Mother, father and children living as a unit

passing through the male line, from father to son; often combined with patriarchy.

passing through the female line—for example, from a father to his sister's son rather than his own—as practiced in some African societies; not necessarily or even usually combined with matriarchy, in which women rule.

Groups of respected people that lead a society

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire

general agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions

male leader of extended family

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

direct descent from an ancestor

title for the king of Benin

African tribe located in present day Mali

African kingdom on the Gold Coast that expanded rapidly after 1680. A major participant in the Atlantic economy, trading gold, slaves, and ivory. It resisted British imperial ambitions for a quarter century before being absorbed into Britain.

made up of different parts connected in a way that is hard to understand

a group of small kingdoms along the Zaire River in West-Central Africa, united under a single leader in the late 1400s

Literature that passes by word of mouth from one generation to the next.

a royal and sacred fabric associated with Ghana's Akan people and characterized by geometric shapes, bright colors, and designs associated with proverbs, leaders, events, and plants

a royal and sacred fabric associated with Ghana's Akan people and characterized by geometric shapes, bright colors, and designs associated with proverbs, leaders, events, and plants

Group of people Sundiata was from