1. Traditional African Society

2. Bantu Migrations Stateless Societies Bantu Societies did not depend on elaborate hierarchy of officials of a bureaucracy Governed through Kinship groups – extended families consisting of about 100 people. Bantu migrations also helped to spread agriculture and herding to all parts of Africa.

3. 1000 different languages; 1000+ different tribes

4. Social Structure Large Kingdoms Ruling Elites Military Nobles Administrative Officials Religious Officials Wealthy Merchants Artisans Commoners Peasants Slaves

5. Social Structure Small States Ruling Elite Religious Officials Kinship Gender Age-set Maasai men. These men gather together at an age set ceremony to celebrate the murran (warriors) becoming junior elders

6. Kinship Societies Tribe (communal living) 1. Nuclear Family 2. Extended Family 3. Age-Set 4. Clan 5. Lineage (ancestry)

7. Traditional Family Structures Nuclear Family: Extended Family: C C C C C H W W C C C C C H W W GP Cs GP Cs U A

8. Family Group, Tanzania

10. Woman & Child, Kongo

11. Problems of Tribalism Today 1. The tribe is more important than the nation. 2. Communication problems. 3. Inter-tribal warfare --> civil wars. 4. Tribal favorites for government jobs: Nepotism Urbanization: Breaks down tribal traditions. Tribal intermingling on the job.

14. Zanj Revolt People joined the revolt for many reasons. The majority of slaves joined due to poor treatment and working conditions (they were arguably the worst treated slaves in the Islamic world), while others joined to fight for a purer form of Islām. The "Zanj" were black African slaves who revolted against their enslavement, and against the corrupt and oppressive Arab `Abbasid regime, and conducted an armed resistance struggle in southern Iraq between the years 869 and 883 A.D. The Zanj rebellion was ultimately suppressed with the intervention of large Arab armies and the lucrative offer of amnesty and rewards to any rebels who might choose to surrender.

15. Traditional African Religion ANIMISM 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 Lesser Gods spirits (good & bad) in all things.

16. African Diviner (Shaman) Rituals included prayers, animal sacrifices, ceremonies and dances for important events – births, circumcision, marriage, and death. Diviners were usually men who clearly understood the networks of political, social, and economic relationships within their societies. People consulted Diviners when affected by illness, sterility, crop failure, or other disaster.

17. African Diviner (Shaman) The Shaman wears an isiba headdress of porcupine quills, several animal hides, snakeskin, rattles on his ankles and several strands of beads. He carries a special whisk which he waves while calling the spirits. It is believed that he is empowered by the qualities of the animals whose remains he is wearing and sickness is caused by malevolent spirits. The Shaman ‘communicates’ with the ancestors and acts as an intermediary between the dead and the living.

18. World of the Spirits Dogon “Spirit House” The traditional dama (funeral ritual) consists of a masquerade that essentially leads the soul of the departed to their final resting places through a series of ritual dances and rites. Dogon damas include the use of many masks and statuettes. Each Dogon village may differ in the designs of the masks used in the dama ritual. Every village may have their own way of performing the dama rituals.

19. Ancestors

20. Fetishes Common to many tribes was the belief that the fetishes acquired power through the ritualistic carving and consecration, the addition of special substances and the recurring activation of its spirit by offering sacrifices and magic words.

21. Fetishes

22. Rubbing Oracle, wood

23. African Cultural Rituals Ritual puberty painting, Monrovia, Liberia the peoples of the Omo have nevertheless developed different art forms that allow them great artistic expression. Such practices, including body painting, are among the most ornate and extravagant in the world. Clay lip plates are the most well-known feature of the Mursi women

24. Mask With Headcloth, Zaire (19c) Tribal Mark --> scarification

25. Kisokolo Initiation Costume, Democratic Republic of the Congo

26. Other Religions in Africa ISLAM --> 40% * Nigeria --> largest sub-Saharan Muslim countries. CHRISTIANITY --> 46% - Kush, Nubia, and Ethiopia INDIGENOUS --> 12%

27. Islam in Timbuktu

29. Great Zimbabwe