Islam in Africa Chapter 8. Prior to Islam Lack of political unity Secret societies handle disputes...
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Transcript of Islam in Africa Chapter 8. Prior to Islam Lack of political unity Secret societies handle disputes...
Islam in Africa
Chapter 8
Prior to Islam
Lack of political unity
Secret societies handle disputes
No need to tax b/c don’t have to support a bureaucracy
Social—organized by lineage and age
Unifying force– Religion—animism and ancestors– Language--Bantu
A Satellite View
Vegetation Zones
Natural Resources
Bantu Migration
1000 different languages; 1000+ different tribes
Unifying aspect
Bantu-speaking peoples provided a
linguistic base across Africa
An African’s “Search for Identity”
1. Nuclear Family2. Extended Family3. Age-Set
4. Clan
5. Lineage (ancestry)
TRIBE (communal living)
Traditional African ReligionANIMISM
1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being.
3. Ancestor veneration.
4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes.
5. Diviner mediator between the tribe and God.
2. A world of spirits (good & bad) in all things.
African Diviner (Shaman)
Ancestors
Prior to the Arrival of Islam
North of the Sahara had been part of classical civilizations (Phoenician, Greek outpost, Carthage Roman province)
Arrival of Islam 640-700 CEAttraction
Abbasid’s provided some political stabilityEquality within a community of believers made it easier to accept new conquerors and rulersegalitarianUnite state & religion under 1 helped reinforce the authority of African kings—caliph BUT locally divided by social, ethnic and gender
Divisions
Berbers—North Africa into Spain stopped from taking over France by Charles Martel in 711 CEAlmoravids—puritanical reformers launched jihads (purify, spread or protect faith) into the South and WestAlmahadis—also puritanical reformist
Christian: Nubia & Ethiopia
Reached Africa before Rome’s conversionCoptic (Egypt & Nubia) translated the gospels into their language & were toleratedEthiopia—Remained isolated and independentKing Lalibela—11 churches carved from stoneLater Dynasty—traced lineage back to Solomon & Sheba
Bet Giorgis, a 12th century Rock-
Hewn church in Ethiopia
Kingdom of Grasslands
Camel caravans couldn’t survive in the forests so the Sahel became a point of exchange
Sudanic State—MaliMansa Musa 1312-1337*pilgrimage*brought back scholars*trade protection*cosmopolitan court life*tolerant*gold, salt, dates—
The hoe and the bow—symbols of the common
Mosque of Jennea “port” city on the Niger River
Matrilineal & patrilinealArab slave trade—women and children
Ibn Battuta & Mansa Musa
Sundiata, Lion Prince of Malias told by griots
Sudanic Grasslands Daily Life
80% farmers: millet, rice, sorghum, wheatPolygamyCrop rotation
Swahili Coast of East Africa
Indian Ocean tradeContact with China, India, SE Asia, Middle EastClass DivisionMerchants tended to be MuslimRulers tended to speak Arabic
Peoples of the Forest & PlainsZimbabwe