Page 62 - Empires of Medieval West Africa

t h e s o n g h a y E m p i r e

Around 1460, Sii Sulayman Dama conquered Mema. This was a terri-
tory west of the Inland Delta that had been part of the Mali Empire for
centuries. This showed that the Songhay would be able to take over
some of the territories that were once on the fringes of Mali.

CONNECTIONS

Salt of the Sahara

salt is essential to human life. in hot climates
such as west africa’s, the body especially
needs salt to replace what is lost through
evaporation (sweat) and excretion (urine).
people such as the nomadic herders of the
savanna eat a diet based on meat and milk,
which naturally contain salt. therefore, they
can survive without eating additional salt.
But those who rely mostly on grains and veg-
etables, such as the farmers, must supple-
ment their diet with added salt. This camel is being loaded with huge salt
traditional west african societies still live slabs (two to a side) after an overnight
without refrigeration, as they have for thou- stop in Araouane on his way from the salt
sands of years, so salt is also essential for mines of Taoudenni to Timbuktu.
drying and preserving fish and meat.
salt production has been a major industry tracker who has a special ability to read the
in the sahara desert at least since the 12th desert and locate the wells along the route.
century. at taghaza in modern mali, about to miss his route by even a few miles can
halfway between the algerian and maurita- bring death, in a land where water is mea-
nian borders, salt is made by evaporating salt sured in drops and nothing grows for thou-
water in shallow pools called salt pans. sands of miles.
at taoudenni, 500 miles north of tim- salt caravans have been known to include
buktu, salt is mined from about 26 feet under- thousands of camels. the journey south
ground, where several hundred men hack across the desert to timbuktu takes nearly
solid salt blocks out of deposits in an ancient two weeks. in timbuktu, the salt is purchased
seabed. once removed from the mine, the by local merchants. they transport it down
salt is cut into large slabs and loaded onto river to the large market town of mopti. there
camels. the camel caravans are guided the slabs are cut into smaller chunks and dis-
across the barren, empty desert by a single tributed to markets throughout west africa.

61

GEP-West Africa_FNL.indd 61 10/19/09 11:06:58 AM