CHAPTER 15 SOCIETIES & EMPIRES OF AFRICA Section 1 North & Central African Societies

HUNTER-GATHERERS  Efe  Democratic Republic of Congo  Small family groups  Semi-nomadic  Gatherers = women  Hunters = men  Trade with farmers  Social structure  Leader = respected older male  Each family makes own decisions  Conflict settled by long discussions or by finding new hunting band  Logical guidelines

STATELESS SOCIETIES  Lineage: descendants of a common ancestor  The way a society traces lineage determines inheritance rights & what groups individuals belong to  Patrilineal: trace ancestors through fathers  Matrilineal: trace ancestors through mothers; men usually hold power  Stateless societies: lineage groups take the place of central rulers  Power balanced to prevent too much control  Age-Set System  Age set = young people within a region who are born during a certain time  Form close bonds  Ceremonies mark passage to new stages  Men & women have different stages  Each stage has own responsibilities

MUSLIM STATES  Maghrib: part of N. Africa that is modern Mediterranean coast of Morocco, Tunisia, & Algeria  Muslims ruled Egypt & Maghrib  Some African rulers converted to Islam  Islamic law  God’s law > human law  Religious scholars as gov. advisers  Regulates all areas of human life b/c religious & personal lives not separated  Set of values that shaped a common identity  Unified Muslim world

MUSLIM STATES  Berbers  Independent desert dwellers  Nomadic  Some Christian & Jewish before Muslim conquest  Many accepted Islam, but maintained Berber identities & loyalties  Almoravids  Muslims reformers from a Berber group  Strict religious brotherhood  Spread Islam through conquest  Moors in s. Spain  Almohads  Berber Muslim reformers  Militant religious movement  Strict obedience to teachings of Qur’an & Islamic law  United Maghrib for 1 st time