Traditional African Culture

Traditional African Culture

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Traditional African Culture

Today you will be able to describe the culture and lifestyle of traditional African people before pre-colonization.

Early African History

Because the savannas (grasslands) had unreliable rain, some early Africans had to move with the seasons in order to find water and plants for their cattle. Their cattle were their wealth. Cattle provided them with milk and meat. They made butter from milk. When a man wanted to marry a woman, he would donate cattle to her father. Cattle could be exchanged with traders for other items they needed. They used cattle skins to make clothes, shoes, bags and shields. Cattle dung was used for making floors for huts and for fuel to make fires.

Open Ended

Early African History

Identify what made the savannas (grasslands) both good and bad for farming and cattle herding? Please list a positive and a negative.

Because the savannas (grasslands) had unreliable rain, some early Africans had to move with the seasons in order to find water and plants for their cattle. Their cattle were their wealth. Cattle provided them with milk and meat. They made butter from milk. When a man wanted to marry a woman, he would donate cattle to her father. Cattle could be exchanged with traders for other items they needed. They used cattle skins to make clothes, shoes, bags and shields. Cattle dung was used for making floors for huts and for fuel to make fires.

Open Ended

Early African History

Overall, what role did cattle play in the lives of early Africans?

Because the savannas (grasslands) had unreliable rain, some early Africans had to move with the seasons in order to find water and plants for their cattle. Their cattle were their wealth. Cattle provided them with milk and meat. They made butter from milk. When a man wanted to marry a woman, he would donate cattle to her father. Cattle could be exchanged with traders for other items they needed. They used cattle skins to make clothes, shoes, bags and shields. Cattle dung was used for making floors for huts and for fuel to make fires.

KEY POINT

Early Africans were often hunter-gatherers, but many groups were also known for their agricultural practices, especially nomadic herding of cattle.

Open Ended

Why were lineage groups important?

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Identify an African Value

How did most early African communities specialize jobs? Give an example from the text.

In most early African communities’ jobs were divided by gender. The men took the job of looking after the cattle and fighting off raiders and predators. The men were also skilled carvers and they made tools out of iron. They were skilled hunters. They also had to prepare the land to plant crops. The men built houses and took part in politics and public affairs. The boys helped their fathers with the cattle and building huts. They learned fighting skills through stick-fighting games.

The women were expert weavers and basket makers. They also tended the crops that the family had planted. They fetched water and firewood. They gathered food such as wild fruit and berries, shrubs and herbal plants. They also cooked the food and cared for the children. The women made pottery for cooking and storing food. The girls helped their mothers with chores around the home.

KEY POINT

Most Africans value strong family ties (many live in extended families and have strong loyalty to their ethnic groups), have traditional economic roles for men, women, and children.