West Africa: Ghana, Mali and Songhay

1. West Africa: Ghana, Mali and Songhay http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/um/painting06.jpg

2. Animism • Traditional African religious beliefs: • One God above a host of lesser gods or sem-divine figures • Ancestral spirits • Sacrifice to ensure divine protection and generosity • Rites of passage to move from child to adult, life to death

3. Western African Kingdoms • Important developments: • long distance trade • introduction of Islam • Led to: -- kingdoms and empires flourishing in 5th – 16th century -- each had extensive trade with North through Trans-Saharan Trade Route, large standing armies, and an effective system of taxation

4. GHANA

5. Current Day Location • Not in modern Ghana • about four hundred miles northwest in Northern Senegal and Southern Mauritania

6. Ghana developed in West Africa between the Niger and the Gambia Rivers (from 300- 1100). The rivers helped Ghana to grow rich because they were used to transport goods and develop trade. Ghana also collected taxes from traders who passed through the kingdom. http://www.nevadasurveyor.com/africa/web/pages/niger_river.htm

7. Ghana Empire

8. Several clans of the Soninke people of west Africa came together under the leadership of a great king named Dinga Cisse • Few natural resources: salt and gold. • Adept at making things from iron. • Warriors used iron tipped spears to subdue their neighbors, who fought w/ weapons made of stone, bone, and wood. http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/mm/eng/mm_rs_01.htm

9. "The King . . .(wears). . . necklaces round his neck and bracelets on his forearms and he puts on a high cap decorated with gold and wrapped in a turban of fine cotton. He (meets people) in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses covered with gold-embroidered materials…and on his right, are the sons of the (lesser) kings of his country, wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold.At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree. Round their necks they wear collars of gold and silver, studded with a number of balls of the same metals." 10th century geographer Al-Bakri, quoted in Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History.

10. Ghana became a rich and powerful nation, especially when the camel began to be used as a source of transport. Ghana relied on trade and trade was made faster and bigger with the use of the camel. http://es.encarta.msn.com/media_461532998_761558787_-1_1/Caravana_de_camellos.html news.nationalgeographic.com/. ../salt/photo6.html

11. blankbluesky.com/ travel/ghana/ Islamic Mosque in Ghana Muslim warriors came into Ghana and fought with the non-Islamic people there. This weakened the great civilization of Ghana. Local warriors then decided to break away from the power of Ghana and form their own local kingdoms. This ended many of the trade networks. This eventually weakened the civilization of Ancient Ghana.

12. Mali http://www.btsadventures.com/img/mosque.jpg

13. In 1235, at the battle of Kirina, Sundiata and Sumanguru met in battle. According to legend, both were sorcerers, and their magic would determine the outcome. Sundiata roared at the troops of King Sumanguru, who were terrified and ran for cover. Sumanguru retaliated, and the heads of eight spirits magically appeared above his own. Unfortunately for Sumanguru, Sundiata had the stronger magic, and the spirits were defeated. Sundiata then aimed an arrow at Sumaguru, and although it only grazed Sumanguru's shoulder, it drained him of all magic, and Sumanguru was defeated. Sundiata

14. Mansa Musa (1312-1337), king of Mali, developed the gold and salt trade of Mali. The kingdom became very powerful and rich. Mansu Musa: Lord of the Negroes of Guinea. (Photo courtesy of History of Africa)

15. Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy city in Arabia, in 1324. • 60,000 servants and followers • 80 camels carrying • 4,000 + pounds of gold • 500 of his servants carried a staff of pure gold http://bseleck.bei.t-online.de/timbuktu/img_tim/mansamusag.gif

16. Mansa Musa also built many beautiful mosques in western Africa. http://travel.u.nu/pic/ml/djenne.jpg

17. When Mansa Musa died, no kings as powerful as he followed. So, Mali weakened. Eventually, Berbers and others came into the area to claim kingdom’s territory. Although Mali fell, the kingdom of Songhay would rise in its place. Berbers (1893) http://www.uchicago.edu/docs/mp-site/plaisanceplan/graphics/berbers.jpg

18. Songhay http://www.exzooberance.com

19. This map was created in 1375 and shows Mansa Musa’s Kingdom. The same trade routes were used by the merchants of the Songhay kingdom. Check out the various pictures. http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Travelers/Catal_AtlasAfrica.jpg

20. The picture above is one artist’s idea of what the great Songhay leader, Sunni Ali might have looked like. Sunni Ali saw that the kingdom of Mali was weakening and he led his soldiers to conquer the area. He began the kingdom of Songhay. He also set up a complex government to rule all the lands he had conquered. http://www.abcorpaffairs.com/gallery/

21. Askia Muhammad After Sunni Ali died in 1492 CE, his son took over the rule of Songhay but he did not accept Islam as a religion which angered many people. One of Sunni Ali’s generals, named Askia Muhammad, overthrew the new king and made himself king of Songhay. Muhammad made Islam the official religion of his kingdom. http://www.thewoz.ca/ghana/_larabanga1.jpg

22. Decline of Songhay (Photo courtesy of African Origin of Civilization by Cheikh Anta Diop) Songhay remained a rich and strong kingdom under Askia Muhammad rule. It had a complex government centered in the city of Gao, and great centers of learning. However, in the late 1500s, Moroccans invaded Songhay to take its trade routes. Moroccans had a new weapon, the gun, and the army of Songhay did not. This led to the fall of Songhay.

23. Silk, Ceramics, Beads, Islam from Europe and Asia Salt Timbuktu Gao Jenne Gold, Ivory, Wood, Slaves All three kingdoms of West Africa relied on trade for their strength and wealth. Coming into West Africa Coming from Africa and going to Europe and Asia

24. Vibrant trade and interaction between Persians, Arabs, Indians, and Africans Swahili Coast

25. Swahili Coast • String of cities on coast of East Africa (Modern-day Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania) • Independent city-states • Linked by trade, common culture and language • Role of merchants from the Arab peninsula, Persia, and India • settled among and intermarried with the Swahili towns' African founders. • By 12th century, Swahili culture exhibited Arab and Asian cultural influences (e.g., architecture, mixed religion) • Islam: well-established along the Swahili Coast by 12th century, though elements of indigenous African religions remained. • For centuries, Swahili merchants served as middlemen, exporting products from the East African interior in exchange for goods purchased from Indian Ocean merchant ships.

26. Swahili Coast

27. Decorative Arts: Door from S.C.

28. Great Zimbabwe

29. Great Zimbabwe • Great Zimbabwe • Shona-speaking people • No written records of this civilization • Wealthy kingdom due to cattle and gold • No direct control over gold mines, managed gold trade, bought in exchange for cattle. • In turn, they traded gold to Swahili Coast

30. “Among the gold mines of the inland plains between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers there is a fortress built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them.... This edifice is almost surrounded by hills, upon which are others resembling it in the fashioning of stone and the absence of mortar, and one of them is a tower more than 12 fathoms [22 m] high. The natives of the country call these edifices Symbaoe, which according to their language signifies court.” -1531, Vicente Pegado, Captain of the Portuguese Garrison of Sofala

31. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKrTdv-t4E (1:36-11:00, 40:00-End) Entering Great Zimbabwe

32. The City of Great Zimbabwe

33. Great Zimbabwe

34. Great Zimbabwe • Decline • environmental: overgrazing and drought caused the soil on the Zimbabwe Plateau to become exhausted and led to famine. • OR, moved in order to maximize their exploitation of the gold trade network. • By 1500, abandoned.