Page 19 - Empires of Medieval West Africa

E m p i r E s o f m E d i E v a l w E s t a f r i c a

Age Grade Societies

Historians try to mention people’s birth and book, newly circumcised children live in a
death dates whenever possible. this can separate place outside the village while their
be a problem in sub-saharan african his- wounds heal. while the children are isolated
tory, though, because many of the cultures, from the rest of the village, their adulthood
including the mande, songhay, and their ritual continues with lessons based on stan-
neighbors, are not interested in people’s dards that were set by their ancestors. the
birthdays. lessons are designed to educate them about
instead of focusing on individuals, which their responsibilities to one another and as
is common in countries with a European citizens of the overall community.
cultural heritage, these societies focus on one of the main purposes of age grades
groups. what is important is the three- to is to provide a sense of social togetherness
four-year span in which groups of children that goes beyond the family. this is why,
are born. anthropologists (people who when a mande person who is away from
study human cultures) call these groups “age home meets another mande, she or he will
grades” or “age sets.” Each village has one introduce a fellow villager as a brother or
age grade for the boys and one for the girls. sister. another purpose of age grades is
children who are born in the same age grade that they make it easier to get large groups
bond and identify with one another through- of people together for major tasks such as
out their lives. they also experience various clearing land or, in early days, going to war.
rituals together as a group. the rights and duties of an age grade
the most important ritual for boys is cir- change as the people in it grow older and
cumcision (cutting the foreskin of the penis), new age grades come up. Younger age
which officially marks the change from child- grades are responsible for vigorous activities
hood to young adulthood. in early times this such as group farming, hunting, and warfare,
took place during puberty, but nowadays in while older age grades perform duties that
the western sudan it tends to be done a few require experience and good judgment, such
years earlier. in the societies described in this as handling government and legal affairs.

ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE GHANA, MALI,
AND SONGHAY EMPIRES
Africa is a huge continent (it is more than three times the size of the
United States), and it has a great number and variety of cultures. The

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GEP-West Africa_FNL.indd 18 10/19/09 11:06:44 AM