ipl-logo

How Did Sundiata Build The Environment Of Ancient Mali

1257 Words6 Pages

Environmental of Ancient Mali and its Role in Building the Mali Empire
In the “Sundiata: an epic of old Mali”, environmental history plays a vital role in recounting geography, agriculture, and climate and how it shaped the daily lives and experiences of people in Ancient Mali. Furthermore, it highlights their resilience and ability to adapt to changes in the natural world and how each element aided Sundiata to gain power. Knowledge of geography in ancient Mali played a crucial role in Sundiata’s return to Niani. His implementation of military strategy combined with using natural landforms and terrain to his advantage allowed him to defeat his enemies. The Niger River runs through Mali, and provides a water source for people and animals, transportation, …show more content…

The climate of Mali differs from dry to wet and each season sees a difference in crop growth. Ancient Mali consisted of many different regions, all with their own climate and different crops. The natural world of ancient Mali in the “Sundiata” provides a sense of what people interacted with and provides an insight into what life was like. Furthermore, it allows us to truly understand and appreciate the ways in which the people of ancient Mali relied on and interacted with the natural world to build an empire.
The geography of ancient Mali plays a critical part identifying a cities strengths and weaknesses when it comes to military combat. Armies must be able to understand the different landforms and terrain if they hoped to be victorious. Within the Sundiata, the kings take advantage of ancient Mali’s mountains, plateaus, plains, and valleys in order to enhance their attack. To obstruct Sundiata and his men from reaching Tabon, “(...) Sosso Balla had …show more content…

The different climates in each region greatly impact the type of crops that can be grown, causing a difference in the diversity of food across certain areas . The princess, Kolonkan “(...) was at the market (and) she noticed a woman who was selling for sale nafiola and gnougou, condiments unknown to people of Mema (...)” Without Kolonkan identifying that the merchants and their food was from Mali, Sundiata may have not found out of the news of Niani until later if not at all, which may have been too late. The “Sundiata” emphasizes the ability of people in ancient Mali to adapt to their climate and any changes that may occur to their environment. This remains a prevalent issue in modern Mali as “the sandy dunes fail to store moisture for extended periods, which is the reason why most of the trees died off during the drought periods (...). Prior to the droughts, the trees performed soil stability functions through their deep rooting systems.” Events, such as droughts, can have devastating effects on agriculture in Mali and can cause the death of trees due to lack of moisture and lead to soil instability. Droughts that occurred in ancient Mali had similar effects, leading to famine and food shortages due to the difficulty of being able to grow consumable crops. Agriculture and climate provides an insight to how minor details such as what crops can grow in certain areas allowed

Show More
Related
1467 Words | 6 Pages

Holism, being concerned with the whole of human condition, is seen in this book when the author, Kris Holloway, is trained in what to do once she arrives to Mali. According to the author she was train to “give health demonstrations, repair wells, build fuel-conserving stoves, plant trees, and protect the shoots from the ever-hungry mouths of goats” (Holloway 11). While Kris’ specialty is health care she is ready to take on a number of tasks because as the idea of holism would dictate the complete well being of the person matters just as much as the immediate issue at hand. Kris, and the Peace Corps who is assigning her these tasks, recognize that to go there to assist in a single problem would be futile. Cross culturalism, comparing the customs of one society with those of another, is seen many times throughout this book as Kris and Monique develop a cross cultural friendship.

Read More
1482 Words | 6 Pages

Monique and the Mango Rains is the compelling story of friendship than a decade of author Monique, an extraordinary midwife in rural Mali. It is a story of Monique’s unquenchable passion to improve the lives of women and children in the face of poverty, unhappy marriages, and endless hard work and his tragic and ironic death. In the course of this very personal story because readers immersed in village life and learn firsthand rhythms Monique would come to know her as a friend, a mother and a woman who inspired struggled to find its place a male dominated world. Evaluation of the book The book is about the West African state, which is landlocked almost three times the size of Japan, Mali has a GDP per capita of only $ 900 million according to the latest almanacs.

Read More
1869 Words | 8 Pages

Summaries Sundiata an Epic of Old Mali is told by the griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyate, who is a story teller and a keeper of history. In the beginning of the book Sundiata’s ancestors were being discussed because they played a big role in the story of Sundiata creating the Mali Empire. Sundiata’s father heard a prediction that he would have a son that would become a great ruler by marrying and having a child with

Read More
1340 Words | 6 Pages

The Mali Empire had 2 immense gold mines. Traders from Mali carefully controlled the breeding and use of horses in West Africa. Traders moved their goods across the Sahara in large groups called caravans. Camels were the main mode of transportation and were used to carry goods and people. The camel was the most important part of the caravan.

Read More
650 Words | 3 Pages

After the muslims conquered West Africa is when we first heard about the empires from the Arabic language sourcers (Doc F). This is important to the prosperity in kingdoms of West Africa because the spread of the West African culture created an increase in their status leading to a beneficial expansion in their culture. This, thanks to the help of the West African kingdom spread from the muslims and arabic language sources. Also, The continents of Africa, Asia, India, and the Mediterranean brought in more of an exchange interest, which helped expand the geography in West African kingdoms (Doc D). This supports the geographical aspects of the prosperity increase because with the help of other resources around the world, the kingdoms of West Africa became more known for their goods which affected their surroundings leading to geographical enhancements.

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

Ruling from 1217 - 1255, Sundiata was successful in conquering and unifying chiefdoms. “ ...who led his Mandinka people to defeat attacks by the Soso and then to unite the smaller chiefdoms in and around the goldfields into a strong empire,“. This quote proves that Sundiata was successful in starting off his Empire by expanding their land. Sundiata created the ideas of warriors on horseback, which became a popular idea. There are still remains of some terracotta sculptures that depicted warriors armed with bow and arrow riding on horseback.

Read More
539 Words | 3 Pages

Agricultural practices did as well. Farmers had been using intensive farming techniques such as monoculture, overgrazing, and deep plowing to maximize their crop yields. These practices led to the depletion of soil nutrients, leaving it vulnerable to erosion by wind and water. Additionally, farmers had removed native grasses that held the soil together and replaced them with crops like wheat. When drought hit the region in the 1930’s, these unsustainable practices exacerbated its effects.

Read More
780 Words | 4 Pages

Savannas are most commonly found in Africa. In Medieval Africa, savannas provided a living space and land for agriculture. In Medieval Africa, savannas provided great soil for growing food. This increased the economy along with the number of people a community could provide for. With more food and a stronger economy, towns and cities could grow larger and more powerful.

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

When the land becomes heavily gazed or over grazed, this ruins the soil. Due to overgrazing by cattle, the cover of vegetation almost gets removed from the land. The soil becomes exposed and gets eroded by the action of strong wind and rainfall. When the livestock graze upon them heavily, even the root stocks which carry the reserve food or regeneration get destroyed. Now some other species appear in their place.

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

The gold trade had been a crucial source for Mali’s advancement into a dynamic society. Therefore, the rise and development of Mali and its culture is a direct effect of

Read More
937 Words | 4 Pages

Sung by the griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté, and written in prose by D.T. Niane is an epic steeped in an unequivocal blend of African tradition, myth, and history, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. The epic begins by tracing the patrilineality of the Father of Mali who was predestined by a soothsayer to be the seventh conqueror of the earth. Sundiata for most of his childhood was incapable of walking; as a result of his physical limitation many assumed he would not fulfil the soothsayer’s prophecy, despite being wise beyond his years. Subsequent to the death of his father, Sundiata, his mother Sogolon, and his brother Manding Bory fled from Mali in fear of persecution, and exile by his stepmother Sassouma Bérété.

Read More
1136 Words | 5 Pages

The most influential element in the development and decline of the Ghana kingdom, Mali kingdom, and Songhai kingdom was the trans-Sahran trade route and who had control over it. The trans-Sahran trade route, which stretched across the Sahara, facilitated the trade of goods, culture, and slaves. Control over the trans-Saharan trade route allowed the kingdom's immense power, which caused conflicts with other kingdoms who were envious of their power and riches. All 3 empires' success was because of the trans-Sahran trade route as the taxes on imports and exports allowed them to accumulate wealth and eventually control over more regions. The wealth they gained from the trade route piqued the interest of outside forces, such as Muslim merchants,

Read More
430 Words | 2 Pages

For the second paper in Dr. Laumann’s World Civilization class we had to read a book entitled Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. The story follows along Sundiata a feeble child born to a king and an unattractive women. Sundiata’s father, Maghan Kon Fatta, was promised a great ruler upon the marriage of an ugly woman and thus Sundiata is born. The tale follows him on his many adventures on his quest to greatness.

Read More
1303 Words | 6 Pages

The Sahara, a vast desert almost as large as China, is located in northern Africa, spanning east to west. Its temperatures––ranging over sixty degrees celsius––has been a hurdle for traders to overcome since the post classical era. Whether or not it is the high temperature or its size, berbers and nomads have still been able to find their way to kingdoms and trading posts throughout the Sahara since the Post-classical era. Although its geographical characteristics proved to be a physical barrier between civilizations in Africa, the Sahara became more of a link between civilizations during the post classical era because of the exchange of both necessary and luxury goods, political and economic linkages that fostered the growth of West African

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

Every civilization throughout history has their ups and downs. What if these ups and downs could all be connected back to one main factor, to one influence? Throughout history, it can be noticed that the location of a civilization affects the shape of its culture, economy, trade, and security of its borders. It defines which societies rise to power and which lose power. Geography influences history in many ways, as can be seen in the Indus Valley, Greece, and Aksum civilizations.

Read More

More about How Did Sundiata Build The Environment Of Ancient Mali

Related Topics

Open Document