The Ancient Kingdom of Mali

Resources

• http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7b.asp

• http://africa.mrdonn.org/mali.html

• http://www.mapsofworld.com/mali/history/ancient.html

• http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/mali-facts/

Proverbs

A deaf man may not have heard the thunder but he surely will see the rain.

Anansi

One does not give without a motive.

Anansi was a popular fictional spider in folktales around Africa brought to other continents. lets take a look at one of the folktales he's in.......

The hyena chasing two antelopes at the same time will go to bed hungry.

http://africa.mrdonn.org/anansi.html

Culture

History

• the people of ancient Mali belonged to many different tribes and different ethnic groups
• they spoke at least 32 languages!
• They believed in gods and goddesses
• also, the ancient Malians believed in the afterlife.
• they made rock paintings, wood carvings, pottery, and metalwork for either artwork or religion
• had griots tell fictional stories, and had ancient tribal dances.

• Started around 1200 CE and ended in the late 1400's
• started because of the ruinous wars that led to the decline of the empire of Ghana
• had very successful rulers who made their empire complete. this included having education provided, trading gold and salt, farming, and a rise in the praise of islam.
• one great ruler of Mali was Mansa Musa, who made great things for ancient Mali and made it a good kingdom
• after Mansa Musa died, ancient Mali became weak and unorganized so other groups attacked, which made the decline of this kingdom.

The Ancient Kingdom of Mali

Geography

• located in west Africa
• located near/between the Niger river
• in between the Sahara desert or the "sea of sand"
• Timbuktu, one of the best cities of that time, was located in ancient Mali
• today, modern Mali is found somewhere else than its original place (even though they are still both in the west Africa area).
• this area was important for trade because gold would be traded for salt in this kingdom.

By: Raya, Quinn, Amari, Courtney P, Courtney M, Theresa, and Seth

People

The Ancient Kingdom of Mali

lets take a journey through the history, culture, geography, and people of the kingdom of Mali......

• the ancient Malians were considered as "hard-working" and happy.
• they worked as farmers, miners, traders, artists, and educators
• Ancient Mali also had a ruler/leader who would keep the empire in tip-top shape and think of ways to make it better
• nobles were also around this time.
• the griots, or storytellers, were the people who made stories and told them as entertainment to the kingdom/people
• overall, the people were worked together, and were happy with ancient Mali (until the decline)

ENJOY!