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Patterns of Life in Africa

Patterns of Life in Africa. Proverb of the Yoruba. Read the proverb on page 85 in your textbook ( Ch 4 Section 2 ) What does this tell us about the daily lives of the Yoruba? What does the proverb tell us about male and female jobs? What do you think they value?. Family Ties .

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Patterns of Life in Africa

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  1. Patterns of Life in Africa

  2. Proverb of the Yoruba • Read the proverb on page 85 in your textbook (Ch 4 Section 2) • What does this tell us about the daily lives of the Yoruba? • What does the proverb tell us about male and female jobs? • What do you think they value?

  3. Family Ties • Family loyalty was the bond that held societies together throughout Africa • Availability of resources helped to determine family sizes • Ex- hunting and gathering families would be smaller than civilized societies • Farming and herding societies had extended families • Parents, unmarried children, married children and their spouses and other relatives

  4. Family Ties • Farming Villages • Families pooled their labor so that everyone worked together • Clearing land, building homes and harvesting crops • All projects needed lots of people to help • Large families gave you plenty of labor • Living Areas • Shared a common living area or compound • Separate homes for different family members • Eldest male was the leader of the family • Children were taught that their work was needed by the family • Respect for their ancestors and those that came before them

  5. Family Ties • Lineage • United people beyond the extended family • Ability to trace their descent to a single ancestor • Linked different families together • Creates bonds of loyalty and responsibility • Kept all the different groups united with one another • Clan • Groups of lineages could form a clan-which traced itself back to a common ancestor • Shared duties and responsibilities to one another • Each clan had its own leaders • Strong sense of community and cooperation

  6. Patterns of Government • African societies developed different governmental systems • Villages would unite to form a larger government • Village leaders would be picked for each village and they made the decisions for the village • Listened to the people and tried to reach a consensus on disagreements • Powerful empires like the Songhai and Mali had emperors • Question: • What would make a place more likely to have an empire or a group of villages?

  7. Community and Consensus • Consensus- common agreement amongst the people • Village leaders stressed the good of the community over the individual • Ex- The Ibo of West Africa • In a dispute over land the leader and council would listen to both sides • The goal is to make both sides happy • After a decision was made the parties would exchange gifts to show that they were satisified

  8. Economic Activities • Those not living in the larger city areas are mostly engaged in farming and herding • Savanna area was ideal for farming with good soil and rainfall • Subsistence Farmer- produce enough for their own needs with little surplus • Farming in forest areas required slash and burn methods • Hard on the soil and required movement after 2-3 crops to different areas

  9. Herding Activities • Drier areas of the Savanna farming was not a viable option • In areas with no Tsetse fly most people were herders • Masai – live in East Africa and herd cattle • Herders lived off the cattle that they cared for • Food and clothing • Owning cattle gave people higher status in the society • Dependent on their animals for survival

  10. Textbook Activity • Analyzing Pictures • Look at the pictures on pages 86 and 87 • Carefully look at the people, things and environment that you see • Read the captions of the pictures • Answer the following: • 1.) What other tasks might members of this family share? (Pg 86) • 2.) How does the environment influence how people live on the savanna (pg 87)

  11. Lives of Women • Major contributors to the wealth of a family • Did the planting, weeding, and harvesting • Sometimes took surplus crops to markets • Respected in society for their child bearing ability • Educated the young boys and girls in the villages • Prepared daughters for future roles as wives and mothers • Compare and Contrast: • How does this compare with the lives of women in the United States?

  12. Lives of Women • Social Status of Women • Varied from place to place • Wolof – made women their leaders • Ashanti- believed that women made land fertile (they were the landowners) • Many places women had few rights • Polygamy- practice of having more than one wife • Bride Wealth • In many areas women were married at 14 to 15 • Men offered gifts to the brides family as a sign of respect • Bride wealth recognized the value of the wife • Both sides of the family gained something by this arrangement • It was similar to a marriage license in USA Society

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