Sundiata - Vocabulary
animism The attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects,
and natural phenomena; the belief in a supernatural power that
organizes and animates the material universe (from Latin animus,
"soul, life").
balafon A kind of wooden xylophone or percussion idiophone which
plays melodic tunes and usually has between 16 to 27 keys which has
been played since the 1300s and originated in Mali according to the
Manding history narrated by the griots.
baobab tree In Africa, the baobab tree is also called the tree
of life. It can provide shelter, clothing, food, and water for the
animal and human inhabitants of the African savannah regions. The
cork-like bark and huge stem are fire resistant and are used for
making cloth and rope. The leaves are used as condiments and
medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is edible, and full of
vitamin C. The tree can store hundreds of litres of water, which is
an adaptation to the harsh drought conditions of its environment.
The tree may be tapped in dry periods. The trees reach heights of
98 feet and trunk diameters of 36 feet. Its trunk can hold up to
120,000 litres of water.
calabash The bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, is a vine grown
for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a
vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle,
utensil, or pipe. They come in a variety of shapes: they can be
huge and rounded, small and bottle shaped, or slim and serpentine,
more than a metre long. The gourd was one of the first cultivated
plants in the world, grown not primarily for food, but for use as a
water container.
divination The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or
the unknown by supernatural means (from Latin divinare "to foresee,
to be inspired by a god", related to divine) is the attempt to gain
insight by way of occult technology, process, or ritual; through
alleged contact with a supernatural force; or by reading signs,
events, or omens.
Sundiata - Vocabulary
fetish An object (such as a small stone or wood carving of an
animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner;
broadly, a material object regarded with superstitious or
extravagant trust or reverence (or s a dwelling-place for
supernatural forces or gods); also, an object of irrational
reverence or obsessive devotion.
Jinn Supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology (also djinn, or
genie; from Arabic al-jinn). They are mentioned frequently in the
Quran and other Islamic texts and inhabit an unseen world in
dimensions beyond the visible universe of humans. The Quran says
that the jinn are made of a smokeless and scorching fire, but are
also physical in nature, being able to interact physically with
people and objects, and can be good or evil.
! taboo A social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding
discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with
a particular person, place, or thing.
totem A being, object, or symbol representing an animal or plant
that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family,
clan, group, lineage, or tribe, reminding them of their ancestry
(or mythic past). In kinship and descent, if the original ancestor
of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem. Normally this belief
is accompanied by a totemic myth.
