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CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS. Section 4 – Historical and Artistic Traditions - Page 396 - 399. VOCABULARY:. Oral history griots proverbs kente. BIG IDEA

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CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

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  1. CHAPTER 13 - EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS Section 4 – Historical and Artistic Traditions - Page 396 - 399

  2. VOCABULARY: Oral history griots proverbs kente

  3. BIG IDEA Although the people of West Africa did not have a written language, their culture has been passed down through oral history, writings by other people, and the arts. Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the growth of societies in West Africa.

  4. PRESERVING HISTORY

  5. MAIN IDEA West Africans have preserved their history through story telling and the written accounts of visitors. Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the growth of societies in West Africa.

  6. West Africans have preserved their history through story telling and the written accounts of visitors.

  7. Writing was never very common in West Africa.

  8. In fact, none of the major early civilizations of West Africa developed a written language.

  9. Arabic was the only written language they used.

  10. The lack of a native written language does not mean that the people of West Africa didn’t know their history, though. They passed along information through oral histories.

  11. A spoken record of past events ORAL HISTORY

  12. The task of remembering and telling West African’s history was entrusted to storytellers.

  13. THE GRIOTS

  14. The storytellers of early West Africa were called a griot. GRIOT http://www.listenall.com/dembo_jobarteh.html

  15. They were highly respected in their communities because the people of West Africa were very interested in the deeds of their ancestors.

  16. Griots helped keep this history alive for each new generation.

  17. Griots’ stories were both entertaining and informative. They told of important past events and of the accomplishments of distant ancestors. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z_2EV5FReE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YueSWLem0Nc&feature=related

  18. EX: some stories explained the rise and fall of West African empires. Other stories describe the actions of powerful kings and warriors. Some Griots made their stories more lively by acting out the events like scenes in a play. -

  19. In addition to stories, the griots recited PROVERBS – short sayings of wisdom or truth. They used proverbs to teach lessons to the people. To stay a long time in the water does not make you clean. Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped You must judge a man by the work of his hands. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/African.html

  20. EX: Talking doesn’t fill the basket in the farm – people must work to accomplish things. It is not enough for people just to talk about what they want to do.

  21. In order to tell their stories and proverbs, the griots memorized hundreds of names and events. Through this memorization process, the griots passed on West African history from generation to generation.

  22. However, some griots confused names and event in their heads. When this happened, the facts of some historical events became distorted.

  23. Some griots’ stories tell us a great deal about life in the West African empires.

  24. WEST AFRICAN EPICS

  25. Some of the griot poems are epics – long poems about kingdoms and heroes.

  26. Many of these epic poems are collected in the Dausi and the Sundiata.

  27. The Dausi tell the history of Ghana. Intertwined with historical events, though, are myths and legends.

  28. One story is about a seven-headed snake god named Bida. This god promised that Ghana would prosper if the people sacrificed a young woman to him every year. One year a mighty warrior killed Bida. As the god died, he cursed Ghana.

  29. The griots say that this curse caused the empire of Ghana to fall.

  30. Sundiata, another of the epic poems, is about Mali’s great Ruler. According to the epic, when Sundiata was still a boy, a conqueror captured Mali and killed Sundiata’s father and 11 brothers.

  31. He didn’t kill Sundiata, however, because the boy was sick and didn’t seem like a threat.

  32. However, when Sundiata grew up, he became an expert warrior. Eventually, he over threw the conqueror and became king.

  33. VISITORS’ WRITTEN ACCOUNTS

  34. In addition to the oral histories told about West Africa, visitors wrote about the region.

  35. In fact, much of what we know about early West Africa comes from the writings of travelers and scholars from Muslim lands such as Spain and Arabia.

  36. Ibn Battutah was the most famous Muslim visitor to write about West Africa.

  37. From 1353 – 1354, he traveled through the region. Ibn Battutah’s account of this journey describes the political and cultural lives of West Africans in great detail.

  38. Why were oral traditions important in West Africa? (DRAWING CONCLUSIONS)

  39. . a. What is oral history? (DEFINE) b. Why were griots and their stories important in West African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS) c. Why may an oral history provide different information than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE) • What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? (RECALL) • Name two West African epic poems and the subject of each? (IDENTIFY) • Why do you think griots were so valued in West African society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS) • How do you know the history of early West Africa if the people of West Africa left no written histories? (EXPLAIN) • What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY) A. What is oral history? (DEFINE) 1. a. What is oral history? (DEFINE) b. Why were griots and their stories important in West African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS) c. Why may an oral history provide different information than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE) • What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? (RECALL) • Name two West African epic poems and the subject of each? (IDENTIFY) • Why do you think griots were so valued in West African society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS) • How do you know the history of early West Africa if the people of West Africa left no written histories? (EXPLAIN) • What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY) Can you also answer these questions? A. What is oral history? (DEFINE) • Why were griots and their stories important in West • African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS) • Why may an oral history provide different information • than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE) • What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? • (RECALL) • Name two West African epic poems and the subject • of each? (IDENTIFY)

  40. . a. What is oral history? (DEFINE) b. Why were griots and their stories important in West African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS) c. Why may an oral history provide different information than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE) • What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? (RECALL) • Name two West African epic poems and the subject of each? (IDENTIFY) • Why do you think griots were so valued in West African society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS) • How do you know the history of early West Africa if the people of West Africa left no written histories? (EXPLAIN) • What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY) A. What is oral history? (DEFINE) 1. a. What is oral history? (DEFINE) b. Why were griots and their stories important in West African society? (MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS) c. Why may an oral history provide different information than a written account of the same event? (EVALUATE) • What are proverbs, and what are they intended to do? (RECALL) • Name two West African epic poems and the subject of each? (IDENTIFY) • Why do you think griots were so valued in West African society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS) • How do you know the history of early West Africa if the people of West Africa left no written histories? (EXPLAIN) • What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY) Can you also answer these questions? • Why do you think griots were so valued in West African • society? (MAKE JUDGMENTS) • How do you know the history of early West Africa if • the people of West Africa left no written histories? • (EXPLAIN) • What is included in Ibn Battutah’s account of his • journey to West Africa? (IDENTIFY)

  41. ART, MUSIC, and DANCE

  42. MAIN IDEA Through art, music, and dance, West African have expressed their creativity and kept alive their cultural traditions. Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the growth of societies in West Africa.

  43. Like most peoples, West African valued the arts. They expressed themselves creatively through sculpture, mask-making, cloth making, music, and dance.

  44. SCULPTURE

  45. Of all the visual art forms, the sculpture of West Africa is probably the best known. West African made ornate statues and carving out of wood, brass, clay, ivory, stone, and other materials.

  46. Most statues from West Africa are of people – often the sculptor’s ancestors. Usually these statues were made for religious rituals - to ask for the ancestors’ blessings.

  47. Sculptors made other statues as gifts for the gods.

  48. These sculptures were kept in holy places. They were never meant to be seen by people.

  49. Because their statues were used in religious rituals, many African artists were deeply respected. People thought artists had been blessed by the gods.

  50. Long after the decline of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, West African art is still admired. Museums around the world display African art

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