GES 102 SUMMARY AFRICAN CULTURES AND CIVILISATION.pdf

1ST MAY, 2021. THIS COMPILATION AND SUMMARY WAS DONE VOLUNTARILY BY 300 LEVEL MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 2020/2021 SET TO HELP THE PRESENT AND FUTURE STUDENTS, WHO WILL BE TAKING THIS COURSE AT ANY POINT IN TIME, AS PREPAREDNESS TOWARDS THEIR FORTHCOMING TESTS AND EXAMINATION. “IT SHOULD HOWEVER, BE NOTED THAT THIS SUMMARY DOES NOT IN ANY WAY ERADICATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEXTBOOK AS RECOMMENDED BY THE INSTITUTION, BUT ONLY SERVES AS A QUICK HELP OR GUIDE WHILE REVISING” STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE TEXTBOOKS BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO USE THE SUMMARY AS PREPAREDNESS IN THEIR VARIOUS QUEST TO PASSING THE EXAMINATIONS AND TESTS. GES 102 VIDEO EXTRACTION 1 Reference video: https://youtu.be/bzesDw2r-No HISTORY OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE Ethnic group of the south-western and North-central Nigeria. 40 million Yoruba people in Nigeria (CIA FACT BOOK: 21% of total population) They exist in other African countries such as Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast Amongst the most urbanized people in Africa. Centuries before colonial masters, they were already living in well structured centres 8th century; powerful Yoruba kingdom in Ile-Ife (earliest in Africa) Ibadan: for a long time was one of the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa. Today; lagos (over 20 million people) remains largest on Africa continent YORUBAS IN DIASPORA (2 forms) Recent migrants who moved to UK & US after major economic and political changes in 1960x- 1980s. The other is a much older population (Atlantic Slave Trade), they have communities in countries such as; Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobego. YORUBA CREATION MYTH Believed that Olorun, the sky-god sent his son, Orisa Nla to create the world. Olorun gave Orisa Nla; a soil, a chain, a 5 old Chicken, snail shell. On his way, they offered him palmwine, he drank too much and fell asleep Orisa Nla’s younger brother, Oduduwa saw him sleeping, and went forth to create the earth. Orisa Nla came down to earth to claim the earth but Oduduwa said he is the owner, since he had created it. Olorun granted Oduduwa the right to own the earth and rule over it. Then, he made Orisa Nla the creator of mankind. LEADERSHIP IN YORUBA Ile-ife is still believed to be the spiritual headquarters of the Yoruba. Ile-ife is said to be the point at which creation took place. Oduduwa is the first Ooni of Ife i.e the first King of Ife Oduduwa has a son named Oranmiyan Oranmiyan was the founder of Oyo Empire, and the first Alaafin of Oyo. The Alaafin is the administrative and political head of the Oyo empire He runs the empire with the Council of Chiefs. Each King in Yoruba land has a different unique title name given to him. Making the Yorubas have the highest number of traditional names of Kings in the world. OCCUPATION OF THE YORUBAS About 75% of the Yoruba men, are farmers (food crops). Considered men’s work (mostly hoeing) Women help their husbands plant crops Yoruba’s enjoy trading (about 1000 traders in market) majorly filled with women Meat selling is done by men. However, the educated generation is moving away from farming, looking for white collar jobs. YORUBA FESTIVALS They are very expressive people celebrating major events with colourful festivals. Popular festival with spiritual connotation are the: Eyo festival celebrated by the people of Lagos. Osun festival is dedicated to the river goddess Osun. Some of the festivals are secular and are only marked achievements e.g wedding, chieftaincy titles CHILD – NAMING IN YORUBA Yorubas believe that people live out the meanings of their name. hence, they put considerable effort in it One must consider the tradition and history of the child’s relatives when choosing a name. E.g A child born during the festive period is called Abiodun; Olusegun: God has conquered the enemy. Falola: can be named if child comes from family worshipping Ifa. (Ifa has honour). Dada is a child born with locked hair. TWINS IN YORUBA Short poetry: Tayelolu mi ko iwe simi, o wipe o n o jewa o (Tayelolu wrote a letter to me, saying he wants to eat beans) Omokehinde mi ko iwe simi, o wipe o n o jewa o (Omokehinde wrote a letter to me, saying he wants to eat beans) Mo ra ewa ni Egba o; mo ra epo ni Sodeke (I bought beans in Egba, I bought palm oil at Sodeke) First born is called Taiwo while Kehinde is name of last born twin. Yorubas have the highest twining rate in the world. YORUBA TRIBAL MARKS Part of Yoruba culture is tribal marks Primary function is for identification of person’s tribe or family. During, the transatlantic slave trade, some repatriated slaves later reunited with their communities by looking at their tribal marks. It is fading in Yoruba land Some Yoruba states have enacted certain laws prohibiting the use of tribal marks, Violators are issued fines, imprisonment or both CLOTHIN IN YORUBA Clothing is gender sensitive Men: Agbada with matching fila (cap) Women: Iro (wrapper) with buba (blouse like, loose top) with matching head-gear – Gele. Dressing is incomplete without Fila or Gele. RELIGION IN YORUBA Yoruba tribe are mainly Christians, muslims and traditional worshippers. About 20% of the traditional worshippers in practice. Yoruba people worship many deities; Major gods are: IFA: god of divination; interprets the wishes of Olorun to mankind. They turn to Ifa in times of trouble. OLORUN: sky-god, is regarded as the high god, creator of the world. OGUN: god of war, is considered one of the most important. SHANGO: Is the deity that creates thunder. They Yoruba believe that when thunder and lightning strike, Shang has thrown a thunder stone to earth YORUBA LANGUAGE Many dialects But each speaker can all understand each other. Yoruba is a tonal language I.e. same combination of vowels and consonants have different meaning Depending on the pitch of the vowels. OWO: money, a term, or hand depending on the tune. YORUBA ART Began creating magnificient sculptures out of terracotta clay in the 12-14th century. Bronze figures were made in 14-15th century Women are the major porters; Pots for cooking, eating and storage. Palm oil lamps are also crafted. MEN: are responsible for carving leather, wood carving and beadwork. Goat, sheep and antelope skins are used to make bags and sandals. YORUBA FOOD Cassava, maize, beans and plantains; They like combination of stew, soup, assorted meat plus eba or pounded yam Some common Yoruba foods are moi-moi, amala, ewedu and eba. GREETINGS IN YORUBA Believes in greetings and respecting eleders Yoruba male children greet their elders by postrating Yoruba female children greet their elders by kneeling down. EDUCATION IN YORUBA In the precolonial period, Yorubas have what we call eko-ile, which means (home training) Some of the training a child receives at home are Proper greetings, respect for elders How to attend to visitors promptly etc However, with the advent of the Europeans the Yoruba embraced western education. Today, Yorubas are one of the most educated ethnic groups in Africa. The first university in Nigeria, was located in a Yoruba city, originally called University College, it is now known as University of Ibadan. Other universities in Yoruba land are: University of Lagos, Covenant University in Ota (Ogun State), Obafemi Awolowo University FIRST MOVIE IN YORUBA Yorubas have immensely contributed to the Yoruba movie industry. Generally, claim that LIVING IN BONDAGE an igbo movie shot in 1993 and delivered in English was the first home video, does not seem to go down well with a section of the industry as some practitioners claim that the first home video was a Yoruba film. Top Yoruba artist, Jide Kosoko, maintained in a chat with the Journalist that the first movie was EKUN According to him Muhideen Aromire made the first home video, EKUN, in 1988 Also, a Yoruba actor and playwright; Herbert Ogunde, is regarded as the father of Nigerian Theatre MUSIC IN YORUBA Music and dance has always been an important part of Yoruba culture. Drumming and singing are the main elements of Yoruba music Yorubas have different types of music such as Juju, afrobeat 3 of the most notable musicians are; Ayinde Barrister, King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, The pioneers are main exponents of Fuji, Juju and Afrobeat respectively. FAMOUS YORUBA PEOPLE Blessed with lots of great people, ranging from sports, religion, politics, business, literature. BUSINESS: Chief Folorunsho Alakija, richest woman in the world; Forbes list. SINGERS: such as Seal, Davido, Wizkid, are making waves in international scenes. Wole Soyinka: the first African to win Nobel Prize in literature. SPORT: Asisat Oshiola Pastors like; TB Joshua, Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor EA Adeboye. CHAPTER 1 AFRICA AND THE EARLY HUMANS PAGE 1 PAGE 1 entails the efforts used classifying the human past which is PRE HISTORY and HISTORY. Prehistory is period before written history History is the period of written history Page 1 also entails the reason the prehistoric period is very important (because major discoveries, adaptations to environment and group life and physical evolution was during this period) The understanding of prehistoric periods is based on the tools, artifacts implements, buildings and even human bones left behind by the early humans. This understanding through study has shown that there has been different cultural flourishment all over the world. This cultural flourishment can also be understood through the technique in which the tools are fashioned PAGE 2 This cultural flourishment are divided into: Paleolithic (old stone age which is characterized by the use of chipped stone implements), Mesolithic (Middle stone age which is characterized by the use of small finely trimmed, flat and thin stone implements), Neolithic (new stone age which is characterized by the use of polished stone implements accompanied by the production of food and domestication of animals), Bronze Age (use of bronze implements) and Iron Age (use of iron implements) The above refer to cultural stages instead of periods of time because the dates of this cultures differ all over the world PAGE 2 also entails the Humans as primates, the similarities between humans and the great apes of Africa (chimpanzees and gorillas) whose ancestors are from the Australopithecus due to physical and genetic similarities It also entails the clear distinction between man and other animal species. Man modifies the environment to suit himself while animals adapt physically and genetically to their environment. It also entails the uncertainty of the origin of humans and the false theory of Asia being the cradle of mankind. PAGE 3 This entails the theory that humans diverged from Africa. This due to Darwin’s proof that humans closest relatives (Chimpanzees and gorillas) are found in Africa. The archeological evidences found in South Africa by Prof. Raymond Dart, Dr. L.S.B. Leaky and Mary Leaky also proves this. This also include the basis of evolution due to accumulation of paleontological records over the last 150 years which is actually fairly established. This also entails the kick start of human history from the moment when their first tools were made. First was the Australopithecus (the Southern Ape) (Plural Australopithecines), There has been revelation of implements of the early humans going back 4 to 5 million years due to archeological discoveries in Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and other places. The oldest hominids belonging to the genus Australopithecus were found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and Hadar in Ethiopia. PAGE 4 They walked upright, used their arms independently for other tasks, well developed hands with opposable thumbs, some ability to communicate verbally although not very well due to the under development of the portion their brain responsible for speech (Discovery by Paleontologists). Australopithecus comprises of Australopithecus Africanus (slender, chimpanzee sized and omnivorous) and Australopithecus Robustus (Size of gorilla with large teeth and subsisted mainly on vegetarian diet. They could travel kilometers and obtain stone implements (choppers and scrapers) for food preparation. They established themselves in Eastern and Southern Africa. The homo habilis (handy man) is the second in complexity. From 2 million years ago these one were found in Eastern and Southern Africa. Location (Remains found in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa). They were much more intelligent than the Australopithecus. Choppers and chopping tools were found from their time which showed an intellect similar to human beings The homo erectus (Upright walking man). This is as early as 1.6 million years in Africa. PAGE 5 They had higher cranial capacity and flourished in East, South and West Africa. These ones displayed higher level of fashioning of implements, intelligence and language. They even made use of fire for making food and for protection. It was determined by archeologists and paleontologists that they conducted their hunts in coordinated ways They even migrated to North Africa, Asia and Europe. Homo Sapiens (conscious thinking humans) are more intelligent and successful human species. The transition took place 200,000 to100,000 years ago. In those times they were fully evolved into the 5 or 6 main races if mankind. PAGE 6 Other species were also found not ancestral to Homo Sapiens, the Neanderthal men. They were found in Neander Valley, Germany (1856). They were extinct 10,000 years ago. Human remains from 90,000 years ago proves the existence of the homo sapiens. They were intelligent remarkably even though without brute strength and features that are natural means of defence and attack. Communities of homo sapiens spread and populated the temperate lands of Africa, Europe and Asia beginning from 100,000 years ago. Archeologists found an evidence of their remarkable intelligence in sites if early settlements in Africa. This includes their tools and their erection of primitive dwellings for themselves. Page 6 also entails the economy and society of early humans in Africa. The principal feature of the Paleolithic period is that humans foraged for their food by hunting and gathering of edible plants. PAGE 7 Men travelled for hunting expeditions and women and children gathered vegetarian foods. The hunting of animals were systematical and timely. Meat from hunting was highly prized diet but plant foods was essential for survival. The bones and the skins of the hunted animals were also used as implements and accessories. Hunting techniques and plans were put in place. They gathered food a lot in this period to because that gathering accounted for three quarter of the daily normal diet. Those that lived beside an aquatic habitat turned to killing of aquatic animals for food. The only disadvantage of this lifestyle (hunting and gathering) was that there is less effectiveness when the group of those cohabiting together is larger. So they lived in groups of 30 to 50 members. PAGE 8 Paleolithic sites were found Sango Bay in Lake Victoria, Still Bay in South Central Africa, North Central Africa and East Africa. In Nigeria, Paleolithic sites were found in Mejiro Cave near old Oyo, Rop-Rock Shelter on the Jos Plateau and Iwo Eleru in present day Ondo State. Another disadvantage of the Paleolithic period is that since they were nomadic in nature there was no accumulation of wealth. Been Influential was based on age, strength, courage, intelligence, force of personality or some other traits. The Neolithic era(New Stone Age) is believed to have started 80,000 to 70,000 years ago. This marked the beginning of food production and domestication of animals. This marked the beginning of agriculture. Some claimed that agriculture started in Anatolia, South west Asia, from where it spread first to lower Egypt and from thence to other parts of the continent, others maintained that Africa experienced food production independently. Men began to settle down and stopped been nomadic and thus there was increase in accumulation of wealth and population. PAGE 9 This actually entails the summary fo the whole chapter. The advancement of man from nomadism and foraging to agriculture. The intelligence of man that set him apart from the other animals. It also entails how the discoveries in Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and other places have thrown light on the development of human species and the culture of early humans. CHAPTER 2 EARLY AFRICAN CENTRES OF CIVILISATION: Egypt, Kush and Axum Early African centre of civilisation were Egypt, Kush and Axum Egypt had the earliest civilization Egypt was located at the northeast of Africa Food production techniques were introduced to Egypt by 5000BC by south-west Asia immigrants The first food producing communities were tasians and badarians Tasians and badarians fortified villages such as El-amra and Nageda One of the indices of civilization is settled communities The population of Egypt by 5000BC was 20,000 The population of Egypt by 3,500BC rose to 3 million The Nile helped Egypt as a major source of communication and for food production Egypt practices a system of monarchy with the head being a divine king, a god known as pharaoh Egypt was divided into 40 local districts Egypt developed writing in hieroglyphics Hieroglyphics is a unique combination of pictures and sound Egypt developed the nilometer for recording the rise and fall of the Nile, water clock for measuring the time of the day The bodies of wealthy people in Egypt were mummified The greatest pyramid built by Egypt is the pyramid of Gizeh Gizeh is 48ft high Gizeh has about 2.3 million blocks of average of 2.5 tons Gizeh required 100,000 labourers for 20 years to be completed Egyptians were stone builders Agriculture and trade were the pillars of Egypt economy By 1500BC, Egypt had conquered all territories along the nile valley as far as the 4th cataract, thus they became masters of Kush In 1670BC, the first invasion of Egypt began The Hyksos invaded the delta from western Asia using bronze weapons The Hyksos were driven out by thebean kings between 1570BC to 1085BC By 1050BC, Egypt was invaded by Persia, Nubia and Assyria By 666BC, Egyptian capital was sacked The remnant of the Egyptian empire are its archaeological relics With the decline of the Egyptian empire came the rise of Kush kingdom Kush also depended on the Nile for its life The Kushite king, Kashta rebelled against Egyptian authority and declared Kush an independent kingdom Kashta invaded and conquered Egypt as far as Thebes Kashta’s son, Piankhy completed the conquest of Egypt In 671BC, Egypt was attacked by Assyria In 669BC, Taharqa drove out the Assyrians, not completely In 666BC, Taharqa was finally driven out of Egypt and died in 663BC The Kushite were driven out of Egypt during the reign of Tanwetamani The Kushite kings returned to Napata, their ancient capital after being driven out of Egypt The kingdom of Kush was ruled from Napata until 6th century BC The capital of Kush was transferred to Meroe Meroe was a centre of iron mining The Kushite were the first group of Africans to achieve a position of importance The local language of the Kushite was the meroitic language Meroitic pyramids were small and rectangular Iron was responsible for the growth of the meroitic kingdom Herodotus, a Greek historian visited Egypt in 430BC In 23BC, Meroe attacked syrene Roman launched a retaliated attack on Meroe causing a lot of destruction Meroe recovered under the reign of netokaniani, (12BC – 12AD) The Meroe kingdom collapsed after 300AD as a result of over-exploitation of land, deforestation, erosion. In 350AD, an axumite army invaded Meroe kingdom The Axum kingdom, now known as Ethiopia rose as the Meroe kingdom collapsed Axum and Meroitic kingdom were long-time rivals Axum kingdom covered an area which was about 300km by 160km Axum’s major port was adulis Axum was the main commercial centre between Indian ocean and Mediterranean In 531AD, a projected alliance between Axum and Roman Byzantine empire failed The Axum adopted 3 languages, Ge’ez, Greek, Sabaean Greek was occasionally used for public documents Sabaean is the language of Yemen Axum is the first state in Africa to introduce its own coin The first king to put coin into circulation was called Edybis. King of Axum captured Meroe in 350AD Axum conquered meroitic kingdom in the early 4th century under the reign of king Ezana Axum was ranked 3rd among the great power in the latter 3rd century AD Axum became a Christian kingdom in the early 4th century AD Axum were initially polytheists Axum schools were called geeds The title ‘LION OF JUDAH’ was given to Haile Selassie, the late emperor of Ethiopia on the basis on the ancient axumite achievement Axum started to collapse from the 6th century AD as a result of Persian conquest of Yemen, Arab conquest of Egypt By 700BC Axum trade links were disconnected CHAPTER 3 INDIGENOUS AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM Indigenous political organisations discuss political organisations or institutions which had been established by the African indigenous people before the advent of Western system. African societies have often linked their institutional power with supernatural elements which can be located in various myths of origin. African political systems and institutions were traditionally mostly based on kinship and on lineage sanctioned by a founding myth. Thus, there exists a lot of historical propaganda to conceptualise political institutions in Africa. Examples are widespread in Africa. Among the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria, Oduduwa, who was an eponymous ancestor, became the first king of Ife which is the cradle of the Yoruba society. The Bayajidda legend in Hausa land—the Bayajidda legend is probably regarded as the most important single source for Hausa history. The Zulu (of South Africa) believe that Unkulunku (the High God) created chiefs in the last order of creation to maintain social stability. Among the Nyoro of the Bunyoro – Kitara Kingdom located in western Uganda-Ruhanga (God) created the earth and the first family, serving as the locus of Pedigree of the Nyoro. This suggests that in many African societies, the family is the unit of political culture. Hence the bedrock of political organization. African may describe their gods or heroes in as many ways as the myriads of languages which abound in the continent but behind this multiplicity of language and concepts lurks a uniformity of metaphysics and, even, of epistemology. Such uniformity is to be found in the critical areas of the political thought system. These include beliefs about the origins and nature of the state, the authority of the ruler, the rights of citizens and social structure, and so on. In traditional African societies, government was based on established custom and tradition with no written constitutions. The lack of written constitution gave rise to a lot of mythology and misconceptions about Africa. The parameter for measuring the social relevance of whatever political organizations in vogue is the application of the rule of law in African societies, it does not entail the existence of written statutes for regulating behaviour. The rule of law, on the other hand, may be constructed to mean respect for and adherence to the machinery of justice geared towards conflict resolution in African societies. Significantly, every society, at one time or the other has evolved its own peculiar political system whose structure and functions are germane to the institutionalisation of social order and harmony eked out of a web or network of relationships. The legendary African, Nelson Mandela, described former indigenous political institutions thus: “Then our people lived peacefully, under the democratic rule of their kings.... Then the country was ours, in our name and right.... All men were free and equal and this was the foundation of government. The council of elders was so completely democratic that all members of the tribe could participate in its deliberation. Chief and subject, warrior and medicine man, all took part and endeavored to influence its decision”. Within the pre-colonial African societies, there were checks and balances on the powers of the rulers. These were evidenced in some of the practices, traditions and beliefs of the different societies. The allegiance of the subjects could, for example, easily be transferred from one ruler to another, if the ruler turned out to be despotic, cruel or a tyrant. The ruler is also expected to earn the respect of his people, and this was not based on force or intimidation. The absolutism of African ruler was more apparent than real. The king was expected to work, in almost all cases, within a structure characterised by several layers of chieftaincy groups, secret religious cults, which exercised great powers of control and age-grade associations. All these groups were sources of pressure and checks on the rulers’ use of the powers allowed by his society. The African political model did not provide for absolutism or tyranny. All societies provide elaborate and explicit rules of behaviour for their rulers. kings are looked upon as the symbols of the authority and legitimacy of their kingdoms. Thus, when a king is eulogised as the owner of all the territories in his kingdom, it is not intended to mean anything more than that he is the symbol of the people’s ancestry and legitimacy of their claim to the lands they occupy. All African societies operated within the context of myths which provided the ideological framework for the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. Acceptance of the myth of descent and the superintending role of the supernatural world involves a disposition to obey. AFRICAN FAMILY SYSTEM IN THE CONTEXT OF POLITICAL CULTURE: J.F. Ade Ajayi (1985:11-12) posits that the family is the unit of political system in Africa. It is the bedrock of understanding the dynamics of power relations and devolution of power as well as issuance of wielding of authority germane to social engineering. The art of living together (in lineage and compounds) suggests a great deal of communalism and collective ethos. There are basically nuclear and extended family systems. In a nuclear family system, the father, the mother and their children form the nucleus of relationship. This is the foundation of a much larger family in Africa. Thus, the nuclear family is a means to an end of power relations and political culture. It is significant, therefore, to observe that the nuclear family is the foundation of a political system exhibitable in the power holdings and authority wielding within the family set- up. Obviously, there is hierarchy of power in the family system in Africa. The head of the family (the father) often issues forth power being the oldest and experienced member of the family web. The mother occupies the position of a caretaker in all aspects of family relations and development. She usually acts as a safety valve, controller of achievable goals for the family, and a pursuer of justice, and has advisory roles to play in the scheme of developments. The political rights and roles of an African mother (within the family system) are complementary to those of the father. However, the other type of family system exhibitable in the African society is that of extended family. It is an extended of nuclear family earlier discussed. There are two types of extended family system in Africa the first is known as the monogamous, extended joint-family. It consists of two or more nuclear families. The second type is the polygamous extended family which consists of an adult male, his two or many wives and children. The paralegal polygamous extended family is peculiar to West African societies. Families, not individuals, are the building blocks of African society. Emphasis is here placed on the fact that the indigenous family in Africa had a lot that it offered within the context of traditionalism. These include: robust sense of responsibility; collective ethos; common ground of orientation; solidarity front; exhibition of African personality; hospital injunctions; facilitation of peace and harmony; and projection of common goal and destiny. TYPE OF AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS: There are basically four types of political systems that exist in traditional African societies. The first type is known as centralised political organisation, second involved rulers with centralised authority. The third category of society however showcased the characteristics of both centralised and non-centralised political organisation and the fourth had to do with small band societies which had their political organisation synonymous with kinship organisation. Ajayi 2005:81-82, posits that about four types of political systems can be identified among traditional African Societies, these include those who operated the centralised political organisation model. In this group, the societies existed as separate, distinct and independent political entities. Such ethnic groups that fall under this category include the Yoruba and Hausa of Nigeria, the Fanti and Ashanti of Ghana, as well as the Mossi of Burkina-Faso. Others were the Swazi and Zulu of South Africa as well as the Buganda. Besides, there were African societies that dispensed with monocratic rulers and preferred to govern themselves. These societies can be referred to as non-centralised societies. Examples, of these were the Igbo of Nigeria, the Kru of Liberia, and the Tallensi of Ghana. They also included the Konkomba of Togoland, the Somali, the Jie of Uganda, and the Mbeere of Kenya. Yet others included the Massai and the Nyjakusa of Tanzania. Whatever be the nature of the political system in any African society, the king by whatever name he was called, was regarded as paramount and ruled with the support of a group of chiefs also called by different names among the different ethnic groups. Among the Yoruba, it was and is still called the Igbimo (Council of Chiefs). It would also appear that the king, even though paramount, was not autocratic. FEATURES OF CENTRALISED POLITICAL POWER IN NON-MONOCRATIC SOCIETIES: In the centralised traditional political systems in Africa, authority was centralised in a hierarchical order. The king was at the apex of the political organisation and highly revered by his subjects. At the lower echelon of administration were the village heads. However, the enormity of centralisation was different from one African society to the other. It is significant that subsumed in the centralised structures of political organisation was the concentration of power in the hands of few political rulers, which facilitated abuse of power. Indeed, the abuse of power was a flagrant disregard for the rule of law, which often called to question the manipulation of state apparatus for governance, and gave vent to reactions and counter-reactions in African communities. The consultation was based on the recognition of the advisory roles of the councils. Without doubt, the chiefs had played very prominent roles in the king’s installation as the overall head of the community. CHARACTERISTICS OF NON-MONOCRATIC SOCIETIES: The bedrock of the maintenance of law and order in non-monocratic societies in Africa was the diffusion of political power. At this point, authority was endowed in people of virtuous and proven integrity as well as titled men. Contrasting the centralised political system, misuses of traditional political power in non- centralised societies were very limited and wherever discovered there were many institutional and constitutional checks against them. Clearly, the councils, the elders and the titled men could derail in their constitutional responsibilities towards the people for reasons best known to them. Kinship ties were very strong in segmented societies and they constituted formidable forces against abuse of power. The kingship groups provided the basis for moderating the power of the councils, elders and leaders of segmented societies. This mode of moderation ensured the limitation of the exercise of political authority. CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN AFRICAN SOCIETY: Part of the agenda of political culture in African society was the phenomenon of conflicts and conflicts resolution which quite often set the pace of development in the scheme of things. To understand the concept of conflicts is akin to situating it within the context of political culture. Simply defined, conflict is a clash of interest among two or more parties to it. It cannot be avoided but can be prevented, managed and resolved. Conflict, therefore, is very necessary and can set the pace for development in a society when properly handled. In other words, conflicts have its handling style. In pre-colonial African society, conflict was the order of the day. It happened so frequently and for a desired purpose. Conflict can occur, in that context, with a view to determining the personal temperament of people, test the character traits, weigh the interest of the people in other neighbouring kingdoms, test the level of neighbourhood hospitality and showcase the ammunitions manufactured by one kingdom or the other. In all the above conflict generating situations, there was always a signal to peaceful atmosphere and strength of neighbours and kingdoms. The handling style of conflict in pre-colonial African society was focused on conflict management and resolution. The concept of agba (elders) in Yoruba conflict management system, for example, is a Yoruba socio-political model for conflict resolution, and it is the third-party that is responsible for effective conflict resolution in indigenous Yoruba societies. Agba (elders) were usually relied upon as arbitrators and agents of conflict resolution in view of certain qualities possessed by this category of human beings. As a matter of fact, a ceremony usually concluded the conflict resolution scene. This involved the parties to the conflict to exhibit willingness to give peace a chance by eating some lobe of broken kolanut as in the Igbo society, eating pieces of bean cake (akara)as among the Yoruba or even drinking milk from the same calabash as among the Fulani of Northern Nigeria and the Masai of East Africa, to name a few. In the process of restoring conflict, oath taking and administration of ordeal were resorted to. This was to ascertain the truth and validity, innocence and honesty of purpose. The oath-taking include touching war or farm implements and the like. Marriage is one of the means to the prevention, management and resolution of conflict before slave trade, colonialism and religion changed the societal life of indigenous Africans. AFRICAN TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE AND THE SEARCH FOR RECOGNITION: Since the colonisation of African territories by the Europeans powers, a lot of water has passed under the bridge of political culture. Plurality of political system permeated the body politics of African countries with several problems of identity and recognition, there emerged a dichotomy between the old and the new political dispensations. African leaders who inherited the political culture of the colonial administrators were torn between two gruesome worlds of governance, viz-a-viz traditionalism and modern democracy. A critical review of the problems will suggest that African political leaders find it difficult to apply foreign rule to traditional governance. The crucial point to note is that traditional African government lacked the components of elective government. Traditional African states were sometimes ethnic-based as opposed to present-day multi-ethnic states. Most African countries now practise presidential system of government. There are, however, three categories of presidential regimes in Africa namely: rationalised, parliamentary and partisan regimes. The rationalised category is characterised by military regimes bereft of political party system as experienced in Uganda, Nigeria, Mauritania Central African Republic and Chad. The parliamentary system of governance networks with the presidential system of government and it is peculiar to both the Francophone and Anglophone countries in Africa. Presidentialism under one-party state structure is operational in Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroun, Togo, Zaire, Tanzania and Kenya. The partisan regime has the characteristics of multi-party system and can be identified in Senegal, Nigeria’s Second Republic and Ghana’s Third Republic. There are, however, enduring democratic values subsumed in traditional political systems in African societies. A good example is that of a two-way communication between the rulers and the people they governed. This was through village square meetings. The political ideals in African political system, when properly fine-tuned and articulated, could be fused with presidential system. When this will be done in Africa is difficult to prophesy but it is not an illusion to make it happen. CHAPTER 4 AFRICAN RELIGION AND CULTURE WHAT IS RELIGION? It is difficult to have an acceptable definition of religion because it is a sensitive phenomenon, which stands for different things among different people. Religion is defined on the basis of individual conviction. i.e. religious experience precedes religious conviction and ultimately religious expression and belief. KENNY’S DEFINITION OF RELIGION He defines religion as any system which relates man to ultimate values, whether God or something else, and which embodies a creed, a code, a cult and a communion (Dzurgba 1987: 18). Every religion possesses all the qualities so itemized by Kenny other things central to a religion are belief about God or gods, the nature and destiny of man, the meaning of history and the hope for the future. we can argue that every man has a right to define whatever practices he performs as religion in as much as such falls within the features mentioned above RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND CULTURE Religion is a product of culture because it is an integral part of the way of life (like arts and literature) of a people. Since religion has to do with belief system, it is essentially a product of culture. People’s belief arises from the interpretation of things around them. we must note that religion is man-made, that is, it is based on man’s projection. For instance, nobody has ever seen God, yet religious people believe that He exists. NATURE OF AFRICAN INDIGENOUS RELIGION African Indigenous Religion is the religion which is rooted in African culture. However, some scholars call this religion several other names such as African Traditional Religion (A.T.R.) (it is the most used among all the names), African Religion, African belief system, African thought and African primal heritage, among others. Some leading scholars of African religion are Mbiti and Parrinder Traditional religion refers to that which has been part and parcel of the customs or way of life of a particular people, precisely African people African Traditional Religion has no historical founder. It is as old as the beginning of humanity. Africans ruminated on issues such as how he came into being, who brought him into existence, and what happens to him now and in the future. The religion permeates their life so much that it expresses itself in multifarious ways: it forms the theme of song, makes topics for ministering, finds vehicles in myths, folktales, proverbs and sayings and it is the basis of philosophy (Idowu 1976:6). i.e. it’s not easy to isolate from their daily lives. ESSENTIAL BELIEFS OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION There are five fundamental beliefs underlying African Traditional Religion. These are Belief in God; Africans believe in the existence of God who is regarded as self-existing, supreme, sovereign, impartial, unfathomable, incomprehensible, immutable, everlasting, immutable, that is why no there is no image of him in ATR. BELIEF IN DIVINITIES The intermediary through which God can be contacted. Divinities are small gods that people worship. They are of different types such as arch divinity, water divinity and messenger divinity among others. BELIEF IN ANCESTORS has to do with how Africans interpret life and death. To them, death is not the end of man; rather it is a transition to another world in another plane. On the basis of this, it is believed that a man could live after death in the world of the ancestors. It is believed that they have power to look back and protect those left behind, thus the name living dead. Another belief is the one relating to spirits. Spirits are entities that inhabit mostly natural objects such as trees, water, rock, sun, moon, star, and sand. Spirits are invisible, but in a few cases, they could make themselves visible to people who have “second eyes”. In most cases, they are spoken of as bad spirits with power to harm man; among them are agents of witchcraft, magic, and sorcery. They are believed to be everywhere, which suggests that African continent is a world of spirits. thus the animistic theory of religion BELIEF IN MAGIC AND MEDICINE is also an element of African Indigenous Religion. Magic has to do with manipulation of unseen forces to do one's will. It goes with spellings and incantations. Medicine basically deals with physical manipulation, tapping and exploring of natural resources such as trees and plants to effect healing, curing and preventing diseases and ailment. In some cases, it may be necessary to do magical things to make medicine efficacious. It is important to note that all these five fundamental beliefs so stated above are interrelated. None is inferior or superior as they are all mutually exclusive. THE IMPACT OF AFRICAN RELIGION ON AFRICAN CULTURE Religion enhances societal ethos through what can be called traditional religious ethics. Thus, we find what constitutes the moral code of any particular African society in the laws, taboos, customs and set forms of behavior which derive their compelling power from religion. INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN CULTURE Christianity as a missionary religion was first introduced into Africa directly from Asia, its founding continent in the first (1st) century A.D. However, West Africa remained unchristianised until the 15th century (Onibonoje 1958). Researches have unveiled that the exportation of Christianity to Africa brought alongside with it an equal exportation of foreign culture and western civilization. The influence of the two cultures on each other can be seen in the underlisted areas: (i) Marriage There was interaction between African indigenous culture and European Christian Culture in the area of marriage. The European Christian marriage culture of “one man, one wife” was superimposed on African converts to Christianity. (ii) Dressing and Language European missionaries who came to Africa did not only come to plant Christianity but also to promote European dressing culture. As a result, everything African was written off as barbaric and pagan, African Christians were required to worship God through Christ in European way. (iii) Education Western education was introduced to most parts of Africa, especially Nigeria through the activities of Christian missionaries from Europe and North America (Fafunwa 1974). In the long-run, African traditional education system became substituted with Western education system. (iv) Modern Medical Facilities Western medicine was introduced to Africa alongside the exportation of Christianity. Christian missions established hospitals and dispensaries as part of their mission strategies. African traditional medicine was condemned as both barbaric and demonic, and was consequently gradually displaced by Western medicine. (v) Burial Rites Traditionally, the dead were buried in the middle of the night or a few hours before dawn. Christian missionaries discouraged and disapproved of this practice as demonic, and instead put forward the practice of meeting in the evening to mourn/celebrate the dead in a Christian way, vi) Enthusiastic Christian Worship There was much of cold formalism in the Christianity to Africa from Europe and North America. This was unsatisfying to African religious temperament which was highly characterised by much emotionalism the product of which was the emergence African indigenous churches (vii) Warfare Prayers One of the distinguishing marks of African Christianity today is the phenomenon of ‘“Warfare” or “Radical prayers” This practice, as research unveiled, is more of a revival of African traditional imprecatory prayer pattern with a Christian coloration (making allusions to imprecatory Psalms). (viii)Rituals and Sacrifices African Traditional (Indigenous) Religion has impacted upon Christianity in the area of rituals and sacrifices, especially in the African Indigenous Churches (ix) Harvest Thanksgiving Services Celebration of Harvest Thanksgiving’ found common in the mission established churches. The African independent/ indigenous churches today is a good reflection of the influence of African cultural practice of harvest festivals on Christianity. (x) Place of Women While African indigenous culture puts women in subjective position, Western Christianity preaches a doctrine of “equalitarianism”. INTERACTION BETWEEN ISLAM AND AFRICAN CULTURE By way of historical emergence, Islam is a seventh (7th) century religion founded by Prophet Mohammed in Saudi Arabia, as a revelation from God. The word “Islam” implies peace”. Islam was exported to Africa through trade and conquest before the end of the seventh century A.D. This cultural interaction, which produced Islamisation of African indigenous culture and Africanisation of Islamic culture, can be seen in the underlisted, areas: (i) Marriage The traditional African society was essentially of a polygamous setting. However, Islam, with its introduction, supported this African heritage but only limited the number of wives a devout African Muslim could marry to four. (ii) Place of Women According to E.G. Babalola Islam was the first to establish a way of life wherein the rights of women were recognised, and a respectable and responsible place in the society was assured for them. He relates that Islam allows women to manage their own affairs where necessary, and say “yes” or “no” in matters, vital to their future life (e.g. marriage) (iii) Dressings There has been much imposition of Arabian dressing culture on Africans with the introduction of Islam. Today, what we find mostly among devout Muslims are either Islamised African dresses or complete Arabian outfits. (iv) Language Some Arabic words have been Africanised especially among the Hausa speaking tribes. Apart from this, the learning of Arabic as a second language is predominant among some African tribes (v) Education In some African tribes, Islamic education and civilisation have displaced African traditional education. In fact, some devout Muslims prefer sending their children to Islam/ Qur’anic schools to giving them formal Western education (Fafunwa 1974). (vi) Greetings Salutations in Arabic phrases are gradually displacing African cultural greeting patterns among devout Muslims. For instance, the Islamic greeting formula As-sallam-aleh-ikum (peace be upon this house) is preferred to any African traditional greeting expressions. (vii) Chieftaincy Titles The African indigenous culture of chieftainship has infiltrated into Islam especially among the Yorùbá speaking tribes of West Africa. Today some African traditional chieftaincy titles have been greatly Islamised, (viii)Medicine The introduction of Islam has equally impacted upon African culture in the area of medicine. Today, among some devout Muslim families, the use of African traditional medicine has been replaced with the use of Tirah, and hanntu (that is, solutions made out of washed Quranic inscriptions on tablets) (Babalola 1995: 36). CONCLUSION religion and culture of Africans are mutually interwoven and by so doing have significant roles to play in advancing African development. CHAPTER 5 AFRICAN TRADITIONAL EDUCATION : NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE Societies in the world have their own unique way(s) of passing cultural heritage from one generation to another. In Africa, an educated man is seen as a warrior, hunter, nobleman and a man of character. Fafunwa in 1974 states that functionalism is the guiding principle of African education and that education is a means to an end and not an end itself. African education may be regarded as the way of impacting cultures into young ones in such a way that it won’t go into extinction. It prepares young ones for adulthood and also to become useful members of the society. Traditional education begins at home, Bobarinwa in 2016 compared traditional education to the western education with the parents as child’s first teacher which is compared to the primary level of formal system of formal education. The neighbourhood education is the secondary level, community education is the higher education with the last stage are ones received from secret societies. OBJECTIVES OF TRADITIONAL EDUCATION 1. To develop the child’s intent and physical skills e.g. drumming, wrestling. As a child grow up, he watch and imitate the elders of the society and therefore develop skills. 2. To develop character. Morals and character are primary forms of education being taught and when a child misbehave, he/she is corrected immediately by the elders of the house in front of others so they will also learn. A Nigerian child is expected to be honest, dutiful, respectful, law abiding, loyal and sociable. 3. To inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority. A Nigerian child is expected to be respectful of elders. This is part of the morals being taught at home and is expected to be applied in the community at large. Also, while the child respect elders, appreciations from the elders are expected which makes the child to be eager to contribute their quota. 4. To develop intellectual skills. This is acquired through observation and imitation as well as participation. The use of proverb also enhance a child’s intellectual development. Secretes societies also take part in the development of the child’s intellectual skills through initiation training given by the professional such as herbalist, hunters as well as chiefs and priests. 5. To acquire specific vocational training and to develop healthy attitude toward honest labour 6. To develop a sense of belonging and to participate actively in family and community affairs 7. To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large In general, traditional education prepare individuals for appropriate skills which will assist them to be self employed later in life. Traditional education has many features such as child rearing, age group association and vocational training. CHILD REARING UNDER TRADITIONAL EDUCATION. The child’s education begins when the child is very young, children are closer to the mother than any other person as the mother take the responsibility of taking care of the child. Every older member of the traditional society participates in the rearing of the child ie a teacher in one way or the other to the child. The teachings are basically informal and practical and vary from one society to the other. The language learning comes mostly from the mother and it is term mother tongue as well as some of the basic things. The term our child is used in the Yoruba land to denote that the child belongs to everybody in the family not only the parents. The other member of the family contributes to the development of the child when the mother is engaged in other things. The child begins to master the local language as the culture of the society. Primary traditional education could be in form of telling stories about things around and also about life by the elders. The Age group This has the following purposes a. For the purpose of developing their community b. For mutual aid and socio economic advancement of members c. For political empowerment of their groups and thier members in the unity d. For respect and recognition to the members e. For special privileges and prestige of the community VOCATIONAL TRAINING Traditonal training is geared towards self employment. Traditional vocation training are always acquired through apprenticeship. The years spent on acquiring a skill depend on the type of vocation, the apprentice behaviour and learning abilities as well as the relationship he/she build with the master. Traditional vocations includes farming, weaving, smithing, carving, painting and decorating, carpentry, barbing, drumming hunting, dress making, hair plaiting, soap making, mat- making among others and they are divided into three major group (a) Agriculture (b) Trade and crafts (c) traditional professions In agriculture, children lean in most cases under their parents right from childhood. For trades and craft, parents send thier children to friends for training as training under them may not be thorough. For traditional professions, they train under a master. Roles of informal education on culture and civilisation Under traditional education, the children will be exposed to societal beliefs, rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices, annual festivals among others. Traditional education in addition, helps in the integration of the young members into the society. However, the contact of Nigerian culture with that of foreign culture has made it difficult for traditional education to have its objectives fully achieved. For instance, many children in the Nigerian society these days do not know how to greet people generally. Also, the mother tongue which used to be a pride of every traditional society is no longer fashionable and acceptable in many traditional homes. The era of incantations, concoctions, herbs, and traditional medicine is going into extinction gradually. CHAPTER 6 THE ROMANS CIVILISATION IN AFRICA THE ROMANS Rome was a small town founded around the river Tiber, Italy around the year 753BC according to legend. Rome later became an empire that controlled the whole of Italy, expanding to Europe, Africa and Arabia. It was bordered to the east by river Euphrates, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Sahara desert and to the north by the Rhine. A myth on how Rome was founded reported that a virgin, Rhea Silvia was raped by the Roman God of war, Mars. She then gave birth to a set of twins Romulus and Remus who upon reaching adulthood decided to establish a town in the year 753BC. They disagreed on who is to be the first ruler which lead to Romulus killing Remus and he becoming the first ruler of Rome. From 753 - 509BC -- Rome became a great city with kings 509 - 27BC -- It became a republic after the expulsion of the last king Tarquinus Superbus 27BC - 476AD – It became a great empire with Augustus Caesar as the first Emperor and citizens including North Africans, Arabs, Syrians, Greeks and the Jews among others THE INDIGENOUS NORTH AFRICANS The Berbers referred to as gens, natio, populous and ethnos in Latin literatures are the indigenous population The natives were mostly nomadic before the Phoenicians and semi nomadic when the Romans arrived Some of the major indigenous are the Psylii, theMaces, the Auses, the Gindanes, the Arzuges etc. North Africa became recognized when 3 kingdoms dominated their affairs The Massylii ruled by king Masinissa The Masaesylii of king Syphax in Numidia The Mauri in Mauretania with king Baga During 2nd century BC Massinissa expanded his territory to reasonable parts of Masaesylii lands thereby forming a united kingdom of Numidia Julius Caesar annexed Numidia during the rule of their last king Juba I who ruled till 46BC, The king of Mauretania was however not annexed until 40AD By 108AD the MAuri and Masaesylii had disappeared leading the emergence of Gaetuli. The Gaetuli were nomadic during the time of Phoenician settlements but later became more settled at the beginning ofRoman occupation According to Ilevbare, at the time of the Roman occupation of North Africa the North African nationalities could be divided into three groups; the subdued within the Roman province, the unsubdued within the frontier and those outside the frontier. By the time of the Severi 193 - 235AD, the Romans had the largest of any foreign domination of North Africa before the Arabs occupation of the 7th Century AD. THE CARTHAGINIANS AND THE ROMANS IN NORTH AFRICA: TRADE, CONQUESTS AND EXPANSION The Phoenicians were the seamen of Tyre and Sidon, merchants form Syria and Palestine, very knowledgeable about the sea, very wealthy and highly adventurous. They were the first known to have visited the indigenous people of north Africa Carthage was established as a Phoenician trading town about the year 814BC on the coast of North Africa. They were originally an ally of Rome. The Carthaginians had in their city people from Egypt, Libya, Greece, Spain and Numidia. The first Punic war (264 – 241BC) was fought between the Carthaginians and the Romans and Greeks over the possession of Sicily with the Romans eventually winning. The Carthaginian General at the First Punic War was Hamilcar Barca, father of the famous Hannibal. The first invasion of Africa by the Romans was in the year 256 and it ended in a defeat for the Romans in the year 255 when the Roman consul, Regulus, was taken prisoner by the Carthaginians and later tortured to death. However, in the year 241, the Romans succeeded in building a great fleet which defeated the Carthaginians and therefore took over Sicily. Four years later the Romans took over the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The second Punic war began in March 218BC when the Romans declared war on the Carthaginians on account of the town, Saguntum, an ally of Rome. The Carthaginian General, Hannibal, from his base in Spain, defeated the Roman armies in several encounters within Italy and succeeded in conquering several communities. In 204 BC Scipio Africanus made use of a Roman army in Spain and invaded Africa while Hannibal was still in Italy and could not defend Carthage. Hannibal returned to Carthage to save his county but Scipio Africanus defeated him at the battle of Zama in 202BC. Carthage, thereafter, became a subject of Rome; In 149 BC the Romans once again declared war on Carthage, and the Carthaginians, already weakened, surrendered unconditionally, with little or no efforts at resistance. The Romans then requested the Carthaginians to move ten miles inland, since Carthage was very close to the coast. The Carthaginians, however, refused. This led to the Third Punic war which lasted for about three years when P. Scipio Aemelianus Africanus defeated Carthage. The Romans also later craved expansion into the indigenous lands which caused several revolts from the indigenes with most being unsuccessful. An example of such revolt is when indigenous people of Mauretania revolted after the death of Emperor Trajan and in AD 40 when Emperor Caligula annexed Mauretania. The revolt was repressed in AD 44 and Mauretania was then divided into two; Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana. ROMAN CIVILISATION IN AFRICA: INFLUENCES, ASSOCIATION AND ASSIMILATION POLITICAL IMPACT When the Phoenicians first got to North Africa, the indigenous people were organised based on tribal affiliations. The indigenous North African government was that of an aristocracy of powerful chiefs and family heads who governed their own people, with a king or head chief as the head of the council. The indigenes later started modeling their government after the Carthaginians who usually have 2 sufets, elected annually as the leaders of government, supported by a council of 30 elders; then a council of 104 judges, and the general assembly. The Romans usually appoint a military dictator after capturing a place and later impose a government structured on the Roman pattern of local government. For other more difficult communities, they introduced the indirect form of government. ECONOMIC IMPACT North African indigenous populations were mainly farmers before the arrival of the Phoenicians. Trading activities brought the Phoenicians originally to North Africa, trading with the natives, mostly trade by barter. Most items needed were home-made. Tools and equipment were fabricated by some craftsmen When the Phoenicians arrived, they came with more robust agricultural practices. more organised economical activities and more sophisticated technology. By the end of the 3rd Century BC, coins were minted for facilitation of trade. Through this, trade by batter gave way for monetary transactions. The Roman occupation of North Africa also resulted into advancement in trade, craftsmanship and farming. It also paved way for development of infrastructures. SOCIAL IMPACT Before the arrival of the Phoenicians, family unit was the basis of the society and it was an extended family structure. The community was made up of families where only adult male took part in the assembly. Women stayed at home to perform household duties and to take care of the home. They also assisted in taking care of the herds and the crops when necessary. Upon the death of the husband, another man of the household would take her as his wife. The children thereafter would be seen as the children of the late husband. Girls were married very early, with bride price and fertility rites, they were supposed to be virgins at that early age, and had no choice in the man they married. With the coming of the Phoenicians, however, there was the class of the nobles, landowners, aristocrats, merchants, upper class and the artisans/ labourers lower class. The society was led by the capitalists and the priests while other citizens, including the slaves, were below. The natives and the Phoenicians intermarried, producing Libo-Phoenicians. This mixed blood began to introduce monogamy, as practiced by the Phoenicians. The North Africans embraced Carthaginians custom and by the time of the destruction of Carthage, the Carthaginian custom prevailed. The Roman’s destruction of Carthage was followed by a gradual replacement of the Phoenician’s influence in the sociocultural domination of North Africa. RELIGIOUS IMPACT The indigenous North African religion before the Phoenicians and the Romans occupations was difficult to describe but evidence suggests that they must have sacrificed to the sun and the moon as symbols of the duality of Divinity This cult of the sun was further symbolised by a ram crowned with a solar disc and worshipped as Ammon-Re which was probably another version of the Egyptian god, Ammon-Ra. Besides, the North Africans had other gods and goddesses reminiscent of the Greek gods Athena, Triton, Poseidon, Mars and Jupiter, there were also some indications of animal worship. The Carthaginians introduced the deification of kings, usually after death. The Phoenicians had their pantheon, like the Greeks/Romans, that they brought with them to North Africa. The Greek gods were already in Africa even before the Romans really had serious contact with Africans during the 3rd Century BC. Once Carthage was fully occupied, the Romans came with their gods and deities. Stoicism, Orphism and Pythagoreanism, all combined with the Roman religion to influence the indigenous religion. EDUCATION Traditional Africans educational system was mainly informal, learning to hunt and engaging in warfare. The father, the eldest male, or the family head was the teacher of the male child, the mother, in the same vein, would teach the female child at home. The artisan family, producers of farm tools and war arms, must hand their skills to their sons. Political education was learnt by observation. The natives had no written law and the societies were governed through unwritten traditions and conventions. When the Phoenicians came, however, they introduced sophisticated political, technical and general education including formal education which the Romans later expanded. When the Romans came to North Africa, Roman system of education became the standard, First, primary education, next, secondary, and, finally, higher education. When Christianity came to North Africa, the churches also established schools; cathedral schools, monastic schools and episcopal schools where teaching of Greek, Hebrew, geography, history, mathematics, rhetoric, among others, took place. Both Punic and Libyc (African language), went hand in hand until the 2nd Century BC when the Latin traders became more numerous and the Latin language joined the two. Several people became bilingual mastering Latin and Punic while Libyc suffered, becoming increasingly less attractive. After the destruction of Carthage, the Romans made Latin the official language alongside Punic until the 1st Century AD when Latin became the supreme language of North Africa. Christianity also became a vehicle for the Latin language, among the general public, as the language of the church. CHAPTER 7 CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA Christianity in Africa started during the Apostolic age. It started in the Church of Ethiopia. Ethiopia had Jewish Contacts even before then birth of Jesus e.g. Queen of Sheba. Another example was Jesus going to Egypt to seek asylum after his birth. Fatokun says Christianity came to Africa through Asia shortly after the day of Pentecost. Dyron Daughrity, Africans were present on the birthday of Christianity—the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, because mention was made of people from Egypt and Libya. An Ethiopian Eunuch Received the Gospel through Evangelist Philip on his way back home from Jerusalem and he was baptized. (Luke 8:27-39) Christianity came into sub Saharan Africa in the 19th century and early 20th century through missionaries. According to Dyron. For every Missionary during that time, there were dozens of African leaders. 31 Countries out of 59 in Africa have Christianity as the Dominant Religion. There are debates about the Origin of Christianity in Egypt due to the absence of accepted archaeological and textual evidence prior to the later second century; the complex identity of Jewish Christianity in the first and second centuries; the place of literacy in the formation of Christian identity in Egypt; the nature of “orthodoxy” and “heresy” in the early churches of Egypt. EARLY FORMS OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA In the new testament, some Africans witnessed the Life of Christ so it is possible for them to have been the first to share the news with other Africans. In Mark 15: 21, Simon of Cyrene (This is a region near Libya) helped Jesus carry his cross. Dyron Daughrity points out that during the persecution of the church in Jerusalem, people from Cyrene preached the gospel to non-Jews first because in Acts 11: 19-20 shows believers coming from Cyrene and witnessing to Greeks in Antioch. He also states that Paul could have been ordained by people that could include Africans according to Acts 13. Dyron is impressed by Africa’s extra canonical pedigree. St. Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism, was an Egyptian; several African Church Fathers defined the Christian faith for us as we understand it today: Athanasius, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian and Tertullian. Athanasius’ home city, Alexandria, was well known as “the leading academic centre of the ancient world.”. Alexandria and Carthage (Tunisia) were pivotal in shaping the earliest medieval Western universities, the most important theologian in Christian history, Augustine (354-430), was an African Berber from Algeria. CHRISTIANITY IN THE NORTH OF SAHARAN AFRICA EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANITY: From the day of the Pentecost, the disciples spread to the rest of the world. Mark arrived in Egypt around 42 C.E. Philip travelled all the way to Carthage before heading East into Asia Minor, Matthew and Bartholomew visited Ethiopia. Christianity appealed to the disaffected Egyptians because of the idea of resurrection, afterlife and Virgin Birth, all these things resonated with ancient Egyptian practices. there was a resonance to traditional gods through the concept of Supreme Being. Even the idea of the Holy Trinity could be related to various godly triads, which were taken to be three aspects of a single deity. In 70 C.E., Alexandria (Egyptian city) became a center of Christianity. In 49 C.E., A bishop of Alexandria was appointed by the disciples and Mark. He is honored as the person who brought Christianity into Africa. Alexandria was also home to the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament. It was created by Ptolemy II for the large population of Alexandrian Jews. Origen (Head of the school of Alexandria) is noted for compiling 6 translations of the old testament (HEXAPLA) The Catechetical School of Alexandria was founded in the late second century by Clement of Alexandria as a centre for the study of bible interpretation. IN A.D. 64, Christianity suffered persecution in Alexandria. In response, the Church established the Catechetical Schools of Alexandria, among other similar schools of Christian instruction. Many significant leaders of faith emerged from the early African Church such as the ones mentioned earlier. Anthony and Pachomius introduced monasticism, which had its home in the deserts of Egypt before it spread to Western Europe. The persecution made Christians move to the innermost parts of Egypt. Christian churches were planted in those regions with Egyptian language (Coptic) but Christianity in the region was weakened by theological and doctrinal controversies. By the 7th Century, there were a lot of Coptic Churches. However, there was an influx of Muslims in the middle ages which resulted in a lot of Islam converts, this caused many African Christians to flee to Europe. The Roman Catholic and European protestants made efforts to claim some part of Africa for Christ. THE ROMAN AFRICAN CHURCH: North Africa was a Roman Colony. It was the second claimed center Christianity in Africa. North Africa was made up of Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Morocco nations with its capital at Carthage known as Tunisia. Roman authority had severely subdued people in North Africa; the advent of Christianity quickly became a religion of protest. This is because Christianity was a reason for people to ignore the requirement to honour the Roman Emperor through sacrificial ceremonies. By the 2nd Century, Carthage had a pope named Victor I who sat on the chair of peter in Rome (A.D. 181-191). Agrippius was the first Bishop of the North African Church. Although Christianity began in North Africa several centuries before its introduction in Egypt, the Church in North Africa did not grow as quickly because of Language Barrier Latin was used instead of the people’s Language. Olarewaju believes that Roman Catholic and Protestants from the west were the main Christians to propagate Christianity in the 19th century. The evangelical methods employed by Roman Catholic and Protestant missions to evangelise the people were establishment of schools, hospitals and orphanage centres for both Christians and non-Christians, and translation of the Bible into local languages. Africa’s colonial period lasted from the late 1800s until the advent of African Independence Movements in 1951, when Libya became the first former colony to become independent, though Liberia was the first post-colonial independent country established in 1847. ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIANITY: Ethiopia also known as Abyssinia was the third early centre of Christianity in Africa. Brendan Pringle states that historians have widely accepted the argument that Armenia was the first Christian nation. Fremnatos (A trader) was kidnapped on his way from India to Aksum. He ended up being the tutor to future King Ezana of the north kingdom of Ethiopian Highlands. He introduced Christianity into Aksum. the king adopted Christianity as the official religion in 333 A.D. Ezeana’s decision to adopt Christianity was most likely influenced by his desire to solidify his trading relationship with the Roman Empire. Christianity was a move to unite ethnicities in Aksum. Aksum developed a Coin system that had the cross on it. Ezana was the first world leader to put cross on a coin. Magnificent churches were built in Aksum, Matara and Adulis. The churches served the administrative and military officials. The growth of Aksum ended the Persian invasion of southern Arab. At the collapse of Aksum dynasty the Ethiopian centre of power moved south and east, taking the Christian tradition with it. Much of the literature of the Ethiopic Church, much even of its Bible, is as yet unpublished, and exists only in manuscripts either in Abyssinia, or in the great libraries in London, Oxford, Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin and elsewhere. NUBIAN CHRISTIANITY: Nubia also known as Sudan was the fourth centre of Christianity in Africa. The Exact time of when Christianity entered Nubia is not clear. The official date for the beginnings of the Christianisation of Nubia is, according to John of Ephesus (516-586), the year A.D. 543 but the influence of Christianity in Egypt must have been felt much earlier, and the Christian religion could have gradually infiltrated into Nubia before its official conversion and made converts among the poor. Traders passing with their caravans from Egypt to the south and persecuted Egyptian Christians fleeing to Nubia may have brought their Christian faith with them. Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered some traces of an earlier presence of Christianity. Polish Archeologists are said to have found evidence of Christianity dating back to AD 400. The Polish excavations at Faras led by K. Michalowski had between 1961-1964 uncovered under the Nobadian Sovereign’s Palace, remains of a Christian church built of unbaked bricks that, according to the Polish archaeologists, “must have antedated the end of the fifth century”. The existence of monasteries and hermitages since the fifth century is another argument in favour of an earlier penetration of the Christian faith into Nubia. The 3 Kingdoms along the Nile accepted at least for a time, 2 forms of Christianity. The first one is a Melkite mission by the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian (483-565), who was a Melkite. The second is a Monophysite mission supported by the patronage of his wife Theodora (500-547), who was an Egyptian-born monophysite. In 543 the King of Nobatia with his royal court was converted to Christianity by a Christian Monophysite mission led by the presbyter Julian sent in 542 by the Empress Theodora. Makuria was converted by Chalcedonian emissaries in about 569 AD to the Melkite or Orthodox faith by a mission sent by the Emperor Justinian. ugh it later, between 660-700, switched to monophysitism. Alodia was converted by Aksum in 580 AD through longinus. The Christian Church in Nubia was a state institution and economic prosperity of the kingdom allowed for the building of impressive cathedrals and ecclesiastical monuments decorated with splendid frescoes and wall-paintings. Characteristic of Nubian Christianity was the persistence of older, pre-Christian belief. Both Greek and Sahidic Coptic and the Coptic Bible were used in the Nubian Church. Greek was he major language of the Christian church and was the major language used in the Nubian church. Coptic language was also used for writings and inscriptions in the Nubian Church. Even though Christianity grew separately in Nubia, it is said to have had a major impact in the region, reaching even to as far as West Africa. CHRISTIANITY IN THE SOUTH OF SAHARA AFRICA COMPRISED WEST AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA IN THE EARLIEST TIME OF CHRISTIANITY. The West African Christianity Prince Henry of Portugal (1394-1460) championed the war between Christians and Muslims in Europe to Africa. It was through his efforts that the cape of Good hope was discovered, after his death, the coast of Sierra leone and modern Monrovia was discovered. Fernando Gomez discovered the Island of Sao Tome, Fernando Po, the Island of the Gulf of Guinea and Senegal along with the coastline of the kingdom of Congo. In 1846, Bartholomew Diaz commanded the expedition that reached the cape of South Africa, which he called Tormentoso Cape of Storm, but King John II of Portugal named it Cabo de Bona Esperanca or the Cape of Good Hope. In the 15th Century, the church was established in west Africa, and the first missionary activity started off the island of the coast of the Atlantic. In 1462, Pope II appointed a Portuguese Franciscan as Prefect for Guinea. In 1472, four of the larger Islands have been converted. In the 19th century, European powers such as France, Germany and Britain sent numbers of missionaries, explorers, traders and philanthropists to West Africa. European missionaries were basically individuals sent to West Africa to accomplish the claimed “Three Cs” aims that entailed spreading Civilisation, Christianity, and Commerce. In the 19th Century, These Churches (The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary (WMMS), the British- based Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS), the London Missionary Society (LMS), the Protestant Missions (PM) from France, Germany , Holland and the USA) were sent to Africa. The French Catholic Mission (FCM) came after the Protestant Mission (PM). Missionaries like J.T. Van der Kemp, John Philip, Thomas Birch Freeman, and Mary Slessor (a Scottish Presbyterian missionary in Nigeria) did not only spread Christianity but also advocated the abolition of slave trade in West Africa. These missions seeked to stop slave trade and also promote legal trade between Africa and Europeans. They built Fourah Bay in early1827 in Sierra Leone and introduced Elementary School in the Gold Coast and Nigeria by1870s. In 1876, they opened their first secondary school known as the Wesleyan High School which is called Mfantsipim School in Ghana. Bishop Ajayi Crowther (c. 1806-1891) who was converted to Christianity and later translated the Bible into Yoruba Language was a pioneer student of Fourah Bay College. South African Christianity In A.D. 1488, Bartholomeu Dias (Diaz), a Portuguese navigator was the person who erected a limestone pillar and Christian cross at the Cape of Good Hope. For more than a century Christian missionaries did not arrive in any significant number in the Cape until 1652 when the Dutch East India Company authorised Jan van Riebeeck to establish a resupply station at the Cape. As at that time he had survived a shipwreck off the coast of the Cape in 1648 and later became the governor of the Cape Colony. As from 1658, he Christianity in Africa 103 encouraged Khoikhoi slaves in the Cape Town to attend mission services. In 1618, the Calvinist Synod ruled that any slave who was baptised should be freed. For this reason, farmers who depended on their slaves refused repeated entreaties from the church authorities in Europe to free these slaves in the Cape. Hence, the slave-owners banned religious instruction for slaves so that none could be baptised. In July 1737, George Schmidt arrived in South Africa and founded the first Protestant mission called the Moravian Brethren. Uproar occurred in 1742, after the baptism of five Khoikhoi slaves owing to the fact that Christians must be free, not slaves. As a result of this hostility, Schmidt was forced to leave South Africa. This brought an end to all Christian missionary activities for about fifty years. In 1792, the Moravian Brethren returned to South Africa with three missionaries. In 1799, the London Missionary Society sent large numbers of missionaries to the Cape Colony. Thereafter, the Glasgow Missionary Society and the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society arrived, along with missionaries from the United States, France, Germany and Scandinavia. Priorities of most missions were literacy, biblical instruction, translation of the Bible into local languages and hymns books for community singing, and the spiritual benefits of productive labour. Pentecostal Christian movements and Charismatic Christian churches emerged between the middle of 19th and 20th centuries in South Africa. FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA Urbanisation was a key factor in the development of North African Christianity. Roman life in North Africa was heavily concentrated around urban centres—by the end of the second century, there was upwards of six million people living in Roman North African provinces (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco). Alexandria, considered the second city after Rome, had 150,000 inhabitants by the third century. There were echoes of traditional religions found in Christianity, which proved key in the spread of African Christianity. The resentment of the population of Roman administration, especially the imposition of taxes and the demand that the Roman Emperor must be worshipped akin to a god was the third key factor in the spread of Christianity through North Africa. The division of the continent made it easier for the missionaries who came to Liberia and West Africa to take control in West Africa. The Challenges to the Expansion of Christianity in Africa Humid and unhealthy Climate, abundance of harmful insects (tsetse fly and mosquitoes), Lack of good waterways, absence of good harbours, Unfriendly natives, slave trade and the Sahara desert were the challenges to missionary enterprises in Africa. The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. The anti-slavery issue and the humanitarian conscience also played a vital role in stimulating European interest in Africa and gave an impetus to mission work. The publication of the Bible in full or in part, and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress from this World to that which is to Come in British Africa, were usually the first major publications in most African languages and in many cases the Bible remained for a long time the only publication that people could read in their mother tongue. Christian missionaries established schools because education was deemed indispensable to their aim, but always placed religion at the forefront of the school curriculum. Missionaries took from it its conventional features, building churches and schools in the European style and imposing the habits and ethos of the Western Christian civilisation on their converts. The missionaries taught everyone in West Africa the same language, so communication and unity in West Africa increased as the language barriers decreased. The natives of West Africa experienced a loss of cultural identity due to the westernisation the missionaries brought along with Christianity. Reid says in Missionaries and West African Nationalism missionaries symbolised “Christian values, Western schools, hospitals and churches”. The twofold effect the Christian missionaries had on the unity of the tribes in West Africa and Liberia contributed to the difficult task of coexistence on the continent of Africa. The training of black missionaries greatly impacted the extent to which Christianity spread in Africa. The effects of the Christian missionaries in Africa brought more results than just the spreading of Christianity but also contributed to changes in government, culture, tradition, language and relationships. CONCLUSION The Christian missionary enterprise represented the first and most important facet of Western contact in Africa; and in the 20th century Christianity invaded the entire Africa, in spite of the challenges the missionaries encountered. Most Christians in Africa today are Roman Catholics, Protestants and Pentecostals or Charismatics. The above stated factors aided the dramatic spread of Christianity in Africa. African Christians should secure the roots of Christianity in the African context regardless of its immense contributions to Africa the chapter recommends. CHAPTER 8 ISLAM IN AFRICA Africa had a majority of Muslim population. Africa gave the Islamic world its first mu'adhin, Bilal ibn Rabah. Africa is home to it's greatest historian, Ibn Khaldun and the birthplace of the best-known traveler, Ibn Batuta. Africa produced the Murabitun movement and provided the manpower for the injection of Muslim political military power into southwestern Europe. About 500 million Muslims, constituting more than 25% of all Muslims in the world, live in Africa, while another 350 million live in Indonesia, Malaysia and China. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade lasted more than three hundred thousand years and resulted in forceful shipment of a 100million men, women and children Oriental Scholarship is focused on the Middle Eastern character of Islam, embracing primarily the Arab element and including as corollary the Turkish and Persian elements. African Muslim history suffers from the same neglect that characterizes Africa in general. Africa was referred to as "the dark continent" Africa is a vast continent, second only to Asia in size and five times the size of Europe. Sahara, south of Mediterranean Africa is the largest and harshest dessert on planet Earth. Occupies an area of more than 3 million square miles, almost the size of the US. The modern states of Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, Egypt and northern Susan lie partly or wholly in the Sahara. South of the Sahara, also known as historical Sudan is occupied by the modern states of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Nassau, Guinea, Mali, Upper Volta, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Historical Sudan isn't modern Sudan which lies south of Egypt. The history of Africa is strongly influenced by it's geography and it's topography. The fellaheen of the Nile constitute the oldest continuous cultural unit in the world. Egypt acted as the conduit for African art, science and culture to the rest of the world. Development of Greek thought in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 5th century BC owes a great deal to the wisdom of Africa. Egypt belongs to the Mediterranean world and is the doorway of North Africa. Egypt has attracted the attention of Asian conquerors, as happened in the Persian invasion of the 6th Century BC, the Roman invasion of the first century, the Arab-Islamic invasion of the 7th century and the attempted Mongol-Crusader invasions of the 13th century. In the Maghrib, the Atlas Mountains are inhabited by the Berbers. The Maghrib, as well as Egypt, was part of the Roman Empire. In the classical Islamic Era (700-1250), the Maghrib held the key to Spain and Southwestern Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, it was the turbulence in the Maghrib that largely determined the father of the Muslim Spain. The five broad trade routes were the conduits not only for a two-way exchange of men and material but also ideas. One of such sublime idea was the idea of Islam. Africa was in the cradle of Islam. The proximity of Hijaz to Abyssinia ensured continuous contacts between Africans and the Arabs of Makkah. Enimity of the pagan Arabs to the mission of Islam was at the height when the Prophet ordered some of his companions to migrate to Abyssinia. The emigres were received with honor by the Negus, king of Abyssinia and later returned to Mecca when peace was established. The highlands of Ethiopia were the first in Africa to hear the call of Islam. Some descendants of Bilal ibn Rabah migrated to Mallel (Islamic name for Mali). Mandinka clan Keira, generally credited with the founding of the great Mali Empire, claims its descent from Bilal ibn Rabah, referred to as Bilali Bunamah in the Mandinka language. The Muslims took Egypt and Libya from the Byzantine Empire in 642. Uqba bin Nafi, the conqueror of the Maghrib founded the city of Kairouan in modern Tunisia. Uqba bin Nafi led an expedition towards Mauritania. The Kunta tribe of Sene-Gambia, claim their desent from Uqba bin Nafi. The Kuntas produced great scholars like Sidi Muhammed Al Kunti, who had a profound impact on the introduction of Islam into West Africa. Sidi Muhammed's son, Sidi al Bakki introduced the Qadariya order into West Africa in the 15th century. The Qadariya order, named after Shaikh Abdul Qader Jeelani (1077-1166) of Baghdad, was a major force in the spraed of Islam in Africa, India, Pakistan, Central Asia and southeastern Europe. Towards the end of the 18th century, Uthman Dan Fuduye who died in 1817 also waged a valiant struggle for Islam in West Africa. Madinah was the center for the Maliki School of Fiqh Islamic jurisdiction of the Maliki School, together with the institution of Hajj (held in the cities of Makkah and Madinah), has provided a vital civilization link between West Africa and the rest of the Muslim world. The primary export of West Africa was gold. Other products included salt, Ivory and kola nuts. In return, the North Africans provided religious and administrative services. Important trading centers: Tahert in Algeria, Sijilmasa in Morocco, Tanderi in Mali and Agadez in Niger. The Sanhaja who inhabited the Sahara were the first to accept Islam as early as the Omayyad period in the 8th century. Islam created a universal Creed and a universal community wherein all believers were equal. By the 9th century, Muslim centers existed in the cities of Gao, Ghana and Tekrur. By the 10th century, the rulers of Gao had accepted Islam By the 11th century, the Kings of thepowerful state of Ghana had themeselves become Muslims. The intrinsic spirituality of traditional African cultures helped the early spread of Islam, which arrived on the scene proclaiming that it was deen ul fitra, or the natural religion of humankind sent to remind all nations of the pristine relationship between man and the One Omniscient Divine. Ribats were a combination of fortresses, madrasahs and spiritual training centers. As late as the 19th century, Islam provided the motivating force for internal reform and resistance to European colonisation in West Africa. The work of Uthman Dan Fuduye (d. 1817) established the Sokoto Caliphate and provided inspiration to slave revolts as far away as Jamaica. The introduction of Islam into East Africa followed a somewhat different path from that in West Africa. Of the 100 million people who live in that region today, approximately 40% are Muslims. Islam was introduced into East Africa as early as the century by successive waves of refugees from Arabia. The first group arrived in the year 698 fleeing the persecution of the Omayyad governor of Iraq, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. Shortly thereafter, a second group arrived, led by the Kharijites Sulayman and Saeed whose revolt against the Caliph Abdul Malik had failed. The Omayyads flee and seemed refuge in Somalia, Africa and built themeselves the new towns of Barawah and Shakah. The Shafi'i figmqh, practice in southern Arabia took hold in East Africa. The melting if Arab, Persian and Bantu elements produced a new language, Swahili. The spread of Islam further south towards the horn of Africa was arrested by the appearance of European gunboats early in the 16th century. The Swahilis founded a state with it's capital at Kilwa in the early 12th century. The Omanis captured the southern coastline of the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen, and extended their influence to the Sahel. The Omanis Sultan Suleyman shifted the capital from Oman to Batah in Kenya in 1303. Saif ibn Sultan, one-time Sultan moved his Capital from Oman to Kilwa. Yarubis and Sayyedus were successive Omani dynasties who participated in the capital shifting struggle alongside the Ottomans. Muslim prisoners shipped by the Dutch to Cape Town, some of whom were scholars and Sufi Shaykhs were the first to introduce Islam into the area around the Cape of Good Hope. The tombs of many of these honored shaykhs dot the landscape of southern Africa. The venerated tomb of Syed Abdur Rahman who was brought in chains from Sumatra to Cape Town in 1652 illustrates this observation. In 1805, the Omani Sultan, Saeed Ibn Sultan shifted his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar. After his death, the Empire of Oman was divided into an Arab province and an East African province. Sultan Majid Ibn Saeed became the Sultan of the Sahel. It was this Sultan who founded the city of Dar al-Salaam and moved his capital from Zanzibar to that city. The death of Sultan Majid in 1870 marked the end of Muslim rule in East Africa. In 1887 the Zanzibar Sultan Bargash ibn Saeed sold the cities of Dar al-Salaam, Kilwa and Lindi to the Germans for a sum of four million Marks. In 1889 he accepted a British protectorate over Pemba and Zanzibar. The following year he surrendered Mogadishu to the Italians for a sum of 160,000 Indian rupees. In 1894 he gave a perpetual lease on Mombasa to the British for an annual payment of 10,000 British pounds. In 1907, the British organised the territories near Lake Nyasa under the name of Nyasaland that later became the Republic of Malawi. At stake on the heels of colonisation was the very soul of Africa. The colonialists suppressed the study of Arabic and discouraged the use of Swahili. The missionaries agenda when establishing educational institutions was to provide jobs and also convert Africans to Christianity. Muslims avoided these schools afraid their children would loose faith which made them run alternative educational system based on the Madrasah and the shaykh. Islam got to Africa through two gateways, the east and the north. From both directions the carriers of Islam navigated across vast empty spaces, the waters of the Indian Ocean, and the desert sands of the Sahara. From Egypt, Islamic influence extended in three directions, through the Red Sea to the eastern coastal areas, ups the Nile valley to the Sudan, and across the western desert to the Maghrib. In the eleventh century, Arab nomads drove southward from Egypt to the Sudan and westward across North Africa. These nomads contributed to the Islamization and Arabization of the Sudan and North Africa. At the same time. Muslim seamen from Egypt and Arabia established commercial centers along the Red Sea and Africa's east coast. CHAPTER 9 ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE What is environment? Environment is the surroundings and circumstances in which a person or animal lives It is about human interactions/activities with the natural world The earth's environment is composed of biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components There are 3 components in the earth's structure that supports life Solid surface Water (71% of the earth) Gaseous atmosphere (8000km above the surface) In the holy books, the earth's environment is regarded as the lower firmament and everything that it occupies. What is culture? This is the total way of life of a given society or people It is the way of life of man over the ages, within a time frame Edward Burnett Tylor, a 19th century English Anthologist gave a classic definition of Culture as 'that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society'. From Tylor's definition, it shows that man is a point of contact in the relationship between culture and environment. Effects of Environment on Culture The early peoples who were food gatherers and hunters were integral part of the biological communities which they lived. Tools and language made them efficient hunters. Cultural traits and characteristics are at times determined by the environment. These manifested in people's way of life, clothing, food, types of house, job, economic activities, tools/implement used, belief and arts. Climate: In Nigeria, we experience different types of weather conditions between the north and south. This has played a dominant role in the ways of life, including the pattern of economic and agricultural activities of various peoples of Nigeria. The manner of food production and preparation differs from one environment to another. The environment might limit or boost the amount in various areas. Topography, like climate, determines settleme

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