Agriculture:
Early West Africans lived along the rivers and grasslands.
Different villages grew different crops. The crops you grew depended upon
where you lived in West Africa. If you lived along the river, you grew
rice and fished. If you lived in the grasslands, you grew millet. People
in the south, near the rainforests, grew peanuts and sweet potatoes.
Trade:
People in different villages traded each other for the foods they wanted
and needed.
Kinship
and Common Good: People who lived in ancient African villages
were members of a clan, a family group. Everyone worked together for the
common good. Their first thought was not, “I want to do this my way.”
Rather, their first thought was supposed to be, “I want to do
what is best for the people in my village.” Villages were close-knit
communities.
Villagers work together
as a team. They collectively worked the land, took care of the children,
tended livestock, administered justice, and worshiped their ancestors. The
community as a whole raised the children.
Villages were broken up
into 50 or 100 or 500 duplicate homes. Each individual family had their
own home, but each home looked alike. The chief was the leader, but his
home looked like other homes. There were no palaces in the villages.
Although each villager
had a job to do, all jobs were designed to help each other. The unwritten
rule was - if something could be used for the betterment of the whole
tribe, it was not right to keep it for yourself.
Village
Government: Each village ruled itself. Clan government was
based on kinship. In some cases, the head of government was a group of
village elders. In others, the head of the village was the chief.
Either way, the head of the village made decisions for the village.
But all villagers were able to express their opinion prior to a ruling.
Ancient
African Kingdoms