FAMILY AND CULTURE IN SUB-SAHARA AFRICA

Themes

• civilization bias
• worldviews: family and community
• crosscultural contacts:

Environments

• diversity
• regions: North Africa vs sub-Sahara; West Africa, East Africa, South Africa; interior
• connections:
• climate* and lifestyle
  • Sahara , oasis *
  • Niger river *
  • agriculture: Bantu kraal *

Development

• Bantu migrations ca. 2000 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E.
• "stateless societies"
• regional states and kingdoms
• central and interior: Kongo 14th-15h centuries
• West Africa
  • trans-Saharan trade; camels*
  • Kingdom of Ghana 11th-13th centuries
  • kingdom of Mali 13th-15th centuries
    • Sundiata 1230-55
    • Mansa Musa 1312-37
    • gold [Alt gold map]
• East Africa
  • Swahili
  • Indian Ocean trade
  • Axumite kingdom (Ethiopia) *; * 300-1000
  • Kilwa ca. 1000-1500
  • Great Zimbabwe Empire *; * c. 1000-1500; brief history

Culture and Worldview

• Economic:
  • migration:
  • trade:
• Political:
  • family, tribe, village
  • kingdoms and empires
• Social:
  • family, kinship
  • land-ownership
• Legacy of Lifestyles: family, consensus in Nigeria
• Religions
  • animism, polytheism
  • magic
  • Christianity: Egypt, Nubia, Axum (Ethiopia) *; *
  • Islam *; *: north Africa, Sudan
• Worldviews
  • evidence: African view versus "western" view
  • griot *: Sundiata
  • nature of the world

Conclusions

• civilization and bias
• comparisons: similarities and differences

Explore!

• did you learn this in grade school?
• Global Consortium: Africa, 400-1650

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