Mali Traditional Culture

The Kingdom of Mali was very interesting back in the Early Ages. People would often question, how was the Kingdom of Mali both a traditional culture and an Islamic culture under one king? First, the Kingdom of Mali had both villages and cities which caused some differences to occur. Villages mainly practiced traditional culture, while the cities mainly practiced Islamic culture. There are many different ways that the Kingdom of Mali expanded on these cultures, and what their main focuses were. In the villages, traditional culture was practiced and developed in multiple ways. One way traditional culture was present was in their work system. Farming was the main economic activity in Mali Villages. Growing and raising food was the most important job for the people in Mali Villages. The people in the villages collected food such as millet, sorghum, rice, edible roots, fish, chicken, goats, and cattle. Another way traditional culture was expanded

The cities in Mali were known for practicing Islamic culture. One of the ways the cities in Mali expanded on Islamic culture was the laws that they had. The government in the kingdom was based on Islamic law. A piece of evidence that supports this statement is that everyone must have memorized the Koran, an Islamic book, and have to follow the laws that lay within it. If you had chosen to neglect the Koran than you would have to be put up in chains until you had fully memorized it. To add on to Islamic culture in Mali cities was how people would practice Islam in the cities. Many people who lived in the cities practiced the religion of Islam. First, the villagers would go to pray at the mosque, and if they were not on time they would not have a spot to pray because the crowd was large enough. Second, Mansa Musa spread Islam in the cities in many ways, especially when Mansa Musa returned from his hajj with Islamic scholars and teachers and built many mosques for