Ancient Africa for Kids - Kingdom of Ghana

Location: The old empire of Ghana is not located in the same place as the modern country of Ghana in West Africa. Two different places! Ancient Ghana was located about 400 miles northwest of the modern day country of the same name. When the modern country of Ghana won their independence, they took the name of a famous (and nearby) ancient kingdom - the kingdom of Ghana.
Government: The king, ably assisted by his council of elders, headed the government. The kingdom was divided into districts. A district leader gently guided each district. They had laws that people mostly obeyed.
Army: Ghana was a great military power. Legend says the king could order 200,000 warriors and 40,000 more with bows and arrows. That's a lot of manpower. It might even be true.
Daily Life: The people were farmers and miners and artists. They made the most wonderful fabrics. Using mud to make designs on dyed cloth and set in the sun made mud cloth. The sun baked the mud and created a design in the cloth. They had fresh fruit and sweet potatoes. They had the Niger River, which provided water for farming, washing, and bathing, and fish and waterfowl to eat. They worked very hard, but their life was good. They had ample food. They were protected. They sang. They laughed.
Griots: The griots were the storytellers. Kids did not go to school, as we know school. Rather, people collected in the evening to hear the wonderful stories of the griots who were responsible for passing on stories and traditions from one generation to another. They loved to hear any stories, but they especially loved stories about Anansi the Spider!

Wealth Through Trade: Thanks to the cleverness of their king, the people of ancient Ghana were rich! Ghana never owned gold or salt mines. Salt came from the salt mines controlled by kingdoms to the north of Ghana, kingdoms in the north Sahara Desert. Gold came from the gold mines controlled by kingdoms to the south of Ghana. What Ghana controlled was the trade route between the salt mines and the gold mines.
Ghana offered the traders a deal. Ghana's large army assured the traders of safe passage. In return, Ghana restricted trade to gold dust only. They kept the gold nuggets for themselves. Ghana became the guardians and the negotiators.
As more and more traders braved the Trans-Sahara Trade Route, bringing spices and silks to Ghana, and taking gold in trade, the Kingdom of Ghana flourished. Ghana and other West African kingdoms soon became collectively known as The Gold Coast.

Time Period: The kingdom of Ghana began around 400 CE, grew to power by 800 CE,
and was one of the most powerful empires in the world by 1070 CE. They lasted until around 1230 CE, when the Kingdom of Mali took over. Click here to learn more.

Map: Ancient Ghana http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/~walters/web%20103/unit%201%20old%20worlds.html

Nickname: The Gold Coast

Natural resource: Niger River

Industries: Farming, trading salt and gold, defense (army)

Agricultural crops: Yams (sweet potatoes), beans, rice, onions, sorghum,
millet, papaya, gourds, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, cotton, and peanuts.

Economic specialization: Traders, farmers, blacksmiths, soldiers, griots - the storytellers

Famous Ghanians: Anansi the Spider, Griots

People: Happy. The common people worked very hard. Nobles were more comfortable. The king and the common people followed traditional African religion and customs. Everyone made time for music, art, and the griots.

Religion:

Nobles - Many gods and goddesses
Common People - Many gods and goddesses

Clothing: Colorful, cotton