Traditional African Culture

Section Review Questions

1. The most important element in African society was the family.

2. A clan is a group of families with similar heritage. A tribe is a group of families.

3. Climate, lifestyle, and material availability determined a building's style and permanence.

4. Many African homes take a page from India.

5. West African homes, due to the less fertile soil, are less permanent; the people had to stay on the move.

6. Children learned about their family history orally from the storytellers.

7. New homes reflect a changing society. When you think about homes in the 80's, they were simple houses for a simple age. Nowadays, homes are made eco-friendly. This tells us that our society is growing environmentally friendly, which is good.

Settings: West and East Africa

Section Review Questions

1. The Nile River flows through the Sudan and the heart of tropical Africa to the Atlantic.

2. Three bodies of water surround Africa: the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Sea.

3. To reach Timbuktu from Egypt, one must cross the Northern Sahara.

4. North America and Africa both have tall mountains, big rivers, and varied weather. This inhibited the growth of both. for Africa's case, the mountains, rivers, and climate of North Africa kept out the Muslims and the British (but not for long). North America had the same problem. The cold New England winters just about decimated the Pilgrims. In the same case, for a long time America was trapped in New England by the Appalachian mountains until Davy Crockett came 'round.

Tradational African Religion

Section Review Questions

1. The most important traditions in African society were the religious traditions.

2. Animism and demonism are the two main religions, worshipping (respectively) animals and promoting magic.

3. The witch doctors run the religion in each community.

4. The greatest threat to African souls is the Devil.

5. Modern cultures are losing family traditions because few familys stick together. One kid goes to the video games, another goes to the homework, Dad works on something in the shed,
Mom cooks dinner, and no one sees another until dinner, when everyone gets their food and ignores each other. No one ever stays together. Families fall apart. Not many people have little family get-togethers for the heck of it.

The Arts of Traditional Africa

Section Review Questions

1. Africans used music to acompany work, religious ceremonies, community events, and recreation.

2. Masks each had a special purpose. Usually, the one wearing the mask "became" the person the mask was of in religious ceremony.

3. Little of African architecture lasted very long. There wasn't many big cities, and the materials used weren't very strong.

4. A Portugese explorer by the name of Franciso Alvares discovered a Christian community in the modern town of Lalibela, Ethiopia.

5. The churches over there were interesting in the fact that they were carved out of solid stone.

6. Most of Africa did not care what their buildings look like, as long as they did what they were meant to do. The buildings should be functional, and if they were fashionable? Thats an added bonus.

Making a Living

Section Review Questions

1. Africans obtained food in four ways: hunting, gathering berries, farming, and herding.

2. African communities had to move a lot, though. The earth wasn't very fertile, so in order to keep growing well, one had to stay on the move.

3. The children sat in tall chairs in the farming fields, scaring away any birds.

4. Africans exchanged food and goods by bartering.

5. African life was somewhat similar to European life at that time. They traded by bartering, traded animals for produce sometimes, and had little education.

African Kingdoms and Empires

Section Review Questions

1. The big trade kingdoms started in West Africa.

2. These kingdoms were able to stay put because they didn't need to grow their crops. They bought them.

3. The Muslim merchants brought their religion with them to Africa.

4. The most important thing brought to Africa by the Muslims was a written language.

5. The East African language Swahili reflects on a combination of cultures. It is a mix of Arabic, Persian, Portuguese, Hindi, and Bantu.

6. Education has a positive effect on nations. It lets people read a newspaper. It makes people better mathematicians. It paves the way for science.

Chapter 5 Chapter Review

1. (a) family (b) tribe

2. (a) sticks (b) leaves (c) grass (d) mud

3. (a) orally (b) Muslims (c) written

4. (a) Ghana (b) Mali (c) Songhai

5. (c)

6. (d)

7. (b)

8. (a)

9. folktales

10. traditions

11. language, beliefs, customs

12. clan

13. ancestor

14. chief

15. tribe

16. A country's national resources determine its place in the world market. Europe was big on farming, so it produced most of the worlds vegetables. Africa had plenty of diamonds, and didn't consider them important. The rest of Eurasia, however, had little diamonds to be found, and rushed to Africa to find these shining fortunes. Africa's harsh deserts and melting temperatures kept out wannabe millionaires. Other inhibitors, such as the fact that America was under development at the time, stalled exploration until the early 1900s.
America does not have these problems. It's temperate climate and thriving cities lets anyone make a fortune. If it had the same troubles as Africa had, I'm sure that only half or less of America would be American. It would be greatly rooted in Native American culture. It would have wonderful resources, but no way to reach them.

Important Words

Clan: largest family group; anyone who could trace their heritage to a common ancestor.

Tribe: two or more clans living together.

storytellers: memorized their family's long history, and other important tales.

oral history: when a child became a teenager, he sat down at the fire and listened to the storyteller tell him this.

animism: belief that spirits inhabited rocks, trees, rivers, and animals.

witch doctors: the priests of animism.

Aksum: ancient kingdom on the Nile, now known as Ethiopia.

Frumentius: bishop of the Ethiopian church.

demonism: demon worship.

"talking drums": quick messaging system; effective for miles.

masks: used in religious ceremonies.

Benin: Southern Nigerian empire.

bronze plaques: commemorates the life of the people.

Lalibela: Home of 10 churches carved from rock.

Church of the Redeemer of the World: combination of Byzantine, Greek, and Roman architecture.

Church of St. George: massive church carved out of a hill made of lava rock.

nomad: people who must stay on the move to live.

fallow: a term for soil that is dormant.

Ghana: a big African empire.

Mali: another big African empire.

Songhai: the last African empire.

Timbuktu: major African trade city.

Mansa Musa: major ruler of Mali; turned Timbuktu into a big center of arts and learning.

Swahili: language; is a mix of Arabic, Persian, Portugese, Hindi, and Bantu.