1. Chapter 3.2 Class Notes Africa’s Religion and Government
TRADITIONAL AFRICAN RELIGIONS
1. Many African groups believe in one supreme god.
2. Many Africans believe in spirits of dead relatives or ancestor worship, and that these spirits stayed with them when their ancestors died and through them one could talk to the supreme god.

2. I. ISLAM IN AFRICA
1. Islam was popular in west African cities where Africans traded with Arabs, but not all Africans accepted Islam.
2. Mansa Musa worked hard to spread Islam, though he allowed different religions. He made a pilgrimage to Mecca, with a caravan of thousands of people. He set up libraries and collected thousands of books from the Muslim world.

3. 3. Sunni Ali practices the traditional religion of the Songhai but called himself a Muslim. His son refused to call himself a Muslim.
4. Muhammad Ture declared himself king and drove Sunni Ali’s family from Songhai. He took the name Askia Muhammad. Under him, Songhai became the largest empire in West Africa. Timbuktu, its capital, was a center of Islamic learning and culture.

4. 5. The Swahili culture and learning are a blend of African and Muslim elements. Muslim schools taught Arabic and Islam influenced art and architecture.

5. Timbuktu – youtube link

6. II. GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY
Early African kings were powerful and local rulers and merchants were loyal to the kings by paying taxes.
Ghana’s government included a council of ministers, who advised the king. The empire was divided into provinces and administered by local rulers from a clan, that descended from the same family.

7. 3. Mali’s royal officials had more responsibility than Ghana’s officials did. Mali’s empire was also divided into provinces, and generals governed the provinces. The generals protected the people from invaders.
4. Although Sunni Ali began dividing Songhai into provinces for government, he died before he could finish. In 1492, Muhammad Ture seized control of Songhai. He was a faithful Muslim, and his religious ideas affected the Songhai government.
5. Most African empires had governments run by kings or queens.

8. West African Salt