North and Central African Societies Chapter 15 Section 1

Warm up Describe where the kingdom of Aksum was located. How did its location benefit it’s development? Who was King Ezana? What was he famous for doing? What was the Kingdom of Aksum’s longest lasting accomplishment?

Forrest Dwellers The Efe are a group of hunter-gatherers in the Democratic-Republic of Congo. Modern day Efes live in small groups of between 10 and 100 members who are all related. They do not have permanent homes and live a nomadic lifestyle. The Efe trade honey, wild game, and other products for crops grown by farmers in a nearby village.

Social Structure A respected older male serves as group leader. He does not give orders or act as a chief. Each family within the band makes its own decisions and is free to come and go as they please. Group members settle arguments with long discussions, as daily life for the Efe is not governed by formal written laws.

Answer: How do you think our society would work if we solved all our problems with discussions? In this scenario, there are no written laws. Could every disagreement be settled?

Stateless societies The family is central to organization in central Africa. Members of a lineage believe they are descendants of a common ancestor. Within a lineage, members feel strong loyalty towards each other. South of the Sahara, many African groups developed systems of government based on lineage.

In some African societies, lineage groups took the place of rulers and formed stateless societies – there was no centralized system of power. Authority was balanced among lineages of equal power so that no one family had too much control. If a dispute arose, respected elders from different lineages settled the problem.

Tracing family descent Family lineage determines how possessions and property are passed on. Patrilineal societies trace their ancestors through their fathers. Inheritance passes from father to son. Matrilineal societies trace their ancestors through their mothers. Inheritance passes through their mother’s name.

Muslim states Islam played a vital role in North Africa. Muslims swept across the northwest part of the continent and spread their Islamic Empire. They converted many to Islam. Sometimes by the sword, other times peacefully.

By 670 C.E. Muslims ruled Egypt and had entered the Maghrib – the Mediterranean coast. As Islam spread, some African rulers converted to Islam and based their government upon Islamic law. Muslims believe that God’s law is a higher authority than any human law. Therefore, religious scholars often served as government advisers.

Islamic law In Islam, Muslims do not separate their personal life from their religious life and Islamic law regulates almost all areas of human life. Islamic law helped bring order to Muslim states. Various states often had ethnic and cultural differences, as well as different interpretations of Islamic law.