Aim: What were the major cultural components of African kingdoms?

1. Aim: What were the major cultural components of African kingdoms? Do Now: What do you think of when you hear African culture?

2. People and the Environment • 1. Hunting and Food Gathering • Khoisan People- adapted to the harsh conditions of the Kalahari Desert by gathering roots and herbs, and hunting small game • Bantu Migrations pushed many nomadic people of Africa to fringe areas • Lived in small band of 20 or 30, with vast knowledge of natural world • 2. Herding and Fishing • Along coasts and rivers, fish was the basic food • Traded surplus of fish for products made by people who lived inland • 3.Settled Farming Societies • Slash and Burn Agriculture- farming method in which forest and brush are cut down and burned to create planting fields

4. Village Governments • Power was usually shared among a number of people • Some villages had a chief with a good deal of authority, in others elders made the major decisions • Women took dominant roles in marketplaces or as peacemakers, especially in West Africa • Often made decisions by consensus

5. The Kingdom of Kongo • Flourished at about 1500 in central Africa • Consisted of many villages grouped into districts. Each district was governed by an official that was appointed by the king, each village had its own chief. • King chosen by a board of electors and had to govern according to traditional laws • King collected taxes through local governors, in goods or in cowrie shells (a common African currency)

6. Family Patterns • Nuclear Family- family unit consisting of parents and children • Patrilineal- term for a family organization in which kinship ties are traced through the father • Matrilineal- term for a family organization in which kinship ties are traced through the mother • Each family belonged to a lineage- group claiming a common ancestor • An individual’s place in society was determined by a system of age grades, which included all boys and girls born in the same year. Each age grade had certain responsibilities and privileges

7. Religious Beliefs • Worshipped many gods and goddesses (polytheistic) • Identified the forces of nature with divine spirits • Believed that a single, unknowable supreme stood above all the other gods and goddesses, this supreme was the creator and ruler of the universe • Christianity and Islam influenced people in some parts of Africa

8. Artistic and Literary Traditions • In art and architecture, African traditions extend back to the ancient rock paintings of the Sahara • Much art was closely tied to religion. Statues were used in religious ceremonies • African societies preserved their history and values through oral and written literature • Arabic was a common written language in parts of Africa influenced by Islam • Oral literature encouraged a sense of community and common values

9. Group Activity Make your own tribe or village at your table! Write down and explain your government system, beliefs, adaptations, and traditions. The “chief” of your group will present to the class.

10. Exit Slip Explain the major cultural components of African Kingdoms. What do you think contributed the most to the kingdoms and was the most important?