The presence of the Swahili is a remarkable achievement of interblending, broadmindedness and cultural acclimation. The Swahili, in fact, are not an ethnic group. They are a poly-ethnic society where the passing of time diluted boundaries between one group and the other. Swahili is the name given to the coastal people who could be found as far North as Somalia and as far south as the Mozambique. They share a common language called Ki-Swahili which is widely spoken by non-Swahilis . The Swahilis enjoy a city-based fusion of African and Arab culture. The contact between the African coast and Arabia, Persia and China, goes back to far before Islam came in the 8th century and shaped much of the language and culture in Swahili society today.
Arguably coastal Africans were nearer to the people of the Gulf of Persia and Arabia than to African societies in the central interior. Through interactions with these peoples, the coast of East Africa has a long history of trade which involved constant exchanges of ideas, style and commodities for more than two thousand years. Marriages between Middle Eastern Men and African women created and established a rich Swahili culture, fusing agricultural and urban communities that were rich in architecture, textiles, and food, as well as purchasing power. The Indian Ocean as seen by the main participants in the African aspect of the Indian Ocean (Muslims and South India) was one continuance that reached from the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean to the Straits of Malacca, the Indonesian Archipelago, and as far as the present island of Sunda. The Emphasis of both Muslims and Indians in Africa was the East Coast, which was not only part of the Indian Ocean, but historically was part of Islam.
Islam was a ...
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...le, it should also be noted that the Swahili language was influenced by Arab, Asian and Indian languages through borrowed words. Although it still remains unclear the origins of the Swahili language as a whole, we can see where connections across the Indian Ocean have been made through trade. The Swahili elite were able to use the idea of apartness and combine it with Islam in order to set it apart. Muslims, through Islam, introduced a new stability to the region and provided a basis of knowledge, class separations, trade, a belief system, architectural design and even introduced alternative dress through Islam in order to help the Swahili society grow and flourish. Through their trade across the Indian Ocean, we are able to get an idea of what this early civilization dealt in and what commodities were deemed valuable in their society as well as in other societies.
In the early 19th century, the British East India Company established more trade warehouses and thoroughfares in the Indian subcontinent. This occupation of Indian lands was welcomed by some groups and fiercely opposed by others. While met by more opposition, the British Empire expanded into the other Indian Ocean territories up to the end of the century. Because the trans-Atlantic slave trade was profitable for African elites and brought many valuable goods to West Africa, when it was effectively shut down after 1808 by British patrols, people along this coast were eager to keep the European trade lines alive. The imposition of this “legitimate trade” (any non-slave trade) saw a huge rise in African exports of gold and palm oil.
There are many cultures throughout the world, which may be far apart and yet still have similarities. Two of those such cultures, the Basseri, that live in Iran, and the Nuer, whom live in Sudan, have their differences, but also have some similarities. Many of the differences and similarities come from their subsistence strategies and the social and political organization of their societies. With the regions of the world, both the Basseri and the Nuer live in, they’ve had to adapt to the environment they live in along with the limitations imposed by that environment.
As the world of trade developed over time, goods were not the only things that were traded throughout these routes. With the merchants that traveled the world, were the ideals and religions that had learned from foreign lands, and the major religions of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, spread like wildfire throughout the regions of Eurasia and Africa because of this. The spread of Islam throughout the continent of Africa acted as a major influence both politically and socially. After 1600, Islam began to make its mark on the newly centralized states in Africa and was spread through western land trade, and through merchants on the Swahili coast. The major gold trading center of the Kingdom of Ghana, attracted merchants, and was a center for the Muslim community . By the 10th century, the kings of Ghana had converted to Islam in order to improve the relation between the kings and merchants. The early converts of Central and West Africa did not e...
Africa is filled with several hundred distinct tribes that all bear themselves in a different fashion, depending on each other, or even fighting each to get what they want. This exchange between the many tribes has resulted in a rich history of conflict, economic development, and culture. One small example of the possible hundreds of tribes is the Mossi tribe, who reside right at the border of sub- Saharan Africa, in Burkina Faso and also the second largest ethnic group in Cote D'ivoire . While a relatively small tribe compared to the likes of the Zulus or the Dinka, their tribe is made up of roughly 3.5 million people, which is still quite a large number.The Mossi are neighboring the people of the Dogon, Kurumba, Gourmantche,Gurunsi, Bisa,Dagomba, and Sisala tribes. The Mossi have an official language called More, pronounced Moray, that is spoken by the them and most of the population of Burkina Faso, as well as about 60,000 people in Togo and Mali. Like many African languages, More uses pitch to distinguish the meaning of words and phrases. Their political was very closely connected with their religion, so as the Muslim religion began to spread throughout Africa, they resisted conversion to the religion even as most of the tribes around them accepted the religion. This may be why there are some Muslim influences within Mossi society. As Africa was being colonized by Europeans, the Mossi were one of the last tribes to be colonized, and when French colonists conquered them in 1896-97, taxes were imposed that impelled many of the Mossi to move to Cote D'ivoire to earn money. While they did not leave their families behind, many Mossi men went south to Cote D'ivoire in between crop-growing seasons and would return with the money th...
Underneath the tale of Segu is the hushed and disloyal question few people tend to voice: how did they lose the rights to use the land and resources of an entire continent? This novel explains that it was not just Europe’s greed and Christianity pretense that led to the fall of Africa. It shows that Islam was a major force that endangered Segu as well. However, aside from the tragedy’s that were outlined, there lies a captivating story about culture, spirituality, and diversity.
In comparison to other slaves that are discussed over time, Olaudah Equiano truly does lead an ‘interesting’ life. While his time as a slave was very poor there are certainly other slaves that he mentions that received far more damaging treatment than he did. In turn this inspires him to fight for the abolishment of slavery. By pointing out both negative and positive events that occurred, the treatment he received from all of his masters, the impact that religion had on his life and how abolishing slavery could benefit the future of everyone as a whole; Equiano develops a compelling argument that does help aid the battle against slavery. For Olaudah Equiano’s life journey expressed an array of cruelties that came with living the life of an
With the possibility of converting new Christians curtailed in the Ottoman neighbors to the East, and a mounting trade deficit with Asia, the kings of Portugal, Spain and England – amongst others – started looking for alternatives to the trade status quo. At first the Dutch and Portuguese sought direct access to Chinese and Indian suppliers by staying along the African coast all the way around the continent in order to reach the source of silk and spice. However, in order for European trade ships to reach their goal, they had to sail through waters that were controlled by Muslim traders that were not willing to release their monopoly without a fight. Therefore, it wasn’t long before the process of rounding Africa was brought into question and it was believed a more direct route to Asia could be found by crossing the Atlantic.
While the validity of his narrative is to this day widely debated, The interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano provides “insight into the dynamics of slavery, the slave trade, and the abolition movement” Traveling back into the 17th century the reader gets a firsthand experience of a life of a young slave who has opened the worlds eye’ and provides reasonable supportive arguments into the abolition of slavery in the aspects of human acceptance and morality, commerce economy, and the freedom of religion which all he has shared with his white owner counterparts.
Just Northeast of Mexico City stands what was once known as the holy city of Teotihuacan, Mesoamerica’s largest thriving city during Pre-Columbian times. This land was inhabited and developed by the Maya, Aztec and the Olmecs civilizations throughout existence. Although the creation of Teotihuacan and by whom built it, is lost within an abundance of worldly theories, there is an agreement that whoever chose so did for grand spiritual and political purposes.(Hearm, Kelly. 2014) Many ancient myths claim Teotihuacan was the birthplace of creation and is where the Gods went to observe the evolving world and criticize its progress. However, it would be from man in strife hidden under the destruction that would ultimately be Teotihuacan 's downfall.
“Ghana, a land full of gold. Africa, a land full of resources.” Where is Ghana and what is it known for? In my paper, we will learn the location, population, how they citizens received their known name, and many more interesting facts.
The spread of Islam in Africa had taken course from a number of factors, including external and internal forces. After my analyzing of the spread of Islam in Africa, I have gather three main themes that stuck out during the expansion of Islam: Islam and trade, the conversion conditions of Islam, and the economics/political development involving Islam. These three themes provide great insight on how Islam started to spread through out Africa. Through trade the culture and religion of Islam was spread to many different areas. This correlates to the conversion of different people, which helped spread Islam. By these conversions Islam was able to establish Islamic states, which played a factor in the development of strong economic and political
From what historians can gather from Arab oral tradition, the first introduction of Islam into Africa came with Muslim refugees escaping persecution from
to be a kingdom before Germany started to occupy the region. Both of the Kingdom
Fiji is a small island located on the Pacific Ocean east of Australia. The country is home to almost 900,000 people. While many would say the Fijians have come a long way from their roots and are adopting tendencies of the western culture every day, there is no doubt they still hang onto core values and beliefs. The organization of a village and family is very traditional and who and how to respect is learned at a young age. Respect is not just displayed at home but in the professional work place. Learning about common business practices and etiquette in Fiji may be critical to a positive business relationship. Along the lines of communicating effectively in the business world, we can learn a lot about communications norms in
Before the Western world had an influence on them, Africa, like the other continents had stable systems that differed, but resembled other civilizations around the world. Ibn, Battuta, Visit from Mombasa