What is another name for the storytellers who kept alive oral history?
Griots
What is African storytelling?
African Storytelling is an art. • They often use percussion instruments, masks, and costumes to entertain while telling their stories.
What’s a griot?
An African tribal storyteller and musician is called a griot. The griot’s role was to preserve the genealogies and oral traditions of the tribe. In places where written language is the privilege of the few, the place of the griot as cultural guardian is still maintained.
What is a griot and why are they important?
Griots were an important part of the culture and social life of the village. The main job of the griot was to entertain the villagers with stories. They would tell mythical stories of the gods and spirits of the region. They would also tell stories of kings and famous heroes from past battles.
What are West African storytellers called?
A griot (/ˈɡriːoʊ/; French: [ɡʁi.o]; Manding: jali or jeli (djeli or djéli in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, or musician.
What is a griot in African culture?
A griot is a West African storyteller, singer, musician, and oral historian. They train to excel as orators, lyricists and musicians. The griot keeps records of all the births, deaths, marriages through the generations of the village or family.
Why were storytellers important in African society?
They help people make sense of the world and are used to teach children and adults about important aspects of their culture. There is a rich tradition throughout Africa of oral storytelling. Storytelling provides entertainment, develops the imagination, and teaches important lessons about every- day life.
How have West African folktales become a part of the culture in the Americas?
Many traditional folktales were brought to the Americas by West Africans who were sold into slavery beginning in the 1500s. The tales were spread orally among the enslaved Africans and their descendants. The folktales became part of the culture of North and South America and the West Indies.
What are the three main cultural influences in West Africa?
The beliefs of native cultures include Islam, Christianity and various traditional African religions.
- Geography. The Sahara desert borders West Africa to the north; to the west and south is the Atlantic Ocean.
- Kingdoms.
- Marriage.
- Cuisine.
- Tribal Groupings.
What instruments were used in West Africa?
DISCOVERY SERIES: WEST AFRICA features percussion instruments including djembe, dunun and bells, which can be used in the ensemble. Additionally included are the calabash and krin, which can be used as solo instruments. Pitched instruments recreate the unique melodies of the kora, ngoni, bolon, balafon, and fula flute.
Which brought an end to the great West African empires?
Answer Expert Verified. Out of the choices given, enemy nations using sophisticated warfare to overpower the outdated tactics of the empire brought an end to the great West African empire.
Was Islam forced in Africa?
Centuries before African Muslims were forced to colonial America, Islam made its way to West Africa through traders, merchant-scholars, and religious teachers.
Why did African cities grow wealthy and powerful?
In Western Africa, three kingdoms became wealthy beyond belief by controlling important stops along the trans-Saharan trade routes. The major commodities exchanged in this lucrative network were gold and salt. The Swahili city-states supplied and connected African raw materials to the rest of the Indian Ocean world.
How did West Africa get so wealthy?
The land between the Upper Niger and Senegal Rivers was rich in gold, which allowed Ghana to become a leading force in the trans-Saharan trade network. The king of Ghana spread his power through trade. Gold, ivory, and slaves were bartered for salt from the Arabs.
How did early African city states gain wealth?
Archaeology studies provide evidence that the city states carried on a flourishing long distance trade with Persia, India, and China. Many of these families had long established trading relationships and often brought substantial wealth which placed them at the head of the local merchant class.
How were the West African trading empires able to grow and become wealthy?
Ghana’s rulers gained incredible wealth from trade, taxes on traders and on the people of Ghana, and their own personal stores of gold. They used their wealth to build an army and an empire. Extensive trade routes brought the people of Ghana into contact with people of many different cultures and beliefs.
Why did the African empires fall?
With the gradual abolition of slavery in the European colonial empires during the 19th century, slave trade again became less lucrative and the West African empires entered a period of decline, and mostly collapsed by the end of the 19th century.
What was the main source of the wealth and power of all the West African empires?
The wealth of the states came from controlling the trade routes across the desert. Their power came from having large pack animals like camels and horses that were fast enough to keep a large empire under central control and were also useful in battle.
How did Islam spread in West Africa?
Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century CE, Islam spread throughout West Africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby African rulers either tolerated the religion or converted to it themselves.
Who brought Islam in West Africa?
Mansa Musa
What is the richest religion on earth?
According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%), and Jews (1.1%).