Africa and the Bantu

Africa and the Bantu

Members: Diego Banegas

Juan Carlos P.

Africa´s Physical Geography

• Much of Africa is savanna. They have hot, moist climate.

• Africa´s lions, zebras, and elephants live mainly on the savannas.

• Deserts strech north and south of the savannas.• The sahara is the desert stretching across most of

north Africa.

The Sahara

• The sahara is the world´s largest desert,is a hot dry place of sand, dunes and rocky mountains.

• A band of lakes , deep valleys and rugged mountains runs north to south trough East africa.

Africa´s physical geography has affected its people ways of life.

For example :• There is little farming in

Africa´s deserts because is too little water .

• People herd cattle on the savannas ,but cattle cannot survive in the rain forests . Flies and other pests in the rain forest causes diseases that are deadly for cattle.

The Bantu migrationsThe physical barrier formed by lakes, forest, mountains and rivers did not stop the movement of people across Africa.

Bantu migrations continued for more than 1000 years. They are among the largest population movements in all of human history.

The history of sub-saharan Africa

• The south of the Sahara is called sub-saharan Africa. Until modern times, the Sahara cut off this larger past of Africa from Europe.

• Historians have found it difficult to study sub-saharan Africa. Today, scientists and historians are working to piece together the history of this area. In many ways, it is like solving a puzzle.

• One reason this puzzle is difficult is that the wood and clay that many african peoples used

for building have disintegrated

• Stories told by traditional african storytellers have led to new areas of exploration.

The Bantu

• The Bantu-speaking peoples moved slowly from their traditional homelands. Each generation moved a fairly short distance in their search for better farmland and better grazing.|

Religion In Africa• Africa encompasses a wide variety of

traditional beliefs. Although religious customs are sometimes shared by many local societies, they are usually unique to specific populations or geographic regions.

• The majority of Africans are adherents of Christianity or Islam. African people often combine the practice of their traditional belief with the practice of Abrahamic religions.

Islam

Bantu culture

• Often bantu people moved into areas where other people already lived. When this happened, they sometimes joined the groups living there. The older cultures then usually adapted to Bantu culture.

• As the Bantu migrated, they also carried a knowledge of metalworking with them.

• Iron tools gave the Bantu more control over their enviorment than other cultures had.

Ancient africa: Most important cities

GHANA is a country in West Africa. Twenty-three million people live there; its capital is Accra. It is in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Côte d'Ivoire and Togo.

TIMBUKTU

is an actual city in the African country of Mali. Timbuktu was founded by nomads in the twelfth century and it rapidly became a major trading depot for the caravans of the Sahara Desert.

KARANGA

Was another trading center in west Africa.

Ancient Africa: important rulers

Sundiatawas the founder of the Mali Empire and celebrated as a hero of the Mandinka people in the semi-historical Epic of Sundiata, which is primarily known through oral tradition, transmitted by generations of Mandinka griots.

SamanguruSamanguru was a warrior that managed to conquer a great deal of West Africa once Ghana was weakened. Samanguru was hostile to the Mandinka people who lived in the region. His taxes were high, he felt it was his privilege to carry off Mandinka women, and he failed to maintain law and order along the trade routes.