African Societies: Diversity and Similarities
● ____________ societies developed _____________ forms.
● Within this diversity were many _______ aspects of _______________ and __________.
● ________________ faiths served as the basis for important ____________ developments in Nubia and
Ethiopia.
● _________ is so vast and its societies so ____________ that's it is almost impossible to generalize
about them.
● What differences contributed to Africa's lack of political unity over long period of time?
● ______________ religions did find adherents in Africa.
Stateless Societies
● States were African societies that had _________ who exercised control through a _____________ of
officials.
● What was the stateless societies organized around(2)?
● What was stateless societies lacking(2)?
● Lineages were groups of people of the same _______ who were considered to have ___________
_________________ to society.
● Some ___________ ______________ were larger and more ___________ than the neighboring states.
● Stateless societies did not need to ______ population to support:
1.
2.
3.
4.
● Stateless societies has little ______________ of authority; __________ affected only a ________ part
of the people’s _________.
● People of _________ African __________, ___________ societies of ______ and __________
controlled customs and __________ and __________ authorities of rulers.
● The secret societies ______________ their members after an initiation that might be ________ on:
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● Secret societies settle ____________ _______________.
● Enforcement/punishment was carried out by _________ ___________ members acting on behalf of
secret societies.
● What served as an alternate authority of state institutions?
● Africa’s many _____________ societies thrived, aided by the fact that __________ social
____________ or disputes often could be resolved by allowing dissidents to leave and ___________ a
new _________ in the sparsely _____________ continent.
● Constant features is much of Africa history were _________ and a ____________ open to new
_________________.
● Stateless societies found it difficult to :
1.
2.
3.
4.
Common Elements in African Societies:
The ____________________________people provided a linguistic(similar vocab and structure) for languages
over the majority of Africa.
What allowed communication between different neighboring Bantu speakers?
4 forms of worship to gods or spirits that represented the power of natural forces
1.
2.
3.
4.
How was Africans and European religions similar?
Priest __________________________________________and ______________________________________.
African Religion provided _________________-_____________________________________________________________________________.
What was the underlying belief of religion in Africa?
Working the land ________________________________________ in some groups so the land had a meaning
beyond _____________________________________.
The family or clan had an important role in __________________________.
Deceased ancestors were a direct link between their _________________________and
__________________________.
North Africa __________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
Sub-Saharan Africa varied greatly from ________________________________________
________________________________________________.
What 2 types of trade specialization encouraged?
Woman as well as men allowed to participate in
_____________________________________________________.
What were the advantages and disadvantages of trade in Africa?
The least known aspects of African societies before the 20th century was
_______________________________________ and _________________________
_____________________________________.
How many inhabitants did Africa have by the 1500’s?
The Arrival of Islam in North Africa
The kinds of people that effected Africa(4):
Toward the end of the Roman Empire_____________took a firm hold in Mediterranean Africa.
Between ______________C.E. Muhammad’s followers spread across Africa from Suez to
______________________located on Morocco’s________________.
Muslims renamed Africa ___________or ____________.
Arab and Berber armies were defeated in France by _______________in Poitiers,which caused
_______________to halt.
The Abbasid Dynasty provided _______________________and ____________took place rapidly.
_________________________broke down and North Africa divided into several ____________states and
____________groups.
The Almohadis followed the same pattern as the Almoravids.
The Almoravids ____________________the African kingdoms of the____________and west into_________.
Islam taught that __________________________________________.
This made the people accept that rulers and conquerors easier.
Islamic tradition of uniting the powers of the ___________&_____________ in the person of the ruler
or_________appealed to some African kings as a way of______________________________.
___________were a community of believers that were equivalent to the newly converted Berbers.
Practices in Islam differed considerably at ________________.
__________________was important in _______________societies and _____________________.
However the fine for __________________was _________that for _____________________.
S
The Almohadis were dedicated to ______________by returning to Muhammad’s___________.
The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and Ethiopia
-What did the wave of Arab conquests across northern Africa leave behind?
-Egyptian Christians called the ____________ developed a rich tradition in contact with Byzantium, translating the
gospels and other religious literature to Coptic.
-What did Muslim rulers recognize the Copts as?
-The _____________ ______________ that grew from Axum was perhaps the most important African Christian outpost.
-Through a process of ______________, _______________, and ______________ with non- Christian neighbors, a new
dynasty appeared under King _______________.
-What did one of the Ethiopian Christian states maintain, although facing constant pressure from its Muslim neighbors?
-What shaped much of the history of this region and continues to do so today?
-The Portuguese attempts to bring Ethiopian Christianity to the Roman Catholic church _____________, and Ethiopia
remained ______________, _______________, and fiercely __________________.
Kingdom Of Grasslands
The kingdom of ______________ & _________________ and the ______________ states were African
adaptations of _____________ and its fusion with _____________________.
As the ___________________________ spread across the north _______________, it sent ripples across the
___________ not in the form of ___________________________ but first in
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How did the African states like Ghana already form by the 8th century?
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________ greatly improved the possibilities of trade.
Sahel:_____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
What did the location of African states on the open plains of the dry Sahel mean?
______________________________________________________________________________
3rd century: ______________________________________________________________________________
10th century: ______________________________________________________________________________
____________ armies ___________ invaded from North Africa in ______________.
Sudanic States
Examples of Sudanic Kingdoms
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What were Sudanic states often led by? _____________________________________________
The states had a __________________________ in which the people of the same ___________________ or
__________________________, but their power extended over ____________________________.
What did Conquest states do?
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____________, ______________, ______________, and _____________ and some of their neighbors
were _______________.
The ___________ of these states were considered ______________ and were
________________________.
After the 10th century, what was used to reinforce the indigenous ideas of kingship?
_________________________________________________________________________
What were the 2 most important Savanna states, and why were they considered important?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
(Missing Alex’s Part)
_________________ died about 1260, but his successors ______________ the borders of __________
until it controlled most of the ______________.
Who was the most famous his successor and why?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
In 1375,_________________, illustrated a map of Africa with an image of the ruler of __________
holding a ________________.
Mansa Musa brought back a poet and architect __________________. Eventually a distinctive form of
_____________ architecture developed that made use of _______________.
City Dwellers and Villages
________________ court life developed as merchants and scholars were attracted by the
________________ and ______________ of Mali.
___________________ traders ranged across the Sudan and exploited their position as intermediaries.
Which two were called as the Port cities? _____________________________________
_________________ contained a library and an associated university where scholars, jurists and Muslim
theologians studied.
What was the symbol of civilization in the Islamic world?
_________________________________________________________________________
For most people in the empire of _________ and other_____________ states, the life was centered on
______________________ and _________________.
Why was the life of a farmer difficult?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
________________ was done communally, accompanied by ____________ and _____________ but the
farms were owned by ________________
What was the benefit of polygamy?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________ and the ____________ became symbols of the common people of the savanna states.
Songhay Kingdom
People of Songhay dominated _______________ ______________________ of _________________
valley
Their society was made up of “_________________________” or ________________ and herders and
“_________________________” or __________________
They formed an ____________________ _____________________ by the ______ century, maybe under
a Berber Dynasty
By 1010, a ______________ is established at __________ on the ________________ river.
By 1370, Songhay gets their ____________________ from ___________. They thrive off of new sources
of ___________ coming out of _____________________ that passed through territory
Who is Sunni Ali and what did he do?
_________________________________________________________________________
What was the line of Muslim rulers called? Name one and what he dominated
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
What upset Muslim clerics and jurists?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
When and how was Songhay’s decline brought about?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Combination of Muslim and pagan traditions were found in the ____________ people of
__________________ __________________ based on cities like ____________
Hausa cities of the region used an ________________ _____________ ___________ in a fortified capital
which ruled over _________________ __________________ where the majority of the population lived
They used powerful cavalry forces to _______________ their _________ and protect their trade in
_____________, ______________, and _____________
__________________ became established in major trading cities, and __________________
______________________ developed often associated with particular families
Networks of ____________ and _____________ were also established in the area of _________________
Who are the important minorities of African society? ______________________________
By the __________ century Muslim minorities were _______________ widely through ___________
___________, even in non-Islamized states.
Political and Social life in Sudanic States
The Muslim concept of a ________________reinforced traditional ideas of ___________________.
What heightened social difference and made these societies more hierarchical?
______________________________________________________________________
Rulership and authority were still based on the ability to __________________.
Islam in these early stages in Sudan tended to accommodate _______________________
, and belief.
Are Sudanic societies matrilineal or patrilineal, or both? ___________________
Slavery had been a _____________________ of the Sudanic States.
What caused slavery to become a more widely diffused phenomenon and cause slavery to develop on a
larger scale? _________________________________________________________________________
What did Muslims view slavery as? __________________________________________________
What were slaves in the Islamic world use for?
________________________________________________________________________
Trade extended for how many years? ______________
Ch. 8 Outline
The Swahili Coast of East Africa:
What did Islam provide the residents of the towns extending south from the horn of Africa to modern day
Mozambique?
Islamization was ___________ to reach the general population in east Africa, as in the savanna kingdoms of west Africa.
The result was often a compromise between ___________ ways and a new faith.
The Coastal Trading Ports:
From which places do people immigrate to Africa?
What is the land of Zanj?
The villages were transformed from ________________ and ____________ societies with shared language, ancestors,
and traditions into more ______________ and ____________ communities.
By the 13th century, a string of urbanized east African trading ports had developed along the coast which shared the
common __________language and other cultural traits, though they were _________ by separate _______ ruling
families.
Why was Kilwa wealthy? How was it described?
What and with whom did the Africans trade?
Mixture of Cultures on the Swahili Coast:
The 13th century was a period of great ______ expansion and spread eastward to _____ and _______, it provided a
religious bond of _____ of ____.
Many of the ruling families claimed to be descendents of immigrants from _______ in Persia. What was the purpose of
this claim?
_____ and ________ tended to be Muslim whilst the majority of the population on the east African coast _________
their previous beliefs and culture.
The _________ language was essentially a Bantu language containing a large number of ______ words which weren’t
incorporated until the 16th century. The language was ________ in an Arabic script before the 13th century.
Islam itself penetrated very little into the interior among the:
The building of the Muslim elite were made out of ______ and _______, while the houses of the non-Muslims were
made out of _____ and _______.
Family lineage was traced through both the _________ line, which controlled property, and through the _________ line.
This was a ________ custom.
Swahili culture was a dynamic _______, and the Swahili people spread their ________ and _______ along the coast of
east Africa.
By the time the _____________ arrived on this coast around 1500, the Swahili culture was widely __________.
________ was no longer the predominant city, and the focus of trade had shifted to ___________ and ________.
The Portuguese raided _______ and __________ in an attempt to take control of trade. Their outpost on
_______________ Island and their control of _________ put much of the gold trade in their hands.
Although the Portuguese built a major outpost at Fort Jesus in _________, they were never able to _______ the trade on
the northern Swahili coast.
Peoples of The Forest and Plains
By 1000 C.E., most of west African societies were based on a varied ____________, sinetunes combined with
__________, and most societies used ______ tools and ___________.
Many were still organized in small ________ communities. In some various places, however, _______ had formed.
Egypt, Kush, and Ethiopia had developed __________ and other areas borrowed the _______ script, many sub-Saharan
African societies were _________ and transmitted their __________, _____, and ___________ by ______ methods and
direct instruction.
Artists and Kings: Yoruba and Benin
In the forests of central Nigeria, __________________________ objects were found near the village of Nok.
The inhabitants of Nok practiced __________________________ and used _____________ tools.
Their ______________ traditions spread widely through the forest areas and ___________________ other peoples.
Terra-cotta and ____________ portrait heads of past ____________ were produced after 1200 C.E.
The skill of execution and lifelike quality placed them among the ______________________________ of African art.
Ile-Ife was an ______________________ society supported by _____________________ and were dominated by a
ruling family and an ____________________.
What was seen as the holiest city in Yoruba?
The Yoruba spoke a ______________________ language and were organized into small ___________ ______________.
Who was included in a regional king’s vast royal court?
1.
2.
3.
4.
T/F
___ A regional king was considered divine
___ A regional king’s rule is absolute.
___ The alfin controlled his people through provincial princes.
___ The Ogboni was a secret society of religious and political leaders.
Which two medieval societies had city-states similar to the urbanized nature of the Yorubas own culture?
Patterns similar to those in the Yoruba city-states could also be found among ___________________.
What city-state was formed under Ewuare the Great and how far did its control extend?
The ___________, or ruler, lived in a large compound surrounded by a great entourage.
What became very characteristic of Benin?
What two things were the Portuguese impressed by when they came to Benin?
Central African Kingdoms
By the 5th century C.E., __________________ and fishers had reached beyond the_________, by the 13th century C.E.
they were approaching the _____________ of the continent.
Due to the influence of _______, many central African people begun their process of ______ ___________ by about
1000 C.E.
What was the older system based on? What kind of rules did they based on after replacing the older system?
In Katanaga, the _____ people modified the older system of village headmen to form a _______ _________, which only
the ________ ________was fit to rule.
The Kingdom of Kongo and Mwene Mutapa
What kingdom was forming in the lower Congo River by the late 15 century?
On a firm agricultural base, people developed the skill of:
Individual artisans were skill in the working of ______, _________ and _______ were highly esteemed.
What was the responsibilities between men and women?
The kinship of the Kongo was ___________ but ______ _____________ were not, this gave the central authority power
to _________ _____________.
What did the word mani (blacksmith) demonstrated?
Beginning the 9th century, there were many __________, or _____________. or _________ that housed
______________ and __________.
The _____________ was the center of the kingdom.
Where is the symbol of the bird of the God found?
Observers in the 19th century suspected that _____________ or _______ built these structures to prevented them from
believing that _________ were ________ of ____________such structures.
What had begun to from from Great Zimbabwe by the 15th century? Where did they control?
Under a king who took the title ___________________, this kingdom experienced short period of ________
______________ in the late 15th and 16th century.
This kingdom dominance over the _________ over ______ in the interior, which it developed with the _______ port of
_____________ on the coast.
Where is the evidence of trade found in Great Zimbabwe?
By the 16th century, ____________________ and ______________ split the kingdom apart, and emphasis on cattle as a
symbol of wealth led to______________________.
Representatives of Mwene Mutapa called the east coast port to buy:
During the late 19th century, ________________ had come to play a central role in the lives of ________ people who
descended from the great _____________.
Conclusion
The spread of Islam brought ___________________________ into more _______________________________ with the
global community.
The fusion of ___________ and _____________________________ created a synthesis that restructured the life of
many Africans.
What are representations of the Bantu developing concepts of kingship and statebuilding independently of trends
elsewhere in Africa?
The pre-Islamic Mediterranean has been long felt in what areas?
_______________ were the first Europeans to arrive by the late 15th century.
What parts of Africa did they arrive to and what did they find that benefited them?
What exports drew Africans to the center of trade, into a widening network of relations?
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