Ancient Africa Early African Civilizations 2000 B.C.E to C.E. 1500.
CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS
description
Transcript of CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS
CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS
Section 4 – Historical and Artistic Traditions - Page 396 - 399
Oral history griots proverbs kente
VOCABULARY:
Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the
growth of societies in West Africa.
BIG IDEAAlthough the
people of West Africa did not have a written language, their
culture has been passed down through oral
history, writings by other people,
and the arts.
PRESERVING HISTORY
Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the
growth of societies in West Africa.
MAIN IDEAWest Africans
have preserved
their history through story
telling and the written accounts of
visitors.
West Africans
have preserved their history through
story telling
and the written account
s of visitors.
Writing was never very common in West Africa.
In fact, none of the major
early civilizations
of West Africa
developed a written
language.
Arabic was the only written language they used.
The lack of a native written language does not mean that the people of West Africa didn’t know
their history, though. They passed along information through oral
histories.
A spoken record of past events
ORAL HISTORY
The task of remembering and telling West African’s history was
entrusted to storytellers.
THE GRIOTS
GRIOT
The storytellers of
early West Africa were
called a griot.
http://www.listenall.com/dembo_jobarteh.html
They were highly respected in their communities because the people of West Africa were very interested in
the deeds of
their
ancestors.
Griots helped keep this history alive for each new generation.
Griots’ stories were both entertaining and informative.
They told of important past events and
of the
accomplishments
of distant ancestors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YueSWLem0Nc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_2EV5FReE&feature=related
EX: some stories explained the rise and fall of West African empires. Other
stories describe the actions of powerful kings and warriors. Some Griots made their stories more lively by acting out
the events like scenes in a play.-
In addition to stories, the griots recited PROVERBS – short sayings of
wisdom or truth. They used proverbs to teach lessons to the
people. To stay a long time in
the water does not make you clean.
http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/African.html
Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped
You must judge a man by the work of his
hands.
EX: Talking doesn’t fill the basket in the farm – people must work to accomplish things. It
is not enough for people just to talk
about what they want to do.
In order to tell their stories and proverbs, the griots memorized
hundreds of names and events. Through this memorization process, the griots passed on West African history from
generation to generation.
However, some griots confused names and event in their heads. When this happened, the facts of some historical events became
distorted.
Some griots’ stories tell us a
great deal
about life in
the West African
empires.
WEST AFRICAN
EPICS
Some of the griot
poems are epics – long
poems about
kingdoms and
heroes.
Many of these epic poems are collected in the Dausi and
the Sundiata.
The Dausi tell the history of
Ghana.
Intertwined with
historical events,
though, are myths and legends.
One story is about a seven-headed snake god named Bida. This god
promised that Ghana would prosper if the people sacrificed
a young woman to him every year. One year a mighty warrior killed Bida. As the god died, he cursed Ghana.
The griots say that this curse caused the empire of Ghana to fall.
Sundiata, another of the epic poems, is about Mali’s great Ruler. According to the epic, when Sundiata was still a boy, a conqueror
captured Mali and killed
Sundiata’s father and
11 brothers.
He didn’t kill Sundiata, however,
because the boy was sick and didn’t seem like a
threat.
However, when Sundiata grew up, he became
an expert warrior.
Eventually, he over threw the conqueror and became king.
VISITORS’ WRITTEN
ACCOUNTS
In addition to the oral histories told about West Africa, visitors wrote
about the region.
In fact, much of what we know about early West Africa comes from the writings of travelers and scholars from Muslim lands such as Spain and
Arabia.
Ibn Battutah was the
most famous Muslim
visitor to write about West
Africa.
From 1353 – 1354, he traveled
through the region.
Ibn Battutah’s account of
this journey describes the political and cultural lives
of West Africans in
great detail.
Why were oral
traditions important in West Africa? (DRAWING
CONCLUSIONS)
A. What is oral history? (DEFINE)
B. Why were griots and their stories important in West African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS)
C. Why may an oral history provide different information than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE)
D. What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? (RECALL)
E. Name two West African epic poems and the subject of each? (IDENTIFY)
Can you also answer these questions?
F. Why do you think griots were so valued in West African society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS)
G. How do you know the history of early West Africa if the people of West Africa left no written histories? (EXPLAIN)
H. What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY)
Can you also answer these questions?
ART, MUSIC, and
DANCE
Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the
growth of societies in West Africa.
MAIN IDEAThrough art, music, and
dance, West African have
expressed their creativity and
kept alive their cultural
traditions.
Like most peoples, West African valued the arts. They expressed themselves creatively
through sculpture, mask-making, cloth making, music, and dance.
SCULPTURE
Of all the visual art forms, the sculpture of
West Africa is probably the best known. West African made ornate statues and
carving out of wood, brass, clay, ivory, stone, and
other materials.
Most statues from West
Africa are of people – often the sculptor’s
ancestors. Usually these statues were
made for religious rituals - to ask for the
ancestors’ blessings.
Sculptors made other
statues as gifts for the gods.
These sculptures were kept in holy places. They were never meant to be seen by people.
Because their statues were
used in religious
rituals, many African artists were deeply respected.
People thought
artists had been blessed by the gods.
Long after the decline of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai,
West African art is still admired. Museums around the
world display African art
In addition, African sculpture inspired some European artists
of the 1900s including Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
MASKS AND CLOTHING
In addition to statues, the artists of West Africa carved
elaborate masks.
Made of wood, these masks bore the faces of animals such as hyenas, lions, monkeys, and antelopes. Artists often painted the masks after carving them.
People wore the masks during rituals as they danced around
fires.
The way firelight reflected off the masks made them look
fierce and lifelike.
Many African societies were famous for the
clothe they wove. The most famous of these clothes is called kente (ken-
TAY).
KENTE
A hand-woven, brightly colored West African fabric. The cloth was woven in narrow strips that were then sewn
together. Kings and queens in West Africa wore garments made of kente for special occasions.
MUSIC AND DANCE
In many West African societies, music and dance were as
important as the visual arts.
Singing, drumming, and dancing were
great entertainment, but they also
helped people honor their
history and mark special
occasions
For example, music was
played when a ruler
entered a room.
Dance has long been a central part of African society. Many West African cultures used dance to celebrate specific events or ceremonies.
For example, they may have performed one
dance for weddings
and another
for funerals
In some parts of West Africa, people still perform dances similar to those performed
hundreds of years ago.
How traditions
were preserved
in West Africa?
(COMPARING)
F. Why were singing and dancing so important in West Africa? (ANALYZE)
A. What were two forms of visual art popular in West Africa? (IDENTIFY)
B. Why do you think that the sculptures made as gifts for the gods were not meant to be seen by people? (MAKE INFERENCES)
C. What role did music and dance play in West African society? (ELABORATE)
D. What is the best known visual art form of West African? (IDENTIFY)
E. How were masks used in West African culture? (RECALL)
Can you also answer these questions?
Summarize –
How were historical
and artistic traditions
preserved in West Africa?
"Early African Civilizations." World History. : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Company, 2012. . Print.
Content for this presentation was gotten from:
BIG IDEA
Part I
Between 1000 and 1500, three great kingdoms – Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe – developed in Africa.
*MAIN IDEAWho were the Songhai?
The Songhai were a new Islamic empire in West Africa. They conquered many of the lands that were once part of Mali. Had the same trade routes/ partners as Ghana and MaliWho was Sunni Ali? Ruler of the Songhai – worked to unify, strengthen, grow his empire by having everybody work together.What religion was Sunni
Aliand why?
He participated in both Muslim and local religions to bring stability to the Songhai.
What happened when Sunni Ali died and why?
His son, Sunni Baru, wasn’t a Muslim, the people of Songhai were worried about losing trade partners and rebelled.
BIG IDEA
Part II
Leader of the rebellion against Sunni Baru, chose the title ASKIA, a title of high military rank – being known as ASKIA the Great. Supported education (University of Sankore and city of Djenne’)
Between 1000 and 1500, three great kingdoms – Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe – developed in Africa.
What was Muhammad Ture know as and for?
What was happening to religion at this period of history?
Most traders were Muslim, as trade grew so did the religion of Islam. Askia was a devote Muslim, which influenced growth of Islam. Made laws similar to other Muslim nations.
What other things did Askia do to maintain order?
He set up five provinces. He removed local leaders and appointed governors loyal to him. Created a professional army and specialized departments for specific tasks.
BIG IDEA
Part III
Between 1000 and 1500, three great kingdoms – Mali, Songhai, and Great Zimbabwe – developed in Africa.
Who wanted to gain control of the salt mines?
Morocco – a rival from the North
What year did they begin heading to Songhai to invade?
1591
What is an arquebus? What advantage did it offer?
An early form of a gun. With the use of this technology, the Moroccan’s were superior to the Songhai ,who only had their swords, spears, and bows.What brought about the
downfall of the Songhai?Destruction of Timbuktu and Gao. Changing trade pattern routes away from land and to port cities. Preference to trading at ports versus with Muslim traders.