7.22 West African Indigenous Traditions

What is the basic unit of a West African village or community?

• The family, including parents and children

• Grandparents and cousins

• Chiefs and elders

• Shamans and priests

Who often exercised powerful social and economic control over the clans in a community?

• Parents

• Children

• Elders

• Chiefs

In West African matrilineal societies, how were rank and social property passed down by generations?

• By generations of males

• By generations of females

In West African matrilineal societies, who still controlled rank and social property?

• Men

• Women

Who would succeed a village chief in matrilineal societies?

• His son

• His sister's son

• His daughter

• His brother

What is the term for the group of chiefs or village elders who help govern a village?

• Council of Elders

• Council of Chiefs

• Council of Shamans

• Council of Parents

Which religion was introduced by Arab traders into cosmopolitan areas of West Africa?

• Islam

• Christianity

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

What did indigenous African spiritual traditions believe about the creator god?

• There was only one creator god

• There were multiple creator gods

• The creator god did not exist

• The creator god was a human

What did indigenous African spiritual traditions believe about lesser gods and divinities?

• They represented various forces of nature

• They were all-powerful

• They were human ancestors

• They did not exist

Who influenced people's lives in indigenous African spiritual traditions?

• Living family members

• Ancestors

• Shamans and priests

• Lesser spirits