Download LECTURE NOTES 3.3 AFRICAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE

LECTURE NOTES 3.3
AFRICAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE
I. LIFE IN MEDIEVAL AFRICA
1. Africans
often lived with
extended families of many
generations.
2. Many African villages are
matrilineal, tracing
ancestors through the
mother.
3. Children were highly valued.
4. Education was responsibility
of the village. Griots
(storytellers) passed on
oral history, usually about
life lessons.
5.
Some women were
rulers and soldiers.
Dahia al-Kahina was a
queen who fought
against a Muslim
invasion in Northwestern
Africa. Queen Nzinga in
the Congo battled
Portuguese slave traders
for nearly 40 years.
II. Slavery
II. Slavery
1. Slavery
existed in Africa before arrival of the
Europeans. Families could stay together, and slaves
could get freedom.
2. The slave trade grew as trade with Muslim
merchants increased. Muslims were not allowed to
enslave other Muslims.
3. Then, Europeans armed with guns arrived.
4. The Portuguese brought enslaved Africans to
Europe, the Atlantic islands, and the Americas as
farmers and laborers. They farmed cotton, rice,
sugarcane and tobacco.
'Those who deny freedom to
others, deserve it not for
themselves; and, under a just
God, cannot long retain it. '
- April 6, 1859 - Abraham
Lincoln, U.S. President
III. African Culture
1.
2.
3.
The African Diaspora
is the spreading of
African people and
culture throughout the
world by enslaved
Africans.
African art included
cave paintings, masks,
and ivory or bronze
statues.
Weavers wove colorful
cloth (kente)
5. Africans
believed dance allowed spirits
to express themselves.
6. Enslaved Africans used music to
remind them of their homeland,
express hardship and religious faith,
and hopes for freedom.
7. Griots told stories, history, fables, and
proverbs (wise sayings).