1. African Societies

2. African Cultural Characteristics Certain common features – Show an underlying cultural unity – Some scholars have called “Africanity” One common cultural feature – Concept of kingship Kings ritually isolated People arranged in age groups and kinship divisions – Cultivation with the hoe and digging stick – Use of rhythm in music – Functions of dancing and mask wearing in rituals Hypothesis offered to explain this cultural unity – Sub-Saharan Africans descended from people who lived in southern Sahara during “wet period” – Migrated south where cultural traditions developed

3. Sub-Saharan Africa: A Challenging Geography Large area with many different environmental zones and many geographical obstacles to movement – Sahara Desert—North Africa World's largest desert – Maghreb—northwest Africa Coastlands and Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia – Sahel—belt of grasslands south of Sahara – Sudan—just below the Sahel – Guinea—rainforests Along Atlantic coast from Guinea to Nigeria – Congo—rainforest region of Congo River Basin – Great Lakes—series of five lakes – Southern Africa

5. Advent of Iron and Bantu Migrations Bantu migrations Linguistic evidence Spread of iron and other technology in sub- Saharan Africa Original homeland of Bantu was area on the border of modern Nigeria and Cameroon Spread out toward east and south through series of migrations in first millennium CE Introduce cattle, iron, slash-burn agriculture By 8 th century, Bantu-speaking people reached East Africa

6. Advent of Iron and Bantu Migrations Sub-Saharan agriculture Origins north of equator Spread southward Iron-working also began north of equator and spread southward Reached southern Africa by 800 c.e.

7. Push Factors population increases environmental stress- resources of support have diminished or become inadequate Climate changes- expanding Sahara Finding a better place to live

8. Pull Factors Lower temperatures Greater supplies and materials Smaller communities with less competition for goods and land

9. Waves of Migration One wave moved through east Africa One wave moved through the center of the continent Possible 3 rd wave- Bantu ancestors of the modern Swahili mastered sailing technology and made canoes and boats that travel the Zambezi river Slow but steady- people are not speeding across the landscape, they are moving slowly, gradually inhabiting areas that were good for farming and raising livestock

10. Bantu Migrations

11. Bantu Migration Rather than arriving all at once like conquerors, the migrations were sporadic with small groups of people moving from one point to another. It is not clear how the Bantu reacted when they came upon existing communities but it is likely that new groups merged with existing groups. Both groups took on parts of each other’s cultures and practices. The Bantu were armed with superior weapons and their iron tools allowed them to plant crops and clear forests efficiently. Historians believe there was social interaction, intermarrying and trade between Bantu communities.

12. Bantu Migration Bantu groups brought their ideas about government: – Styles of leadership- chieftaincy – Organizing campaigns for battles – Kinds of advanced religions- multiple gods

13. Evidence Languages Languages spoken in some parts of eastern, central and southern Africa show similarities with languages originally spoken in West Africa. Pottery Similar pottery technology and decoration in eastern, southern and western Africa. Iron There is little or no evidence of iron tools in eastern and southern Africa before the arrival of the Bantu suggesting that new technology was spread by the migrants.

14. Iron Tools

15. Early East Africa Axum-Ethiopia – Semitic Sabaeans settle along Ethiopian coasts, highlands – Civilization arose in Axum: records, coinage, monuments – Great power mentioned in Greek, Roman, Persian records – Controlled Bab-el Mandeb straits – 3rd Century Christianity – In decline after rise of Islam in Red Sea & Arabian Sea

16. Movement in Africa Romans and Greek – Both knew of region: Greeks called it Periplus, Romans called area Azania – Greek, Roman, and Persian coins of 3rd century CE found in area Three movements converge – Polynesians of Indian Ocean – Arabic merchants along East African Coast – Bantu Migration down East African Coast

17. Movement in Africa Polynesian immigrants settle parts – Introduce bananas Muslim Arab merchants – Arab Muslims trade for slaves, gold, ivory – Link East Africa to wider Indian Ocean – Arab merchants take Bantu wives – Mixed families link interior Bantu, coastal Arabs

18. separate city-states along East African coast "Swahili" used by early Arabs, means "coast“ By 1st century BCE Arab and Indian traders Brought bananas, cloves, cinnamon and pepper Left with gold, ivory and slaves Spoke African language enriched with Arabic and Persian vocabulary 8th Century CE Settlement Arabs from Persian Gulf Small settlements of Indians El Zanj: The Swahili

19. Swahili Coastal Trade Trade Winds – Monsoon winds dictate all movement – November to February: Indians can arrive – April to September: Swahili go to India

20. Primary Sources The Periplus of the Erithraean Sea, a Greek Sailors’ Guide from Alexandria, Egypt, c. 100 CE – "Two days' sail beyond the island lies the last mainland market town of Azania, which is called Rhapta, a name derived from the small sewn boats the people use. Here there is much ivory and tortoiseshell. Men of the greatest stature, who are pirates, inhabit the whole coast and at each place have set up chiefs.“ From Compendium of Knowledge by the Chinese Confucian scholar, Tuan Ch'eng-shih, 8th century CE – “This country has not been subject to any foreign power. In fighting they use elephant's tusks, ribs and wild cattle's horns as spears, and they have corselets and bows and arrows. They have twenty myriads of foot-soldiers. The Arabs are continually making raids on them.“

21. Swahili History Swahili city-states – Muslim and cosmopolitan – Bantu, Islamic, and Indian influences – Politically independent of one another – Never a Swahili empire or hegemony Trade and economics – Cities like competitive companies, corporations vying for African trade – Chief exports: ivory, sandalwood, ebony, and gold; later slaves – Trade linked to both Arabia and India; even Chinese goods, influence reached area

22. Swahili History Social construct – Arabs, Persians were significant players – Cities were run by nobility that was African in origin – Below nobility: commoners, resident foreigners – Large group of artisans, weavers, craftsmen – Slavery was actively practiced 16th century – Advent of Portuguese trade disrupted trade routes, made commercial centers obsolete – Portuguese allowed natives no share in African trade – Began conquering Islamic city-states along eastern coast Late 17th century – Oman conquered Portuguese cities along coast – Area controlled by Omani sultanate for another 200 years – Cotton, cloves, plantation agriculture thrived and used slaves for labor

23. Swahili Cities Swahili garden cities – Built around palaces, mosques – Walled cities – Many markets, harbors – Wealthy Built homes within walls Endowed mosques, schools – Muslims transplanted many different plants, crops to area Gaspar Correa, sailor/mercenary describing da Gama's arrival in Kilwa, 16th century – "The city comes down to the shore, and is entirely surrounded by a wall and towers, within which there are maybe 12,000 inhabitants. The country all round is very luxurious with many trees and gardens of all sorts of vegetables, citrons, lemons, and the best sweet oranges that were ever seen… The streets of the city are very narrow, as the houses are very high, of three and four stories, and one can run along the tops of them upon the terraces… and in the port there were many ships. A moor ruled over this city, who did not possess more country than the city itself.“

24. Swahili cities Wealth led to centralization of Zimbabwean government around 1300 CE Gold and copper Easily mined and obtained Capital was Great Zimbabwe Huge fortification surrounded by stone walls Economy rested on agriculture, cattle herding, and trade Declined due to an ecological crisis brought on by deforestation and overgrazing Great Zimbabwe

25. 200 Square Miles of control Built consistently from 11 th century to 15 th century Estimates are that Great Zimbabwe had as many as 18,000 inhabitants at its peak GREAT ZIMBABWE

26. Ruins at Great Zimbabwe are some of the oldest and largest structures located in Sub-Saharan Africa GREAT ZIMBABWE

27. East and Southern Africa Bantu language group – Introduced cultivation of crops and ironworking – The Bantu settled into rural communities Commercial trade – Egyptians may have arrived looking for trade goods – Rhapta a commercial metropolis – Trade across the Indian Ocean Khoisan language group

28. ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. Ancient Africa

29. The Coming of Islam African Religious Beliefs before Islam – Common beliefs Single creator god – Sometimes accompanied by a pantheon of lesser gods Most believed in an afterlife in which ancestral souls floated in the atmosphere through eternity Closely connected to importance of ancestors and lineage Rituals very important – Challenge by Islam but not always replaced; synthesized

30. The Coming of Islam (cont.’d) North Africa – Arab forces seized the Nile delta of Egypt in 641 – New capital at Cairo – Arabs welcome due to high taxes and periodic persecution of Coptic Christians by Byzantines – Arabs seize Carthage in 690, called Al Maghrib – Berbers resisted for many years The Kingdom of Ethiopia: A Christian Island in a Muslim Sea – Axum began to decline – Shift in trade routes and overexploited agriculture – Muslim trading states on the African coast of the Red Sea transforming Axum into an isolated agricultural society Source of ivory, resins, and slaves – Attacked by Muslim state of Adal in early 14th century – Became a Christian state in mid-twelfth century

31. East Africa: The Land of Zanj Legend says a Persian and his six sons founded the trading centers on the coast of East Africa Self-governing city-states – Trade with the interior – Trade with the Indian Ocean, China, and along the coast Mixed African-Arab culture – Mixed culture and language called Swahili – Conversion to Islam grows

32. ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Emergence of States in Africa

33. The States of West Africa Expansion of Islam has impact on political system Introduction of Arabic for a writing system Ghana – Majority of people were farmers – Primary reason for Ghana’s growth was gold – Trans-Saharan trade with Ghana becomes very important – Divine right monarchy assisted by hereditary aristocracy – Kings did not convert to Islam, but many of their subjects did Mali – Ruinous wars by the twelfth century in Ghana New states of Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausa states – Greatest state was Mali Gold trade Farming in the savanna region Mansa Musa (1312-1337), king, encouraged Islam Timbuktu becomes center of trade, religion and learning

34. ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

35. States and Stateless Societies in Southern Africa From the basin of the Congo River to the Cape of Good Hope Stateless society Progress made with regional trade Zimbabwe (sacred house) – Capital known as Great Zimbabwe – Benefited from trade between interior and coast – Evidence of great wealth, but Great Zimbabwe abandoned The Khoi and the San (Bushman) people

36. African Society – Urban life – Village Life – Role of women – Slavery

37. African Culture Painting and Sculpture – Rock paintings, wood carving, pottery, metalwork Music and Dance – Often served religious purposes – Wide variety of instruments – Integration of voice and instrument – Music produced for social rituals and educational purposes Architecture – Pyramid – Stone pillars – Stone buildings – Sometimes reflected Moorish styles Literature – Written works did not exist in the early traditional period – Professional storytellers, bards – Importance of women in passing down oral traditions