1. Traditional Life in Africa

2. Family Ties ► Family loyalty was a bond that held society together ► Hunting bands consisted of a few nuclear families ► More likely to live in extended families that shared a common living area ► Eldest male led the family

3. ► What does patriarchal mean?

4. Patterns of Government ► Most people lived in small villages ► Some smaller villages were linked to larger ones ► Village leaders often affected daily lives of the people

5. ► Decisions solved through public discussion ► Elders of village had affect on final decision ► Consensus – common agreement ► New boundary set, people would plant trees to mark it

6. Economic Organization ► Most farmers or herders ► Farming common in river valleys and savanna ► Subsistence farmers ► Herding in dryer areas, ex. Masai

7. ► What is subsistence farming?

8. Lives of Women ► Respected because bore children ► Men could marry more than one woman (polygamy) ► Women did the planting, weeding, and harvesting ► Women were leaders in some cultures

9. ► Bride Wealth was a gift the man was expected to give the bride’s family showing a woman’s importance

10. ► How are some African cultures different than any of the other cultures we have studied this year?

11. Inheritance and Descent ► Both matrilineal & patrilineal cultures ► Different cultures inherited property from different members of the family (ex. Ashanti boys inherit from uncle) ► Some children would take uncle’s name ► Father responsible for sister’s children

12. The Age-Grade System ► Learned at a young age ► young people pass different stages of life with other members of their age group ► Included all boys or girls born in the same year ► Together took part in special ceremonies that marked stages of life

13. Old Ways of Learning Together ► Elders of a community started off as teachers ► Age-grade system most important ► Muslim boys attended Koranic schools where they learned to read and write Arabic

14. Traditional Beliefs, Diviners & Healers ► Most African religions were monotheistic ► Many believed their ancestors would help or harm them ► Believed in a supreme being

15. ► Diviners served as interpreters between people & divine world; their purpose was to explain causes of misfortune ► Animism is the belief that spirits lived in the animal world

16. Christianity, Judaism, & Islam ► Judaism & Christianity spread through northern Africa ► African Christians formed their own churches, blending in their own culture & beliefs ► Islam spread into Africa as early as 800 C.E.

17. ► What social studies concepts is the spreading of religion an example of?