Traditional African Society

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.

1000 different languages; 1000+ different tribes

Social StructureLarge Kingdoms

Ruling Elites

Military Nobles

Administrative Officials

Religious Officials

Wealthy Merchants

Artisans

Commoners

Peasants

Slaves

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

Kinship Societies

Tribe (communal living)

1. Nuclear Family

2. Extended Family

3. Age-Set

4. Clan

5. Lineage (ancestry)

Traditional Family Structures

Nuclear Family:

Extended Family:

C

C

C C

CHW W

C

C

C C

C

HW W

GP

CsGP

Cs

U

A

Family Group, Tanzania

Age Grades•Groups of all individuals within a given community born within a few years of one another.

•Members perform tasks appropriate for their levels of development.

•Boys and girls usually separate at 10 or 11 years old.

•Children bond together to form tight circles of friends and political allies.

Boys learn how to herd goats and cattle, hunt, farm, and fight. Also,

craftsmaking of weapons and tools, communication, cooperation.

•Girls learned skills of house management, child care, field

work, organization, and marketing.

Woman & Child, Kongo

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.

Land is very Valuable•Private Property did not exist.

•Communities claimed rights to use land communally.

•Male heads of families jointly governed the village and organized the work. They allocated portions of land to their family members to cultivate and distributed the harvests.

Slavery•Most slaves were captives of war

•Others were debtors, suspected witches, and criminals.

•Most worked as agricultural laborers – some were laborers, miners, porters

•Slaves were a sign of personal wealth – increase agricultural output.

•Muslim merchants bought slaves from East Africa and through Trans-Saharan trade route.

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.

Traditional African ReligionANIMISM

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.

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.

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.

World of the SpiritsDogon “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.

Ancestors

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.

Fetishes

Rubbing Oracle, wood

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

African Cultural Rituals

Mask With Headcloth, Zaire (19c)

Tribal Mark --> scarification

Other Religions in Africa

ISLAM --> 40% * Nigeria --> largest sub-Saharan Muslim countries.

CHRISTIANITY --> 46% - Kush, Nubia, and Ethiopia

INDIGENOUS --> 12%

Common Traits or Characteristics of Traditional

African Tribal Life1. The good of the group comes ahead of the good

of the individual.

2. All land is owned by the group.

3. Strong feeling of loyalty to the group.

4. Important ceremonies at different parts of a person’s life.

5. Special age and work associations.

6. Deep respect for ancestors.

7. Religion is an important part of everyday life.

8. Government is in the hands of the chiefs [kings].

Great Zimbabwe