1.6/1.7 Vocab: West African Learnign Traditions and Beliefs

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Caste

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A social class or group based on birth or occupation. In the griot tradition, griots were part of a caste system where they could only marry within their own group, preserving oral histories across generations.

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Christianity

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A monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, as described in the Bible. Introduced to African societies like Kongo and Aksum, where it mixed with traditional African religious practices.

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Conjurers

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Spiritual practitioners who use the power of ancestral spirits and occult powers, also known as root doctors. Played an important role in healing practices and spiritual ceremonies in African American communities in the Americas.

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Cosmology

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The study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe, often involving spiritual or religious interpretations. Indigenous cosmologies refer to the traditional beliefs about the universe and spiritual world held by African societies before the introduction of Islam and Christianity.

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Diaspora

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The dispersion of people from their original homeland to other places, often maintaining elements of their original culture or religion. African diaspora communities in the Americas maintained elements of African religious practices, leading to the development of syncretic religions like Voodoo and Santería.

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Divination

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The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. A traditional African practice that survived in the African diaspora through religious rituals and spiritual ceremonies.

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Enslaved

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Forced to work without pay under the ownership and control of someone else. Enslaved Africans carried their syncretic religious practices to the Americas, where they further blended with local and European influences.

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Exploit

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To make use of or benefit from something, often unfairly or selfishly. The trans-Saharan trade routes were exploited by Europeans to extend the West African slave trade, bringing enslaved people from Africa to the Americas.

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Griot

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A prestigious African historian, storyteller, and musician who preserves a community’s history, traditions, and cultural practices through oral tradition. Griots maintained oral traditions, serving as advisors to royal families and keeping historical records such as the Epic of Sundiata.

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Islam

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A monotheistic Abrahamic religion founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran. Spread to West Africa and was blended with indigenous beliefs, particularly in Mali and Songhai.