Traditional African Society
description
Transcript of Traditional African Society
Traditional African Society
Bantu Migrations
Stateless Societies
Bantu Societies did not depend on elaborate
hierarchy of officials of a bureaucracy
Governed through Kinship groups – extended families
consisting of about 100 people.
Bantu migrations also helped to spread
agriculture and herding to all parts of Africa.
1000 different languages; 1000+ different tribes
Social StructureLarge Kingdoms
Ruling Elites
Military Nobles
Administrative Officials
Religious Officials
Wealthy Merchants
Artisans
Commoners
Peasants
Slaves
Social Structure
Small States
Ruling Elite
Religious Officials
Kinship
Gender
Age-set
Maasai men. These men
gather together at an age set ceremony to celebrate the
murran (warriors) becoming
junior elders
Kinship Societies
Tribe (communal living)
1. Nuclear Family
2. Extended Family
3. Age-Set
4. Clan
5. Lineage (ancestry)
Traditional Family Structures
Nuclear Family:
Extended Family:
C
C
C C
CHW W
C
C
C C
C
HW W
GP
CsGP
Cs
U
A
Family Group, Tanzania
Age Grades•Groups of all individuals within a given community born within a few years of one another.
•Members perform tasks appropriate for their levels of development.
•Boys and girls usually separate at 10 or 11 years old.
•Children bond together to form tight circles of friends and political allies.
Boys learn how to herd goats and cattle, hunt, farm, and fight. Also,
craftsmaking of weapons and tools, communication, cooperation.
•Girls learned skills of house management, child care, field
work, organization, and marketing.
Woman & Child, Kongo
Problems of Tribalism Today
1. The tribe is more important than the nation.
2. Communication problems.
3. Inter-tribal warfare --> civil wars.
4. Tribal favorites for government jobs: Nepotism
Urbanization:Breaks down tribal traditions.
Tribal intermingling on the job.
Land is very Valuable•Private Property did not exist.
•Communities claimed rights to use land communally.
•Male heads of families jointly governed the village and organized the work. They allocated portions of land to their family members to cultivate and distributed the harvests.
Slavery•Most slaves were captives of war
•Others were debtors, suspected witches, and criminals.
•Most worked as agricultural laborers – some were laborers, miners, porters
•Slaves were a sign of personal wealth – increase agricultural output.
•Muslim merchants bought slaves from East Africa and through Trans-Saharan trade route.
Zanj Revolt
People joined the revolt for many reasons. The majority of slaves joined due to poor treatment and working conditions (they
were arguably the worst treated slaves in the Islamic world), while others joined to
fight for a purer form of Islām.
The "Zanj" were black African slaves who revolted against their enslavement, and against
the corrupt and oppressive Arab `Abbasid regime, and conducted an armed resistance
struggle in southern Iraq between the years 869 and 883 A.D.
The Zanj rebellion was ultimately suppressed with the intervention of large
Arab armies and the lucrative offer of amnesty and rewards to any rebels who
might choose to surrender.
Traditional African ReligionANIMISM
1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being.
3. Ancestor veneration.4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes.
5. Diviner --> mediator between the tribe and God.
2. A world of Lesser Gods spirits (good & bad) in all things.
African Diviner (Shaman)
Rituals included prayers, animal sacrifices, ceremonies and dances for
important events – births, circumcision, marriage, and death.
Diviners were usually men who clearly understood the networks of political, social, and economic relationships
within their societies.
People consulted Diviners when affected by illness, sterility, crop failure,
or other disaster.
African Diviner (Shaman)
The Shaman wears an isiba headdress of porcupine quills, several animal
hides, snakeskin, rattles on his ankles and several strands of beads. He carries
a special whisk which he waves while calling the spirits. It is believed that he
is empowered by the qualities of the animals whose remains he is wearing and sickness is caused by malevolent spirits. The Shaman ‘communicates’
with the ancestors and acts as an intermediary between the dead and the
living.
World of the SpiritsDogon “Spirit House”
The traditional dama (funeral ritual) consists of a masquerade that essentially leads the soul of the departed to their final resting places through a series of ritual dances and
rites. Dogon damas include the use of many masks and statuettes. Each Dogon village may differ in the designs of the masks used in the dama ritual. Every village may have
their own way of performing the dama rituals.
Ancestors
Fetishes
Common to many tribes was the belief that the fetishes acquired power through the ritualistic carving and consecration, the addition of special
substances and the recurring activation of its spirit by offering sacrifices and magic words.
Fetishes
Rubbing Oracle, wood
Ritual puberty painting,
Monrovia, Liberia
the peoples of the Omo have nevertheless
developed different art forms that allow them great
artistic expression. Such practices, including body painting, are among the
most ornate and extravagant in the world.
Clay lip plates are the most well-known
feature of the Mursi women
African Cultural Rituals
Mask With Headcloth, Zaire (19c)
Tribal Mark --> scarification
Other Religions in Africa
ISLAM --> 40% * Nigeria --> largest sub-Saharan Muslim countries.
CHRISTIANITY --> 46% - Kush, Nubia, and Ethiopia
INDIGENOUS --> 12%
Common Traits or Characteristics of Traditional
African Tribal Life1. The good of the group comes ahead of the good
of the individual.
2. All land is owned by the group.
3. Strong feeling of loyalty to the group.
4. Important ceremonies at different parts of a person’s life.
5. Special age and work associations.
6. Deep respect for ancestors.
7. Religion is an important part of everyday life.
8. Government is in the hands of the chiefs [kings].
Great Zimbabwe