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World History Unit 3: The Culture and Kingdoms of West Africa

Terms in this set (60)

Almoravids
the people who weakened the city of Kumbi and weakened Ghana's empire, they also were the first to tell West Africa about Islam
Arabs
the first people to influence West Africa to follow one religion
Griot
a talented poet-musician of the Mande people, who tells stories, sings songs, and recites poems to share history
Ibn Battuta
a Muslim historian/traveler the crossed the Sahara with a trade caravan
Kumbi
the capital of Ghana empire that had one of the biggest markets in West Africa
Mande
the rival kingdom that conquered Kumbi
Mansa Musa
the first West African ruler to practice Islam devoutly
Muslims
followers of the religion of Islam
Nok
a people living in West Africa in the 500s B.C.E. who mastered ironworking
Sundjata
the real life lion king that eventually became king of Mali
Sunni Ali
the ruler of the Songhai people and empire, they also defeated Mali
Benin
A kingdom that arose near the Niger River delta in the 1300s and became a major West African state in the 1400s
Ghana
a medieval civilization and empire in West Africa and the first West African kingdom
Jenne-Jeno
an ancient West African city built along the Niger River that was built 2,000 years ago
Mali
a West African empire ruled by the Mande that became a major crossroads of the Islamic world and it was the second West Africa
Niger River
the longest river in West Africa, and a kind of trading highway in early times
Nigeria
the area where the people called the Nok lived and they made terra-cotta sculptures, and iron
Sahara
a large, hot desert in North Africa that covers about 3.5 square miles and it was to dry to grow crops
Sahel
a zone of semi-desert, south of the Sahara, where short grasses, small bushes, and a few trees grow
Songhai
a people who broke away from the empire of Mali and eventually built their own vast empire in West Africa and it was third West African kingdom you were forced to become Muslim
Taghaza
the village with an abundance of salt and the village the the West Africans had to obtain the salt from
Timbuktu
as part of the Mali empire, a major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning in West Africa
University of Sankore
located in Timbuktu, at the time one of the world's great centers of learning, which also had one of the largest libraries at the time
Wangara
the place where gold was plentiful, but no one except the people of this place knew its exact location because they were afraid they would steal their gold
West Africa
the part of Africa where the first empires appeared and after they were influenced by the Muslims, they continued to pray to their dead ancestors
Vegetation Zone
the part of the savanna with tall grasses, scattered trees, and a rainy season and they also traded with each other to gain resources
African Art
the West African people created terra-cotta sculptures, masks, and textiles including kente and applique to create this
African Music
the West African people used methods of music such as call and response, dance, and drumming, but they also created their own instruments such as the balafon and the ngoni to create this
African Rituals
the West African people used written and oral tradition to remember their stories, the people who remembered the oral tradition where called griots
Ancestors
family members from past generations who the West Africans who ask for numerous things
Ancestry
family or ancestral descent; lineage
Arabic
a language that is the official language of several countries of North Africa and the Middle East, as well as the religion of Islam.
Artifact
an item left by an earlier culture
Blues Music
songs originated from slave songs that told a story
Call and Response Songs
a song style in which a singer or musician lead with a call, and a chorus responds.
Camels
the pack animals that made cross-Sahara caravans possible because of their hooves, double eyelashes, and ability to store animals
Caravans
a group of people traveling together using camels in the early times of West Africa
Extended Family
a family containing your real family and your cousins that eventually turned into villages
Folktales
a story that is passed down orally and becomes part of a culture's tradition and teaches a lesson
Geometric Designs
an important design in Islamic art that the West Africans used to draw pictures of animals of people
Genealogy
an account of the line of ancestry within a family
Ghana's Government Structure
the government structure that was ruled by a powerful king who was rich with gold, large group of officials ran the government, and the throne was passed down to the nephew (the king's sister's son) and they would meet with their people once a day and they had a central government
Ghana's Military
the Ghana empire used their military to force travelers to pay taxes
Gold
the source of money in the West African empire that was plentiful in West Africa and it was the most important thing on the Trans-Saharan trade route
Housing Styles
the West Africans under Islamic influence created small rectangular houses made out of bricks with flat roofs to create new...
Iron Smelting
the process of melting ore to extract the iron from it which you can then heat and create into tools
Islam
A monotheistic religion based on the belief that there is one God, Allah, and that Muhammad was Allah's prophet and it was also the the first religion to influence West Africa and teach them how to trade
Islamic Law
a system of laws, operative in some Arab countries, based on the Muslim religion and especially the holy book of Islam, the Koran.
Kente
a traditional form of cloth produced in West Africa
Kingdoms
the three empires, Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were also all these... and it was beneficial to join them for protection
Matrilineal
a family line traced through the mother
Oral Traditions
learning and cultural ideas passed down orally, from one generation to the next
Proverbs
a popular saying found in all cultures that have moral lesson
Salt
a precious spice that the people used to store food and for there health that was considered more precious than gold in the Ghana empire
Scholars
the reason Timbuktu became famous is because of its community of Islamic... and they also wrote down the history of Ghana
Slavery
the kings in West Africa would sell their people to the slave coast who would then betaken to many different countries, and this was an act of what of... it also brought African culture to West Africa
Taxes
the Ghana empire would charge people to get in and out of the empire, they would also tax trade
Terra-cotta
ceramic clay used in pottery, statuary, and construction
Trans-Saharan
trade between peoples north and south of the Sahara
Villages
the extended families would need help with basic needs, so they would band together to form...
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