A brief overview

 A huge group of people lived in west Africa 3,000 years ago.  Because of the need for more land & pressure from war, they began to spread southwards into Africa.  Many settled in the Congo river basin, others west further south for open pastures.  This was the largest migration in Africa & changed the make-up of the continent.

 Animism: traditional African belief that everything in nature has a good or bad spirit. This is why many cultures there wear masks in ceremonies & rituals.  Christianity: Minority religion in North Africa after Arabic conquest.  Islam: Arabic conquest of North Africa & trade with sub-Sahara Africa led many to convert to Islam.  Drums were a part of most African music.  Stories were passed down orally, from generation to generation.

 Each region varied.  Husbands were in charge of the household.  There was either a King or tribal leaders who ruled. No democracies or republics.

 Most people in Africa, no matter where you lived, were farmers & ranchers.  Caravan: people travel on foot with as many as 10,000 camels that carried the supplies. This was called a camel train. At the southern edge of the Sahara, goods were transferred to humans or donkeys to travel further south.  Niger River: in west Africa. Used to navigate & irrigate crops.

 Almost all trade happened on the coast or near a river, except for the Sahara, where people traveled from oasis to oasis.  India had spices & cotton; China had silk.  Common trade languages: Arabic in the north & Swahili in the east.

 They exported coffee, slaves, ivory & cloves.  The island of Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa, is where Swahili was first spoken.  Swahili became the language of trade for East Africa. They used this language to trade with people along the coast of Africa & across the Indian Ocean to India & later, even China. It’s the # 1 language spoken in East Africa today.

 Many lived a nomadic lifestyle, traveling from oasis to oasis.  They had salt (to preserve food) & horses.  They exported salt, copper & horses.  North Africa would use the gold to trade with Europe & west Asia.  Mostly Muslims today.

 They exported gold, ivory, ebony (a dense wood) & slaves (this is eventually where the US got most of her slaves).  Became Muslims after trade brought the religion of Islam. Today, there’s a mix of Christian, Islam & traditional religions.  They were skilled metallurgists.

 Mansa Musa: very wealthy king who went on a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in the 14 th century. Brought so much gold & servants with him, he increased awareness of sub-Saharan Africa in Europe & north Africa. He may have been the richest man ever (net worth ≈ $400 billion).  Timbuktu: major city of Mali. Center of trans-African trade. Became a center of Islamic worship, learning & writing. It was on the banks of the Niger River.

 The north had salt. The south had gold. Ghana was in the middle. Ghana handled the trades. This is where the nickname “the Gold Coast” comes from.  Artists made colorful fabrics for personal use & trade.  Foods: yams, beans, rice, onions, millet, papaya, gourds, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, cotton & peanuts.

1. He charged a tax on all people entering & leaving Ghana. 2. He guaranteed free trade. 3. He built a 2 nd city for trade to protect the capital.

 Conquered older kingdoms of Ghana & Mali in the 15 th century.  Controlled the salt mines in the north & the gold mines in the south.  Traded gold, salt & slaves with Europe & other parts of Africa.  Sonni Ali the Great: King who greatly expanded Songhai’s territory.

 Great Zimbabwe (stone building): lost city built by the Shona people.  Existed from the 11 th – 15 th centuries.  We’re not sure who these people even were or why their kingdom declined!  Farming & grazing were common because of open plains.

 There are between 2,000 – 3,000 languages spoken in African, with possibly as many as 8,000 dialects. African languages are divided into five major language families:  Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian, Khoi-San & Austronesian.  Nigeria alone has over 500 languages.  Only a few are used at the national level, including English & French, which aren’t native African languages.

Swahili  jamboree  jumbo  Kwanzaa West Africa banana bongo chigger cola jazz voodoo yam Bantu banjo chimpanzee funk zebra zombie

A brief overview

 A huge of people lived in west Africa years ago.  Because of the need for more & pressure from war, they began to southwards into Africa.  Many settled in the river basin, others west further for open pastures.  This was the largest in Africa & changed the make-up of the continent.

 : traditional African belief that everything in nature has a good or bad spirit. This is why many cultures there wear masks in ceremonies & rituals.  Christianity: religion in Africa after Arabic conquest.  Islam: Arabic of North Africa & trade with sub-Sahara Africa led many to to Islam.  were a part of most music.  were passed down, from generation to generation.

 Each region.  were in charge of the.  There was either a or leaders who ruled. democracies or republics.

 Most people in Africa, no matter where you lived, were &.  : people travel on foot with as many as 10,000 that carried the. This was called a camel train. At the southern edge of the Sahara, goods were transferred to humans or donkeys to travel further south.  River: in Africa. Used to navigate & irrigate crops.

 Almost all trade happened on the or near a, except for the, where people traveled from to oasis.  India had & ; China had.  Common trade languages: in the north & in the east.

 They exported, slaves, & cloves.  The island of, off the coast of East Africa, is where Swahili was first spoken.  Swahili became the language of for East Africa. They used this language to trade with people along the coast of Africa & across the Indian Ocean to India & later, even China. It’s the # language spoken in Africa today.

 Many lived a lifestyle, traveling from oasis to oasis.  They had (to preserve food) &.  They salt, copper & horses.  North Africa would use the gold to trade with & west.  Mostly today.

 They exported, ivory, (a dense wood) & slaves (this is eventually where the got most of her slaves).  Became Muslims after brought the religion of Islam. Today, there’s a of Christian, Islam & traditional religions.  They were skilled.

 : very wealthy king who went on a (pilgrimage) to in the 14 th century. Brought so much gold & servants with him, he increased awareness of sub-Saharan Africa in Europe & north Africa. He may have been the richest man ever (net worth ≈ $ billion).  : major city of. of trans- African trade. Became a center of Islamic worship, & writing. It was on the banks of the Niger River.

 The north had salt. The south had gold. Ghana was in the. Ghana handled the. This is where the nickname “the Coast” comes from.  Artists made colorful for personal use & trade.  Foods:, beans, rice, onions, millet,, gourds, cattle, sheep,, poultry, cotton &.

1. He charged a on all people entering & leaving. 2. He guaranteed trade. 3. He built a 2 nd city for trade to the capital.

 Conquered kingdoms of Ghana & Mali in the th century.  Controlled the mines in the north & the mines in the south.  Traded gold, salt & slaves with Europe & other parts of Africa.  Ali the Great: King who greatly expanded Songhai’s territory.

 Great (stone building): lost city built by the Shona people.  Existed from the 11 th – 15 th.  We’re not sure who these people even were or why their kingdom !  Farming & grazing were common because of open.

 There are between languages spoken in African, with possibly as many as 8,000 dialects. African languages are divided into major language :  Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian, Khoi-San & Austronesian.  alone has over languages.  Only a are used at the national level, including English & French, which aren’t native African languages.

Swahili  West Africa Bantu