WEST AFRICA
The following is a guide of factual information about the country of Mali today and in the ancient times. This information is meant to be use in assisting educators as they teach the standards of learning for the state of Virginia.
HISTORY
Targeted SOL: History 3.2: The student will study the early
Western African Empire of Mali by describing its oral tradition
(storytelling), government (kings), and economic development (trade).
Oral Tradition
(Storytelling)
Most of the history known about West Africa comes from the storytelling
that has been shared over centuries. Those storytellers that are the
keepers of the history are called griots (GREE-ohs) in some writings they
are referred to as djelis. The storytellers not only give information about
the past, but they do so often to the sound of an instrument known as a harp
lute or kora. These stories are often shared in large groups. Imagine how
Americans go to concerts today and listen to our favorite band. This
experience not only entertains us, but we gather information. This is the
way it was and is for Malians.
West Africans of ancient times did not have a system of writing, this did not occur until the Muslims brought the Arabic language to Mali, after the reign of Mansa Musa, because of this it was tradition to train a person in the art of storytelling. These people would learn from listening to the stories shared by griots of their time. These griots often used a twenty one stringed instrument that looks similar to guitar or harp to accompany them. The tradition of storytelling still takes place in Mali today, even though a system of writing is in place. The Malians are connected to their heritage by the oral tradition and it has not been replaced.
Government (Monarchy)
Mali 1230 A.D. +
According to Toyin Falola’s Key Events in African History, the
Malinke-speaking people built the Malian empire. They had been a part of
Ghana [(GA-nuh) which was a kingdom built between 300 and 500 A.D.]
and broke away in the thirteenth century and created the Kangaba kingdom
near the Upper Niger River. Ghana means “warrior king”. The legendary hero
who changed the Kangaba kingdom into the Mali Empire is Sundiata (Sun-JAH-tuh)
which means “Lion Prince”. Sundiata was a wonderful mansa [(MAN-suh) which
is one person who would rule or lead] and well-loved. Prior to Sundiata’s
reign leaders were not referred to as mansas. According to Falola, Sudiata
is credited with having supernatural powers (95). Many Africans believe in
witchcraft and sorcery. Other stories passed down share that at Sundiata’s
birth there was a great thunderstorm that went across Mali and that this
storm was a sign that the might of the buffalo and the power the lion were
joined united in Sudiata (Masoff 20). Thus he is referred to as the Lion
King.
Sundiata is considered to have been kind, funny, and wise. Other kings came to him for advice and according to Joy Masoff’s writings Sundiata treated both the poor and the rich the same, with respect. This treasured king’s life ended before 1260 after a fifteen year rule (Masoff, 27). Griots have many stories of how he died: some say he drowned, some say he possibly was hit by a stray arrow at a wild party.
The story of Sudiata is still shared today in oral and written tradition, one such saying of Sundiata is “He has come, and happiness has come. Sundiata is here, and happiness is here.” Niani (Nee-AH-nee) was the capital at the time of Sundiata. Niani means “bright city” in the Mande (MAN-day) language.
After Sundiata’s death, his son the Red King (red for the color of his skin) Mansa Wali held leadership. Niani continued to grow rich. Mansa Wali ruled for fifteen years and after that the kings that followed up until 1307 (according to Masoff and until 1312 is the year sited by Falola) did not lead with any greatest. They were said to have been terrible.
In 1307 or 1312 king Mansa Musa, the grandson of Sudiata’s half-brother, became Mali’s leader and is considered the greatest king of the Malian Empire. During Mansa Musa’s reign Mali attained the height of its power. The empire increased twice the size of the former kingdom of Ghana because of Mansa Musa’s conquests. These conquests included control of the major markets and lead trade routes of the trans-Saharan trade. “A uniform system of law and order was imposed on a large area, and the people were secure. A combination of leadership, efficiency in the collection of revenues, and the availability of resources to sustain an army made Mansa Musa one of the greatest statesmen of pre-colonial Africa” (Falola, 95). What happened is that Mansa Musa divided the kingdom into provinces with each big city having its own mayor. This is not unlike the United States and how it is divided into states with local and state governments. Mansa Musa had royal tax collectors at each marketplace and very huge army to keep the peace. We call our tax collectors the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and we have many branches of the military to protect our country.
Economic Development
(trade)
The trans-Saharan trade which began well before the time of Sundiata and
Mansa Musa was carried over three distinct climate and cultural zones: the
Maghrib, the Sahara, and the Sudan. This is a large portion of West Africa
and the kingdom of Mali at the time of Mansa Musa stretched out to the
Atlantic Ocean (today it is a landlocked country). Nehemia Levtzion states
that the four significant factors in promoting trade at its height are: a).
the camel, b). the Berber tribes on both shores of the Sahara, who acted as
human bridges, [Ancient Mali sat on the southern shore or the Sahel (sah-HEL)
of the Sahara] c). Islam, the common religion of the North-African traders
(also the religion of Mansa Musa), the Saharan nomads, the Sudanese traders
and the rulers and d). the large-scale empires in the Sudan (124).
To trade means to exchange one thing for another. Both men and women were allowed to participate in the trans-Saharan trade and this took place all day long at the market place (Spilman Lawson, 16). Major commercial centers were in Niani, Timbuktu, and Gao.
In ancient Mali merchants (traders) from the north came along the trade route with salt (at times worth as much or more than gold, because of its usefulness in preserving, tanning leather, making medicines, etc.), there was also copper, cloth, pearls and books. Books at the time of Mansa Musa were useful. Mansa Musa made the city of Timbuktu the “city of books” because of his love of learning (Masoff, 31). The great university of Sankore was in Timbuktu.
Other merchants came from the south bringing gold, kola nuts, ivory, leather, and slaves. Caravans also brought goods from as far away as China. Jewels, silks, furs and rare birds were also traded (Masoff, 14). Mansa Musa had the items all taxed and Mali became rich. Mansa Musa on a trip to Egypt (a part of his hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia) he shared so much gold that its worth plummeted.
GEOGRAPHY
Targeted SOL: Geography 3.4: The student will develop map
skills by
a) locating
Greece, Rome, and West Africa;
b) describing
the physical and human characteristics of Greece, Rome, and West Africa;
c)
explaining how the people of Greece, Rome, and West Africa adapted to
and/or changed their environment to meet their needs.
Location of Mali
Mali is located in West Africa and its main source of water is the Niger
River. Mali’s borders looks a bit like wings of a butterfly (An
Introduction to Mali, 1) turned on the side with one “wing” to the south
west being smaller that the northeastern “wing”.
See Map of Empire of Mali and Mali today: http://greenwichmeantime.com/images/africa/ml-map.jpg. 2/6/2004.
The Empire of Mali during the reign of Mansa Musa covered as far west as the Atlantic Ocean and Mansa Musa conquered many cities of North Africa (Sands, 8). Mali today is landlocked and bordered by seven other states: Algeria lies to the north and northeast, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso to the southeast and, with the Ivory Coast, to the south. On the west are Senegal and Mauritania. After the region of Mansa Musa the empire of Mali declined by the second half of the fourteenth century. Those left from the royal family were unable to create a set of workable rules and the kingdom was divided into parts. This led to civil war and the central authority weakened. From this weakening various groups took over parts of what was then Mali. After its collapse the Songhay Empire arrived in 1468 (Falola, 99).
Physical and Human
Characteristics
The larger northwestern region of Mali today extends to the Sahara and
is almost entirely arid desert or semi desert. Most of Mali is scrubby
grasslands called the savannah (suh-VA-nuh) and it is very dry. According
to Masoff in ancient Mali there were fine soils for crops, pastures for
cattle and gold was found in the forests to the west and south and salt to
the north.
In ancient Mali there were twelve large clans of people living throughout the land. Today people live in both the rural and urban parts of Mali. The twelve clans in ancient times did not get along with one another and over time found it better to unite than to fight and kill one another. Mali at the end of the great empire endured civil wars just as the United States has experienced its own civil war.
Today just as in the U.S., the Malian people still live together sharing diversity. The area of current Mali is about the size of California and Texas put together. In Mali there are more than twelve major ethnic groups represented. The official language remains French even though the country is now independent and there are some ethnic groups that speak their own languages. The capital city of Bamako has over 1 million people living there today, although is a poor city but one that is rich in tradition. One major difference in present day Mali and the USA is a great portion of the population of Malians still believes in polygamy. To many a woman’s role remains to be that of under or behind a man. Interestingly, in the city of Bamaka today many women require a monogamous pre-nuptial contract before marriage.
Adapting to the Environment
The Niger River continues to be a major transportation route for Mali
today as it was in the past. The boat is a predominant form of
transportation from city to city. The introduction to the camel was a major
change and useful animal in nomadic herding for Mali today. The camel is
able to carry large loads of supplies; go long distances without needing to
have water and its large hooves do not sink in the sand of the desert as
horses do. The people endure a hot dry climate and when the rains come and
wash away the clay surfaces of the mosques the people in the villages still
unite to repair them just as in the past. They keep this tradition rather
than getting cement or concrete. Mud brick is still used for building
houses and this is not unlike the brick we use here in the U.S.
ECONOMICS
Targeted SOL: Economics 3.8: The student will recognize the concepts of specializations (being an expert in one job, product, or service) and interdependence (depending on others) in the production of goods and services (in ancient Greece, Rome, the Western African Empire of Mali, and in the present).
Interdependence
The people of Ancient Mali were involved in trade much like how we buy
and sell things in the U.S. today. If a person in ancient Mali had salt
they would sell or trade some for meat. The meat is needed for nourishment.
If a person had cloth they sold or traded it for food, salt, gold, etc.
These items are all necessary for sustaining life. In the U.S. today we
sell products such as cars to other countries and purchase the fuel we need
to run those cars from other countries. There are people in the United
States that plant trees to sell them to companies to make paper and timber,
the very things that planter needs to write on or use to build a house. The
U.S. imports and exports items daily. Many people are involved with trade
on a smaller level. Children trade baseball and Yogi Oyo cards for the fun
of completing a set or playing a game or even a chocolate pudding snack at
lunch for fries. We as a community of the Earth need the resources that we
can get from one another whether they are physical or emotional.
