Unit 3: Sub-Saharan AfricaToday’s Topic: African Tribalism & Animism

In your notes . . .

Ancient African Kingdoms • Africa had empires that ruled vast

territories for centuries.• Nile and Kush in Northeast• Mali and Songhai in the West

• Otherwise, African culture is DIVERSE – TRIBES!

African Tribalism • Stateless Society: Outside of north and western Africa, there are fewer organized kingdoms.• Tribal culture changes dramatically

from village to village – DIVERSITY.•Most tribes rely on waterways

such as the Nile, Congo, or Niger for survival.

The Bantu Migration • Bantu originally came from

Equatorial Africa.• Over thousands of years, Bantu

people migrated south from West Africa.• Today, most Sub-Saharan black

Africans have some connection to the Bantu people: language, religion, customs, etc.

Family & Lineage • Most tribes are structured around the extended family• parents, children, grandparents . . .

• Lived in small villages• Families were combined into larger

communities known as lineage groups/clans• Your lineage says a lot about your place in society.

• Extended family has struggled as many rural Africans have begun moving to cities – urbanization.• Tribes are either patrilineal or matrilineal

(trace heritage through father or mother’s family).• In many tribes, women make the important

decisions.

Community & Education • The group is more important than the individual.

• Age Sets: Based on one’s age, a tribesperson has different responsibilities.• Men: hunt, protect, farm• Women: raise children, prepare food, clean

• Different villages had different methods of raising and educating children:• Congo – boys and girls were raised by mom until age

6. Learned language, family history, songs, etc.• After that they were separated, girls to the “house

of women” and boys to the “house of men”• Traditions are handed down orally from

generation to generation.• Griots of West Africa serve as storytellers using

poetry, dance, and rhythm to pass on history.

Griots of West Africa

Religion in Tribal Africa • North Africa: Islam dominates

• Sub-Saharan Africa is more diverse.• For the majority of its history, Africa has

been dominated by Animism & Ancestor Worship.• Animism: the belief that all things have some

kind of spirituality• Ancestor Worship: having deep respect for

wisdom of dead ancestors• Islam has spread beyond the Sahara.• Christianity was introduced to many parts of

Africa by Europeans (1500s – 1900s).• Today, many Africans combine Christianity with

tribal beliefs.

Problems Facing Modern Tribes • National unity is difficult when many

Africans show more loyalty to a tribe than the nation.• Communication problems centered on

language.• Tribal warfare, much of which is

connected to European Imperialism.• Tribal control of government and

government positions: Nepotism• Urbanization is challenging traditional

tribal practices and breaking up lineage groups/clans.