The Ancient Ghana Empire

The Ancient Ghana Empire

Questions from Part 3

Housing

Bibliography

a. The wealth of the Ghana Empire had been made from trade.

b. The West of Ghana was willing to trade their

for .

c. Their native drink was called .

d. M and a were one of the few things left behind from ancient Ghana.

e. The social class consisted of and .

f. was the material used to make the palace.

Houses in Ghana were made from mud and with thatch huts. The people often used natural materials to make their homes. The roofs were made from grass and the walls from mud bricks.

In Kumbi Saleh (this was the capital of Ghana), the locals lived in domed shaped dwelling which were surrounded by high walls; while traders lived in stone houses.

The wealthy people lived in clay and straw huts. The king palace was made from stone. In town were there was salt mining, the houses were made from salt.

http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7a.asp

http://www.ancient.eu/Ghana/

http://themedievalages.weebly.com/africa-ancient-ghana.html

http://utafebruary2011ancientghana.blogspot.ie/2011/03/religion-in-ancient-ghana-ancient.html

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/ancient_ghana.php

Legacy

People

The Role of Women

Diet

Questions from Part 2

Some of the legacies left behind from the Ghana Empire including the trade route through Europe and the middle east, the creation of banking, architecture, the trade of salt, mining and the slave trade. The wealth of the empire was used by the Spanish to conquered the empire.

The Ghana Empire was a kingdom, the social classes consisted of the king, the warriors, the king’s court, the local government and the citizens. The king was the ruler. The king had to point the members of his court they were mayors, counselors and minsters(who were later known as prime ministers.)

The Sonikes were the warriors, who were a powerful group. They overthrew the first Ghana government. The rest of the population were citizens.

The Sonikes called their country Wagadu, but it is known as Ghana as that is the name the Arabs gave it.

During pre-modern Ghanaian society, in rural areas of Ghana where non-commercial agricultural production was the main economic activity, women worked the land. Coastal women also sold fish caught by men. Many of the financial benefits that accrued to these women went into upkeep of the household, while those of the man were reinvested in an enterprise that was often perceived as belonging to his extended family. This traditional division of wealth placed women in positions subordinate to men. The persistence of such values in traditional Ghanaian society may explain some of the resistance to female education in the past. In precolonial times, polygyny was encouraged, especially for wealthy men. Anthropologists have explained the practice as a traditional method for well-to-do men to procreate additional labor. In patrilineal societies, dowry received from marrying off daughters was also a traditional means for fathers to accumulate additional wealth.

Ghana Empire Questions

* Who founded the Ghana Empire?

* What did these people wear to protect them for spirits that meant them harm?

* What was their two main trading products?

* Where did the women work in the Ghana Empire?

* Name two materials weapons were made out of in Ghana?

* Were did the origins of the science of medicine come from?

* What frequent ceremony lasted several days?

* How many types of music was there in ancient Ghana?

Their main food constituted of seasoned stews with rich or boiled yams on the side. The most popular stews were fish, groundnut (peanut) and bean leaf. They also added spices to the stews like ginger, onions and chill peppers were the most popular.

They normally had three meals a day. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner with a midday snack also. For breakfast may have porridge made from grounded millet. Kenkey was dish that could be eaten any time during the day. It was grounded cornmeal soaked in water which then in two days was shaped into a ball and boiled.

The dish for lunch and dinner were similar, it was called Fufu. They also had hot pepper soup and their native drink was Refresh a soft drink made from fresh fruit juice.

Medicine

The Ancient Ghanaian Trade Route

The science of medicine was originated by Africans in the ancient empire of Ghana.

Hobbies and Pastimes

The King doing Justice

Questions from Part 1

The Ghana Empire Weapons and Tools

In Ghana, parents pass down the games they played as children to their own kids. These games help preserve Ghanaian culture as well as educating, socializing and entertaining children. Children often play games after dinner with other children from their town or village. Some games are only played by one gender. Everyone participates in the major ceremonies, the most frequent of which are funeral celebrations which typically last several days. Attendance at funerals is normally expected from everyone in the village and expenditure on funerals is a substantial part of the household budget. Ghana is often described as a land of festivals, music, and traditional dances. There is hardly any community, clan, or tribe which lacks an occasion to celebrate annually. There are three main types of music: ethnic or traditional music, normally played during festivals and at funerals; "highlife" music, which is a blend of traditional and ‘imported’ music; and choral music, which is performed in concert halls, churches, schools and colleges.

1. Why was the Ghana Empire attacked?

2. What languages were used in the Ancient Ghana Empire?

3. Where did the Islamic faith come from?

4. How was the position of King passed down?

5. Where did the science of medicine come from?

6. When did the empire collapse?

Some of the most common tools found in the remains of Ghana were weapons. Ghana also had farming tools such as sickles, knives, and scissors. Some tools in Ghana were actually invented by the Ghanaians. This included machines that ran on a few natural resources. Seed oil, coal, and other things. Blacksmiths were in charge of all the building and hammering. Tools were relatively hard to make because they went through a complex procedure of smelting, hammering and cooling. Only the most skilled builders were capable of doing all this. They were highly respected. Tools were made out of many common materials such as wood, gold, rock, weeds, etc. Other less common materials were silver, rubber, and different kinds of metals. But out of all, the most important of all is iron. Iron was probably the best metal for tools such as weapons and sharp cutting utensils. This is because iron was strong and durable. It could be easily bended to make sharp and deadly arrowheads, lances, blades, and knives. They also lasted longer. These were much better than the wooden arrows before, and were some of the greatest tools some could find. Of course, digging for iron also helped raise the standard form of agriculture. Even as these weapons became more powerful, they also cost more than other weapons. This created protection and provided money for Ghana. Ghana used many of the modern tools we use today. Some of the oldest known tools in Ghana’s history were scissors, sickles, knives, axes, and hammers. Some tools such as the bow, or a popular instrument that used dried melons as keys, were hand crafted and didn’t require any hard work. Ghana did not have a wide range of tools. Most were used for building. And some were used for farming. In final words, the tools Ghana made were very useful and extraordinary.

Table of Contents

A golden artifact from Ancient Ghana.

The Rise and Fall

1. Rise and fall

2. Culture

- Religion

- Language

3. Leaders

4. Medicine

5. Weapons

6. Hobbies and Pastimes

7. Role of women

The area that became the Ghana Empire started changing around the time the camel was brought into Western Sahara. Ghana became rich then because of their increased trade in gold and salt, which lead to a growth in urban centres. This encouraged people to take control of the new trade routes. Ghana’s ruling dynasty was not mentioned until 830, before that we cannot be sure when the dynasty started. The Ghanaian Empire’s army was strong; a scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri claimed that Ghana could put 200,000 men into the field, 40,000 of them archers. He also noticed that they had brave forces as well.

The empire was attacked by it's neighbours because they were angry and jealous about all the money the Ghanaians made. At first the attacks did not succeed but in the middle of the 11th century, the Almoravids, a Muslim group, attacked the capital city of Koumbi Saleh. Territories were taken and a tribute tax was enforced, but Ghana recovered. The invaders were forced to retreat. Around 200 years later Ghana wasn't so lucky. After subsequent attacks, the empire was weak. It was cut off from international trade. The empire was unable to prevent defeat.

Ghana was combined to the Kingdom of Mali in 1240 and so ending the Ghana Empire. The country had been converted to Islam by 1154. Though the Empire had certainly fallen by 1240, there are many claims to say that it fell before this but there isn’t enough evidence for this claim to be used as fact.

Culture

Language

Religion

Leaders

The languages used in Ghana were Soninke and Mande. The Soninke are a Mande people and were the founders of the Ancient Ghana Empire.

The Soninke People originally practiced traditional animistic spirituality. This means that they believed that animals, plants and humans possessed a spiritual essence. They were one of the first ethnic groups from Sub–Saharan west Africa to embrace Islam. They still practice the Islamic faith today. Today, the Soninke people number around 1 million.

Ancient Ghana or the Wagadou Empire was a monarchy. The King was thought of by the people as a semi divine figure who kept justice and order. The position was passed on matrilineally, with the king's sister's son inheriting the throne. The Soninke people were responsible. The capital, Kumbi Saleh, was divided into two separate walled towns about 6 miles apart. The first town was where the king lived and had the palace surrounded by many domed, complex buildings. In the second town, there was luxurious stone houses where merchants lived. These merchants were lured into Ghana by the wealth and prosperity of the Empire. Ghana had a central region surrounded by vassal states. These states were ruled by “lesser kings” who had officials to advise him and stand around him while he did justice.

Trade

The Ghana Empire was rich as a result of ‘salt-gold trade’ between the North and West of Africa. Ghana came to control the salt and gold as the trade routes were in their land,this trade was very important to the empire. The North wanted gold,while the West wanted salt. The south of Africa was very hot, in an area called Wangaran. The people of this area need salt as they lost too much body salt due to sweating,but their land had no salt so as a result they had to trade their gold with the North. The had lots of salt on their land and no gold so as a result it was perfect deal.

The North loaded their camels and donkeys with salt and traveled south.

Ghana became the middleman in the trade as a result of the trade route passing though their land. The North also traded dried fruits, leather, cotton clothes and copper. ‘Silent barter’ was the name of the trade performed between the North and the South,it was where they swapped goods without meeting face to face.

The King kept gold nuggests for himself while the traders only got gold dust.

To add to their wealth the king put taxes on traders travelling through Ghana. This tax was use to support the government and the army. Goods entering and leaving Ghana were also taxed. Merchants had pay a gold coin called a dinars in order to enter Ghana, to leave they had to pay two dinars.