What African political and social institutions predate the arrival of Islam?P.172 -192 chapter 8 Review on Monday

There were linguistic, mutually intelligible ties via Bantu. Diverse economies…sedentary agriculture, nomadic pastoralism, trading, ironworking. . .

Animistic religion, usually carried out by diviners.

• Tradition of oral history, maintained by Griots

Sierra Leone

Animistic religion,

What African political and social institutions predate the arrival of Islam?P.172 -192 chapter 8 Review on Monday

There were a variety of forms, including centralized, hierarchical, decentralized, and stateless societies. These various political forms often existed side-by-side.

There were linguistic, mutually intelligible ties via Bantu

Animistic religion, usually carried out by diviners

Tradition of oral history, maintained by Griots

Sierra Leone

How did the arrival of Islam affect African societies?

brought the notion of equality under Allah

provided a legal system (sharia)

strengthened local rulers

connected Africa to a larger

What were the Sudanic States and how were they organized?

Over time, these included Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Hausa. P.178

• Generally led by a patriarch or council of elders from a family or lineage, who were considered sacred and separate from their subjects.

• Based on an ethnic core and supplemented by conquered peoples of neighboring regions.

• Leaders used Islam to consolidate and solidify power.

Organization:

What are the geographic boundaries of the West Sudanic empires? Sahara, Niger R., Senegal R.

Jenne Mosque in Mali

What city and river are shared by many of these civilizations? Timbuktu, Niger

Why do you think the Sahel states did not push southward toward the ocean?

Rainforests. They had good river systems around them. Trade was coming from the north.

How did Islam and the beliefs of indigenous societies fuse among African

peoples?

Africans wouldn’t give up traditional beliefs altogether (many never converted), but conquerors were not pushing full conversion and were therefore tolerant of leaders who partially assimilated. Thus, and as an example, African gender roles, including matrilineal traditions and open interaction between males/females in public, persisted.

What was the connection between East Africa and Islam?

Trade led to Islamization, but Islam heightened trade due to enhanced trust amongst merchants of an expansive Muslim world. Swahili language is a good example of this symbiotic relationship.

What elements of geography and climate would confine the Swahili civilization to the coasts of the Indian Ocean?

East Africa

Highlands, lack of navigable rivers, best trade is on the monsoon routes

Lalibela Church in Ethiopia

With what other Indian Ocean cultures did the Swahili trade?

East Africa

India

Arabia

Persia

SE Asia