Transcript Slide 1
People and Traditions
of Africa
The ways of African societies varied
greatly from place to place
Hunters and Gatherers were around and
many traveled from one African land to
the other
They lived in small bands of 20-30 and
could track animals over long distances
Herders also existed in Africa
Because grazing was limited these
societies were often nomadic
Along coastlines and rivers, fish were the
basic food
Fish could be traded to inland towns for
grain, animal skins, and other products
Existence
Farming communities raised a variety of
crops: grains, yams, bananas
Farmers practiced slash-and-burn
agriculture; this is clearing forest and brush
land with iron axes and hoes, and then
burning the remains to use for fertilizer
Concept of Community
Power was given to a single chief or
important decisions were made by the
elders of the tribe
The Kingdom of Kongo had an organized
government
They used the power of a king and also
selected chiefs to rule each individual
village
Government
Families were very important to African
society
Nuclear Family- typical with parents and
children working together as a unit
Extended Family- several generations
created societies
Family
Patrilineal – important kinship ties and
inheritance were passed through the
father’s side
Matrilineal – inheritance traced through
the mother’s side; many Bantu villages
Lineage – group of households who
claimed a common ancestor
Kinship
Education was the duty of both the family
and other villagers
Children learned the history of their
people and the basic skills needed in
adulthood
West Africa, griots helped teach; vividly
told their village’s oral history- these
stories were told and retold from
generation to generation teaching a lesson
about life
Education
Slavery
Slavery was a common practice
throughout the world.
Bantu warriors would capture
neighboring villages for laborers, servants,
or soldiers
Africans also enslaved their enemies and
traded them for goods
Life of a slave was hard, but some could
win their freedom through payment, hard
work, or marrying a free person
Growth in Slavery
Human trade grew as contact with the
Muslim world increased.
Muslims couldn’t enslave Muslims, but they
could enslave non-Muslims, and they would
trade cotton and other goods for enslaved
non-Muslims
Europeans arrived in West Africa, a new
market for enslaved Africans began: armed
Africans (with European guns) would
capture Africans to sell.
◦ Primary Source page 439
1441- first Africans were sold in Portugal: 12
men, women, and boys: the first Africans to
be part of the slave trade that would involve
millions
1444- Portuguese ship took 235 enslaved
Africans to Portugal to work as laborers or
the sugarcane plantations on Atlantic islands
Late 1400s- Europeans arrived in the
Americas with enslaved Africans to grow
sugar, tobacco, rice, and cotton.
Art in Africa
Painting
Weaving
Woodcarving
Poetry
Dancing
Metalworking
These arts served as religious purposes
and to teach people their history
Music and Dance
Connected to everyday African life
They helped them to express their religious feelings
and to help make hard tasks seem easier
Enslaved Africans would sing songs to remind them of
home. Songs of hardship eventually developed into
the blues
Over time, other forms of African- based music
developed into ragtime, jazz, rock and roll, and rap.
Dance was a way to communicate with the spirits and
express life