Mali Empire

History of the Benin shrines and altars go back to the thirteenth century located in the Africa’s beautiful tropical forest region of South – Central, Nigeria Edo Estate. The Benin kingdom consist of not only the Edo people, they also include the peoples of Igbo, Ijaw, Yoruba, and Itsekiri that live along the Edo state boarders. The Benin kingdom is one of the many places in Africa known for its sophisticated and beautiful art made of ivory, brass, and wood. “The Edo artist consist of brass…

history of their ancestors, so that the lives of the ancients might serve them as an example, for the world is old, but the future springs from the past.” -Griot Djeli Mamadou Koyaté [1] This quote, which was taken from Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali is a remark made by the griot who told the story to the book’s author D.T. Niane. He prefaced the story by stating his purpose as a griot, and the purpose for all griots, which is to be “vessels of speech, […] repositories which harbor…

The opening paragraphs from the epic poem, Sundiata, are supposed to be read and taken very seriously as this gives the speaker authority. Throughout Sundiata the griot’s purpose is how important history is and why we should always value it. One of the lines that showed this principle was, “I teach kings the history of their ancestors so that the lives of the ancients might serve them as an example, for the world is old, but the future springs from the past” (page 1). This line demonstrates that…

assistance with it. Signed Matthew Smith 9/14/15 The Influence of Beliefs on the Epic of Sundjata The epic of Sundjata is an African oral legend that has been greatly influenced by traditional beliefs of magic and spiritualism. King Maghan, the king of Mali, was depicted as a strong believer in prophecies and talking with spirits. A great prophecy was told to King Maghan of the coming birth of his son, Sundjata, and his eventual rise to great power. King Maghan accepted this prophecy as…

The story Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane tells the story of Mari (Sogolon) Djata,also known as Sundiata. Around 1,000 years ago a warrior named Sumanguru took control of thearea around Mali in West Africa and oppressed its people. Sundiata arose to become a hero tounite the people and defeat Sumanguru, ushering a period of peace. His achievements werecelebrated for centuries by West African historians known as griots. Mamadou Kouyatecontinued this tradition, the scholar D.T. Niane…

the kingdom of Mali. I will be demonstrating the rise of each kingdom and the decline of kingdoms and the collapse on both kingdoms. The kingdom of Benin rose to power by trading goods. Benin Declined when a civil war erupted. It finally collapses when its territorial extent shrank rapidly. The kingdom of Mali rose to power because it was rich in gold. It began to decline when its political and military strength was outgrown and part of its land was seized by the Tuareg people. Mali finally…

would you rather I brought you the whole tree?” In reality Sundiata chose not to walk. When he ultimately decided it was time he also pulled a large and beloved tree for his nation from the ground and brought it to his mother.This taught the people of Mali that you should never judge a person based upon their looks or current situation. When Sundiata’s father died the main wife decided that her son should be the king, and after this Sundiata and his family were sent into exile. As Sundiata grew…

Kory and I met our freshman year of high school. I sat behind him in Ms. Baldwin’s geography class. One day, he had gotten his Discman back from a friend he had loaned it too with the wrong CD in it (how dated is that sentence?!). It turns out, his friend had accidentally kept Kory’s CD and left their Tool CD in the Discman when they returned it. At this point in time, Kory was definitely not a fan. So, after I had sat down behind him and class had begun, Kory decided he was going to doodle in…

The Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire was one of the three major West African empires, and first started when Berbers, group of nomadic people came to an area called Kumbi, or Kumbi Saleh, which is near the modern day southeastern Mauritania and Mali, close to the Sahara desert. Ancient Ghana was not in the same location as the present day Ghana. Instead, it was located about 400 miles northwest of the present day Ghana. Eventually, Soninke clans began to control the kingdom. The name ‘Ghana’…

The Grasslands of Cameroon are organized into several communities, often referred to as kingdoms, because of their highly centralized nature and elements of divine kingship. The Kom Kingdom in Laikom, where this object originated, is the site of the palace where the central authority resides. Because the Kom Kingdom sits on rough, mountainous terrain at an elevation of 1,500 meters, the soil is very fertile, which allows the kingdom to grow a wide variety of crops, but also specific crops…