Africa

developed a written

language.

Arabic was the only written language they used.

The lack of a native written language does not mean that the people of West Africa didn’t know

their history, though. They passed along information through oral

histories.

A spoken record of past events

ORAL HISTORY

The task of remembering and telling West African’s history was

entrusted to storytellers.

THE GRIOTS

GRIOT

The storytellers of

early West Africa were

called a griot.

http://www.listenall.com/dembo_jobarteh.html

They were highly respected in their communities because the people of West Africa were very interested in

the deeds of

their

ancestors.

Griots helped keep this history alive for each new generation.

Griots’ stories were both entertaining and informative.

They told of important past events and

of the

accomplishments

of distant ancestors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YueSWLem0Nc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_2EV5FReE&feature=related

EX: some stories explained the rise and fall of West African empires. Other

stories describe the actions of powerful kings and warriors. Some Griots made their stories more lively by acting out

the events like scenes in a play.-

In addition to stories, the griots recited PROVERBS – short sayings of

wisdom or truth. They used proverbs to teach lessons to the

people. To stay a long time in

the water does not make you clean.

http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/African.html

Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped

You must judge a man by the work of his

hands.

EX: Talking doesn’t fill the basket in the farm – people must work to accomplish things. It

is not enough for people just to talk

about what they want to do.

In order to tell their stories and proverbs, the griots memorized

hundreds of names and events. Through this memorization process, the griots passed on West African history from

generation to generation.

However, some griots confused names and event in their heads. When this happened, the facts of some historical events became

distorted.

Some griots’ stories tell us a

great deal

about life in

the West African

empires.

WEST AFRICAN

EPICS

Some of the griot

poems are epics – long

poems about

kingdoms and

heroes.

Many of these epic poems are collected in the Dausi and

the Sundiata.

The Dausi tell the history of

Ghana.

Intertwined with

historical events,

though, are myths and legends.

One story is about a seven-headed snake god named Bida. This god

promised that Ghana would prosper if the people sacrificed

a young woman to him every year. One year a mighty warrior killed Bida. As the god died, he cursed Ghana.

The griots say that this curse caused the empire of Ghana to fall.

Sundiata, another of the epic poems, is about Mali’s great Ruler. According to the epic, when Sundiata was still a boy, a conqueror

captured Mali and killed

Sundiata’s father and

11 brothers.

He didn’t kill Sundiata, however,

because the boy was sick and didn’t seem like a

threat.

However, when Sundiata grew up, he became

an expert warrior.

Eventually, he over threw the conqueror and became king.

VISITORS’ WRITTEN

ACCOUNTS

In addition to the oral histories told about West Africa, visitors wrote

about the region.

In fact, much of what we know about early West Africa comes from the writings of travelers and scholars from Muslim lands such as Spain and

Arabia.

Ibn Battutah was the

most famous Muslim

visitor to write about West

Africa.

From 1353 – 1354, he traveled

through the region.

Ibn Battutah’s account of

this journey describes the political and cultural lives

of West Africans in

great detail. 

Why were oral

traditions important in West Africa? (DRAWING

CONCLUSIONS)

A. What is oral history? (DEFINE)

B. Why were griots and their stories important in West African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS)

C. Why may an oral history provide different information than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE)

D. What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? (RECALL)

E. Name two West African epic poems and the subject of each? (IDENTIFY)

Can you also answer these questions?

F. Why do you think griots were so valued in West African society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS)

G. How do you know the history of early West Africa if the people of West Africa left no written histories? (EXPLAIN)

H. What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY)

Can you also answer these questions?

ART, MUSIC, and

DANCE

Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the

growth of societies in West Africa.

MAIN IDEAThrough art, music, and

dance, West African have

expressed their creativity and

kept alive their cultural

traditions.

Like most peoples, West African valued the arts. They expressed themselves creatively

through sculpture, mask-making, cloth making, music, and dance.

SCULPTURE

Of all the visual art forms, the sculpture of

West Africa is probably the best known. West African made ornate statues and

carving out of wood, brass, clay, ivory, stone, and

other materials.

Most statues from West

Africa are of people – often the sculptor’s

ancestors. Usually these statues were

made for religious rituals - to ask for the

ancestors’ blessings.

Sculptors made other

statues as gifts for the gods.

These sculptures were kept in holy places. They were never meant to be seen by people.

Because their statues were

used in religious

rituals, many African artists were deeply respected.

People thought

artists had been blessed by the gods.

Long after the decline of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai,

West African art is still admired. Museums around the

world display African art

In addition, African sculpture inspired some European artists

of the 1900s including Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

MASKS AND CLOTHING

In addition to statues, the artists of West Africa carved

elaborate masks.

Made of wood, these masks bore the faces of animals such as hyenas, lions, monkeys, and antelopes. Artists often painted the masks after carving them.

People wore the masks during rituals as they danced around

fires.

The way firelight reflected off the masks made them look

fierce and lifelike.

Many African societies were famous for the

clothe they wove. The most famous of these clothes is called kente (ken-

TAY).

KENTE

A hand-woven, brightly colored West African fabric. The cloth was woven in narrow strips that were then sewn

together. Kings and queens in West Africa wore garments made of kente for special occasions.

MUSIC AND DANCE

In many West African societies, music and dance were as

important as the visual arts.

Singing, drumming, and dancing were

great entertainment, but they also

helped people honor their

history and mark special

occasions

For example, music was

played when a ruler

entered a room.

Dance has long been a central part of African society. Many West African cultures used dance to celebrate specific events or ceremonies.

For example, they may have performed one

dance for weddings

and another

for funerals

In some parts of West Africa, people still perform dances similar to those performed

hundreds of years ago.

How traditions

were preserved

in West Africa?

(COMPARING)

F. Why were singing and dancing so important in West Africa? (ANALYZE)

A. What were two forms of visual art popular in West Africa? (IDENTIFY)

B. Why do you think that the sculptures made as gifts for the gods were not meant to be seen by people? (MAKE INFERENCES)

C. What role did music and dance play in West African society? (ELABORATE)

D. What is the best known visual art form of West African? (IDENTIFY)

E. How were masks used in West African culture? (RECALL)

Can you also answer these questions?

Summarize –

How were historical

and artistic traditions

preserved in West Africa?

"Early African Civilizations." World History. : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing

Company, 2012. . Print.

Content for this presentation was gotten from:

BIG IDEA

Part I

Between 1000 and 1500, three great kingdoms – Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe – developed in Africa.

*MAIN IDEAWho were the Songhai?

The Songhai were a new Islamic empire in West Africa. They conquered many of the lands that were once part of Mali. Had the same trade routes/ partners as Ghana and MaliWho was Sunni Ali? Ruler of the Songhai – worked to unify, strengthen, grow his empire by having everybody work together.What religion was Sunni

Aliand why?

He participated in both Muslim and local religions to bring stability to the Songhai.

What happened when Sunni Ali died and why?

His son, Sunni Baru, wasn’t a Muslim, the people of Songhai were worried about losing trade partners and rebelled.

BIG IDEA

Part II

Leader of the rebellion against Sunni Baru, chose the title ASKIA, a title of high military rank – being known as ASKIA the Great. Supported education (University of Sankore and city of Djenne’)

Between 1000 and 1500, three great kingdoms – Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe – developed in Africa.

What was Muhammad Ture know as and for?

What was happening to religion at this period of history?

Most traders were Muslim, as trade grew so did the religion of Islam. Askia was a devote Muslim, which influenced growth of Islam. Made laws similar to other Muslim nations.

What other things did Askia do to maintain order?

He set up five provinces. He removed local leaders and appointed governors loyal to him. Created a professional army and specialized departments for specific tasks.

BIG IDEA

Part III

Between 1000 and 1500, three great kingdoms – Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe – developed in Africa.

Who wanted to gain control of the salt mines?

Morocco – a rival from the North

What year did they begin heading to Songhai to invade?

1591

What is an arquebus? What advantage did it offer?

An early form of a gun. With the use of this technology, the Moroccan’s were superior to the Songhai ,who only had their swords, spears, and bows.What brought about the

downfall of the Songhai?Destruction of Timbuktu and Gao. Changing trade pattern routes away from land and to port cities. Preference to trading at ports versus with Muslim traders.