Deck 15: States and Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa

Question 1

A Bantu village ruling council was made up of

A)the land-owning aristocracy.
B)villagers wealthy enough to qualify for citizenship.
C)the male heads of families.
D)a matriarchal hierarchy.
E)shamanistic elite.

Answer 1

the male heads of families.

Question 2

By the eleventh century,roughly how many different languages were spoken in Africa?

A)50
B)75
C)125
D)190
E)800

Answer 2

800

Question 3

By 1000,most parts of Africa south of the equator had been settled by people speaking what language?

A)Mali
B)Swahili
C)Kongo
D)Indo-European
E)Bantu

Answer 3

Bantu

Question 4

In sub-Saharan Africa,an age grade was

A)a publicly recognized group that performed tasks appropriate to their level of development.
B)a ceremony marking the passage from childhood to adulthood.
C)the ritual suicide of tribal members,who were too old to contribute to the tribe.
D)one aspect of the elaborate educational system.
E)the infanticide of female babies.

Question 5

Griots were

A)the legendary kings of Mali.
B)aqueducts that were essential for life in the oasis towns of the Sahara.
C)singers and storytellers.
D)Swahili slave traders.
E)tribal shamans.

Question 6

Most sub-Saharan African religions

A)developed an elaborate theology.
B)were based on a belief in a powerful creator god,who took a very active role in everyday human affairs.
C)were based on a belief in a main powerful fertility goddess.
D)centered on the practical business of explaining and predicting the experiences of individuals.
E)were influenced by Zoroastrian thought.

Question 7

In regard to gender issues in sub-Saharan Africa,

A)the position of women was essentially the same as in other societies of the time.
B)women played the dominant role in society.
C)women played a strictly subservient role.
D)women had more opportunities open to them than did their counterparts in other societies.
E)women had no opportunities and suffered more than their counterparts elsewhere.

Question 8

The term Zanj refers to

A)the chief god in the African pantheon.
B)an African shaman.
C)ritual circumcision.
D)an African chieftain.
E)a Swahili slave.

Question 9

Ethiopian Christianity

A)was identical to Roman Catholicism.
B)was influenced much more profoundly by the Greek Orthodox church.
C)retained both traditional African and Christian beliefs.
D)was much closer to certain Islamic beliefs than to Roman Catholicism.
E)was almost entirely African in nature.

Question 10

The legendary Mali king,Sundiata,built his capital at

A)Jenne.
B)Niani.
C)Kongo.
D)Ghana.
E)Alexandria.

Question 11

A Bantu district,which consisted of a group of villages,

A)was headed by a powerful greater chief.
B)was ruled by a district council.
C)was usually not ruled by a chief or by a larger government.
D)never numbered more than a few hundred in total population.
E)was a tightly centralized structure under a core of educated bureaucrats.

Question 12

Ife and Benin were both

A)kingdoms with broadly democratic rule.
B)monarchies ruled by centralized dynasties.
C)city-states ruled by family relationships and political alliances.
D)empires that dominated the gold trade.
E)oasis towns that began to exercise some power over a larger region.

Question 13

The great epic story of Mali is known as the

A)story of Sundiata.
B)Mansa Musa.
C)Adventures of the Lion.
D)King's Journey.
E)legend of the Lion of Mali.

Question 14

In regard to political structure,the early Bantu societies

A)governed themselves mostly through family and kinship groups.
B)depended a strong,centralized kingship.
C)developed an elaborate hierarchy of officials.
D)were influenced by their trading contacts with Rome.
E)were governed by a centralized,theocratic structure.

Question 15

Which food,first domesticated in southeast Asia,provided a nutritious supplement to Bantu diets and allowed the Bantu to expand into forested regions?

A)yams
B)wheat
C)potatoes
D)bananas
E)pineapples

Question 16

In the smaller states of sub-Saharan Africa,the chief considerations for determining social position were

A)personal wealth and landholdings.
B)military might and personal courage in battle.
C)kinship,age groupings,and sex and gender expectations.
D)ownership of slaves and ownership of weapons.
E)a successful marriage and number of children.

Question 17

Ali bin Muhammad

A)founded the kingdom of Zimbabwe.
B)traveled widely throughout Africa and recorded his observances.
C)was the author of the Story of Sundiata.
D)led the Zanj revolt.
E)converted Mansa Musa to Islam.

Question 18

Perhaps the most tightly centralized of the fourteenth-century Bantu kingdoms,in which the central government maintained a royal currency system based on cowries,was

A)Kongo.
B)Axum.
C)Swahili.
D)Songhay.
E)Kush.

Question 19

Axum was

A)a Christian kingdom in Ethiopia.
B)the founder of the Ghana state.
C)the capital of the Swahili city-states.
D)the great creator god of most sub-Saharan religions.
E)a Swahili slave.

Question 20

Since there was no concept of private ownership of land in sub-Saharan Africa,

A)all members of the tribe lived in complete social equality.
B)slave ownership formed an important aspect of determining personal wealth.
C)social differentiation was based entirely on physical strength and military prowess.
D)all land was owned by the chief.
E)the land was owned by the church.

Question 21

Just as the kingdoms of west Africa were linked to the wider world by trans-Saharan trade,the kingdoms of east Africa were linked mainly by

A)Egyptian trade.
B)Indian Ocean trade.
C)trans-Atlantic trade.
D)south African trade.
E)Persian Gulf trade.

Question 22

The Swahili city-states

A)succeeded in uniting Africa for the first time.
B)strongly maintained their Christian roots.
C)dominated trade along the east African coast.
D)became the dominant political force in west Africa after the collapse of the Mali kingdom.
E)spread Islam throughout Africa.

Question 23

By about 1000,most of the migrations in Africa were complete,and for the next several centuries societies were built on the foundations of small communities that the Bantu and the peoples of other migrations built.

Question 24

The term zimbabwe originally referred to

A)the dwelling of a chief.
B)the animistic spirit of nature.
C)a cavalry force.
D)the principal crop of east and central Africa.
E)a lion,which was considered sacred.

Question 25

The most powerful state in west Africa at the time of the arrival of Islam was

A)Swahili.
B)Ghana.
C)Axum.
D)Kongo.
E)Kush.

Question 26

Who made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-1325?

A)Mansa Musa
B)Koumbi-Saleh
C)Sundiata
D)Ibn Battuta
E)Zanj

Question 27

The capital of Zimbabwe was

A)Great Zimbabwe.
B)Niani.
C)Kilwa.
D)Koumbi-Saleh.
E)Gao.

Question 28

The capital of the kingdom of Ghana,a major trading center,was

A)Koumbi-Saleh.
B)Jenne.
C)Timbuktu.
D)Alexandria.
E)Gao.

Question 29

Swahili is an Arabic term meaning

A)"adventurous seafarers."
B)"subjects of god."
C)"servants of the one god."
D)"possessors of god."
E)"coasters."

Question 30

The arrival of camels slowed the pace of communication and transportation across the Sahara.

Question 31

The conversion to Islam by east African merchants and princes did all of the following EXCEPT

A)eliminate native religions.
B)allow for the formation of alliances with other Islamic princes.
C)give a greater sense of legitimacy for east African princes.
D)help Islam become one of the principal cultural and religious traditions of the region.
E)allow for greater cooperation with other Islamic merchants.

Question 32

The founder of the kingdom of Mali was

A)Great Zimbabwe.
B)Niani.
C)Sundiata.
D)Mansa Musa.
E)al-Bakri.

Question 33

What large kingdom was dominated by a magnificent capital of stone towers,palaces,and public buildings?

A)Kush
B)Mogadishu
C)Zimbabwe
D)Ghana
E)Mali

Question 34

Gao was an important trading center

A)in central Asia.
B)in the Sahara desert.
C)on the east African coast.
D)in southeast Asia.
E)in northern China.

Question 35

After about the ninth century,the expansion of the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade networks stimulated increased traffic in African slaves.

Question 36

The arrival of Islam changed the status of women is sub-Saharan Africa as dramatically as it did in Arabia and southwest Asia.

Question 37

Extended families and clans served as the main foundation of social and economic organization in small-scale agricultural societies.

Question 38

One of the central factors in the establishment of trans-Saharan trade was the

A)invention of lighter,but still powerful,artillery.
B)use of large caravans of donkeys.
C)spread of a common religion.
D)invention of a wider horseshoe.
E)increased use of the camel.

Question 39

The cultivation of bananas increased the supply of food available to the Bantu,enriched their diets,and allowed them to expand more rapidly.

Question 40

Mali would reach its peak during the reign of

A)Sundiata.
B)Ibn Battuta.
C)al-Bakri.
D)Mansa Musa.
E)Chaghatai.

Question 41

Compare the appearance of Islam and Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa to their spread in other areas studied so far.What are the differences? In what ways did the more traditional African religious beliefs remain?

Question 42

Examine the east African states.How were they different from their counterparts in western Africa? How and why did they evolve differently?

Question 43

Ibn Battuta proposed that Mogadishu "is a town of enormous size." Why were the Swahili city-states so wealthy and powerful? What eventually happened to them?

Question 44

The conversion to Islam by the kings of Ghana led to improved relations with Muslim merchants.

Question 45

Examine the influence of the Bantu migrations on African history.What concepts did the Bantu pass on to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa?

Question 46

What role did the rise and development of slavery play in sub-Saharan Africa?

Question 47

Examine the evolving and complex social world of sub-Saharan Africa.Discuss the role of women in this society.

Question 48

Examine religion in sub-Saharan Africa.What religions and religious concepts dominated? How did trans-Saharan trade affect African religions?

Question 49

The term zimbabwe refers simply to the dwelling of a chief.

Question 50

What were the foundations of Mali? What role did Sundiata and Mansa Musa play in its rise?

Question 51

Compare and contrast the role of women in sub-Saharan Africa to their role in some of the other societies studied in the course.Did the growing influence of Islam affect the status of women?

Question 52

Examine the state of Ghana.How was its history representative of the transformation of sub-Saharan Africa?

Question 53

How did trade influence the development of sub-Saharan Africa? Compare this influence to the role that trade played in other societies studied so far.

Question 54

Discuss the significance of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca.How symbolic was this event? Discuss the importance of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 55

Mansa Musa gained great inspiration from his pilgrimage to Mecca and,upon his return to Mali,took his religion more seriously than before.

Question 56

How did geographic and agricultural factors influence early sub-Saharan societies?

Question 57

How did Mansa Musa add to the power of Mali? Discuss his political and economic power.

Question 58

The kingdom of Ghana's capital and principal trading site was Niani.

Question 59

Examine Sundiata's establishment of the kingdom of Mali.How has his legend transcended the centuries?

Question 60

Examine the concept of stateless societies.What were the political and social implications of this system of governing? How does this relate to sub-Saharan Africa?

Question 61

What was the importance of gender and age grades in sub-Saharan African societies?

Question 62

Examine the Congolese mask on page 278.What role did masks such as this one play in religious ceremonies? What does the use of masks such as this one suggest about the connection between the individual human being and the supernatural world in African religion?

Question 63

Examine Map 15.1,Kingdoms,empires,and city-states of sub-Saharan Africa,800-1500C.E.What role did trade,both trans-Saharan and in the Indian Ocean,play in the development of these states? What were the differences and similarities among the western,eastern,and central African kingdoms?

Question 64

How did Christianity and Islam supplement native African religions in this period?

Question 65

Where and how did Islam spread to sub-Saharan Africa? How was it different from north African and southwest Asian Islam? Why?

Question 66

Compare and contrast the kingdom of Kongo with the kingdom of Ghana.

Question 67

Why were bananas and camels so significant in early African history? What do they represent? How did they change the way people lived?

Question 68

What was the function of the griot in sub-Saharan African culture?

Question 69

How are kin-based societies structured? How are they organized politically?

Question 70

What was the role of the Mali empire in the Eurasian trade network? How did Mansa Musa influence its development?

Question 71

Discuss the history of slavery in Africa.How did the developments in the slave trade from 1000 to 1500 set the stage for the Atlantic slave trade to come?

Question 72

In what ways was Kilwa a good example of a Swahili city-state?