Africa-msg - 9/7/00
Africa during the Middle Ages. Ethiopia, Abyssinia.
NOTE: See also the files: Africa-lnks, Ethiopia-art, blacks-msg, Moors-msg, Palestine-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: Chaz Butler
Subj: Ethiopic Medieval History
Date: 16 May 91 17:35:00
Reference book just leant to me by a friend of the palace at Addis Ababa.
A History of Ethiopa, by A.H.M. Jones and Elizabeth Monroe, Oxford Press, “original 1935, reprinted 1968, no ISBN number.
Part III is especially interesting for period.
i. Prester John, (the legend and its Abyssinian counterparts)
ii. The Medieval Civilization of Abyssinia (giving governor-ship titles and “priveleges, and some court customs (alas no heraldry)
iii. The Portuguese Embassy, including disputations on Catholic/Coptic “theology particular celibate clergy.
iv. The Moslem Invasions and the Portuguse Expedition (1516)
v. Jesuit Mission - Oviedo, 1557.
vi. Jesuit Mission - Paez, 1595
vii. Jesuit Mission - Mendez, 1625
Fascinating history for anyone wishing to explore African explorer personas.
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: gl8f at fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl)
Subject: Re: West African (was women in combat)
Organization: Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 16:47:30 GMT
BRgarwood <brgarwood at aol.com> wrote:
> What contacts, if any, did cultures generally represented in
>SCA have with West Africa? I don't recall hearing much about it except
>in regards to the Slave trade.
Before the slave trade, there was the gold trade. One example would be
the Kingdom of Ghana, which was around during the 10th and 11th
centuries. It was based on trade routes across the Sahara carrying
gold north and salt and other stuff south.
They were conquered by the Almoravids in 1076, says my online
Grollier's Encyclopedia. The Almoravids were the Islamic folks who
ruled Spain and northern Africa at the time.
Gregory Blount, whose mundane self spent a summer in the modern
country of Ghana a few years ago.
From: kellogg at rohan.sdsu.edu (C. Kevin Kellogg)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: West African (was women in combat)
Date: 31 Oct 1995 18:58:59 GMT
Organization: San Diego State University Computing Services
Greg Lindahl (gl8f at fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU) wrote:
: Before the slave trade, there was the gold trade. One example would be
: the Kingdom of Ghana, which was around during the 10th and 11th
: centuries. It was based on trade routes across the Sahara carrying
: gold north and salt and other stuff south.
Much of the gold that passed into Europe through muslim Spain
originated in the Sahel. One of the muslim monarchs of Ghana, Mansa Musa,
made quite a splash when he made the Hadj. According to chroniclers in
Egypt, he had 500 maids along to care for his primary wife alone, gave a
gift of 50,000 dinars in gold to the Sultan in Cairo, and was so free
spending that the value of gold was depressed 10% during his stay.
The last trip taken by the traveller ibn Batutta was into muslim
Ghana, where he complains about bare-breasted women on several occaisions.
Avenel Kellough
From: ladams9495 at aol.com (LAdams9495)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: West African (was women in combat)
Date: 1 Nov 1995 18:14:23 -0500
>One of the muslim monarchs of Ghana, Mansa Musa,
>made quite a splash when he made the Hadj. According to chroniclers in
>Egypt, he had 500 maids along to care for his primary wife alone, gave a
>gift of 50,000 dinars in gold to the Sultan in Cairo, and was so free
>spending that the value of gold was depressed 10% during his stay
There were also wealthy(not as wealthy as King Conspicuous Consumption
there) emirates in Nigeria whose kings date back to approx the year
1000ad, among them the emirates of Kano and Minna, these are heavily
arabized african muslim kingdoms.
Lady Myfanwy
Myfanwy of the Sharp Tongue and Swift Needle, or was that the other way
around?
Barony of the Bridge, EK
formerly of the Canton of Silver Swords, MK
From: stickjoc at inow.com ()
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: West African (was women in combat)
Date: 2 Nov 1995 05:40:20 GMT
Organization: Network Solutions
C. Kevin Kellogg (kellogg at rohan.sdsu.edu) wrote:
: Greg Lindahl (gl8f at fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU) wrote:
:
: : Before the slave trade, there was the gold trade. One example would be
: : the Kingdom of Ghana, which was around during the 10th and 11th
: : centuries. It was based on trade routes across the Sahara carrying
: : gold north and salt and other stuff south.
:
On a side note, "Ghana" is something of a misnomer. The kingdom's
name was actually Awkar; the ruler's title was Ga'na. When the
Europoeans came along they took the ruler's title as the name of the
country--like in Angola. Anyone know why?
-Peyre
From: kolsoft at inlink.com (kolsoft)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: West African (was women in combat)
Date: 27 Oct 1995 21:21:46 GMT
afn03234 at afn.org says...
>BRgarwood (brgarwood at aol.com) wrote:
>: 'nother one to prod my curiosity bug. Ethiopia is, of course, East
>: Africa, and a quick glance at the map shows that it might be logical to
>: assume contact between Ethiopia and the Middle-east with a little sailboat
>: ride on the Red Sea. We know that Islam spread across North Africa and
>: onto the Iberian Penninsula, which then lends a bit of continuity for SCA
>: purposes. What contacts, if any, did cultures generally represented in
>: SCA have with West Africa? I don't recall hearing much about it except
>: in regards to the Slave trade.
>
>The Kingdom of Congo had extensive and fairly tight contacts with
>Portugal in the 1500's. At least initially, the King of Portugal treated
>the King of Congo as an equal. A significant number of the Congoese
>travelled to Portugal for education, and one of the sons of the Congo
>king became a Bishop of the Church (albiet with little actual authority).
>--
> al Thaalibi -- An Crosaire, Trimaris
> Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL
> afn03234 at freenet.ufl.edu
The Almoravids had Hausa troops when they crossed the Straits of Gibraltar in
1170(?). The Christians had never seen anything like them- dark, dark skin,
hippo-hide shields, and war drums that could communicate orders across huge
battlefields. I don't know how many actually stayed in Iberia after the
fighting, but there were certainly black slaves in Muslim and Christian
households.
Vicente Cuenca
Three Rivers,Calontir
From: afn03234 at afn.org (Ronald L. Charlotte)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: West African (was women in combat)
Date: 28 Oct 1995 12:14:22 GMT
kolsoft (kolsoft at inlink.com) wrote:
: In article <46miqv$ctv at huron.eel.ufl.edu>, afn03234 at afn.org says...
: >
: >The Kingdom of Congo had extensive and fairly tight contacts with
: >Portugal in the 1500's. At least initially, the King of Portugal treated
: >the King of Congo as an equal. A significant number of the Congoese
: >travelled to Portugal for education, and one of the sons of the Congo
: >king became a Bishop of the Church (albiet with little actual authority).
: >
: The Almoravids had Hausa troops when they crossed the Straits of Gibraltar in
: 1170(?). The Christians had never seen anything like them- dark, dark skin,
: hippo-hide shields, and war drums that could communicate orders across huge
: battlefields. I don't know how many actually stayed in Iberia after the
: fighting, but there were certainly black slaves in Muslim and Christian
: households.
Even in the original conquest, there were black soldiers among the
conquering Moslems. In illustrations from illuminated manuscripts of the
era, there are pretty clearly Negro features on some of the moslem
horsemen and footsoldiers. The clearest illustrations tho' are from the
13th c. _Cantigas of Alfonso X_ which has oodles of well rendered
miniatures.
--
al Thaalibi -- An Crosaire, Trimaris
Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL
afn03234 at freenet.ufl.edu
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 14:50:44 SAST-2
From: "Christina van Tets" <IVANTETS at botzoo.uct.ac.za>
Subject: SC - Re: African foods (references, history + OOP recipe)
Just a quick reply to Phlip's reply to Cairistiona's post.
The Abyssinian source she mentioned was a diary I found while
researching an historical article on SCA-period Abyssinia (available
in the culture section of Stefan's florilegium). Fr. Alvarez, the
chaplain to the Portuguese embassy to the Abyssinians in 1527 kept
and later published a detailed diary in which he discusses everything
from differences in Abyssinian and Portuguese wrestling techniques to
the merits of Ethiopian honey wine (He strongly approved of the
latter but had misgivings about the Abyssinian approach to the
former).
Versions of Alvarez's diary are available in every western
european language, including Basque and Catalan. Unfortunately, the
good father was far more interested in alcoholic beverages than food.
His feast descriptions, cover the wine and entertainments at length
but the meal (if described at all) is often covered in one or two
sentences.
If you are interested in 16th century cooking in sub-saharan
Africa, do not despair. The Portuguese were enthusiastic diarists
and not all of them were wine-bores. Many of these
diaries have been translated into other European languages (most
often Spanish but English, French and Italian translations are also
common). If there is a nearby University with an interest in
African studies, they are likely to have copies in their library.
16th century Portuguese diarists are likely to cover three main
regions, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the East, Kongo (modern day Northern
Angola) in the west, and the Mozambique/Zambezi valley region in the
south east. There are also diaries available from shipwreck victims
who lived in South Africa with various Nguni and Sotho groups.
Of these, accounts from Kongo are likely to be the most
reliable and most interesting. Kongo was a large and influential
kingdom whose king converted to Christianity late in the 15th
century. Under King Afonso (1507-1543, a.k.a. maniKongo Nzinga
Mbemba) it enjoyed an impressive renaissance with the assistance of
Portugal. Portuguese masons, carpenters and other skilled artisans
were sent to Kongo in the 16th century and young baKongo noblemen
travelled to Portugal to recieve an education. In the 17th
century it all went horribly wrong and the Kongo kingdom was
utterly destroyed. However, during the 100 years of more or less
friendly close cultural contact, someone must have scribbled a few
notes about his dinner.
For those of you who might be interested, the best English-
language starting point is:
Anne Hilton (1985) "The kingdom of Kongo"
RECIPE:
After all the African history, I thought I better throw in at
least one recipe. So without further ado, here is THE recipe of
southern Africa - mealie pap. (WARNING: maize was introduced
into Africa from the new world in the 16th century. Your 12th
century Abyssinian persona did not eat mealie pap.)
To 2 cups boiling water add 3/4 cup maize flour. Stir the
mixture while it simmers until it reaches the consistency of mashed
potatoes. Serve and eat. (this quantity provides the starch dish
for a meal for two people)
Most southern Africans eat pap (or its local equivalent, there
are slight regional variations) with some form of stew, usually
cooked in a potjie (Dutch oven). The only exception that I have seen
has been the pap and boerewors <traditional SA farm sausage>
combination favoured by overweight, middle-aged, male rugby fans.
Happy cooking,
Jan van Seist.
From: clevin at ripco.com (Craig Levin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: African help
Date: 29 Dec 1999 11:28:22 GMT
Organization: Ripco Internet, Chicago
Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net> wrote:
>Since the SCA studies Europe and the cultures they came in contact with,
>and I find European contact with Nigeria to be unlikely before 1600, I'm
>not sure this is a good choice for an SCA persona. But whatever, perhaps
>this information will give a start.
I'm sure that the Portuguese will be amused to hear that they
are no longer a European country. Trade between the Portuguese
and the West African coastal peoples started in the middle of the
fifteenth century, and included such nifty things as malagueta
peppers, gold dust, and ostrich eggs, and such non-nifty things
as slaves.
>If someone can point to European/Nigerian contact before 1600, by all
>means please point me to the referances.
Gomes Eannes de Azurara, Chronicle of the Conquest of Guinea.
Pedro de Alcazar
--
http://pages.ripco.net/~clevin/index.html
clevin at rci.ripco.com
Craig Levin
From: piusma at umdnj.edu (Matthew Pius)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: African help
Date: 30 Dec 1999 03:32:40 GMT
Organization: Univ. of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ
Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net> wrote:
>Since the SCA studies Europe and the cultures they came in contact with,
>and I find European contact with Nigeria to be unlikely before 1600, I'm
The Portugese were in contact with west Africa (and, indeed,
around the Cape of Good Hope and on to India) well before 1600. Palmer
and Colton (History of the Modern World) note Euorpean presence in
west Africa as early as 1446. I would imagine that most information on
Africans of this period is going to be in the form of descriptions by
Europeans who encountered them.
Assuming that the Ibo (the tribe about whom the original question
was asked) lived anywhere near the coastline, an Ibo persona would be as
justifiable, if not more so, than all the Japanese in the SCA.
-Ibrahim al-Rashid
(mka Matt Pius)
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 09:06:11 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: RE: SC - Columbus' chilies
Not all of the Sahara was a grassland in Roman times. IIRC, Herodotus and
Pliny both described North Africa as a grassland, but the changes were
becoming apparent by Pliny's time. Geologically, the Sahara was a series of
shallow lakes at the end of the Ice Age, which dried up and became
grassland. The people who would become the Berbers moved into the region
south of the Atlas Mountains about 3000 BCE. Overgrazing by the tribal
herds is believed to have created the inital desert. By the 1st Century CE,
bad farming practices, overgrazing, and climate changes combined to hasten
the advance of the desert. The changes probably became very pronounced
during the 1st Century, because the camel is believed to have been
introduced into North Africa then to meet the changing conditions.
About 30 years ago there was some archeological excavation on Roman ruins
well within the Sahara. Apparently the Romans had an extensive wall similar
to Hadrian's wall across the southern boundry of their domain to control
trade access to the Empire. I've forgotten most of the details, but there
was a book published on the subject, which I have been trying to find for a
couple of years. The subject originally attracted my attention, because the
discoveries were far south of what had previously been considered the limits
of the Roman Empire.
Bear
Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2000 20:00:43 -0700
From: "David Dendy" <ddendy at silk.net>
Subject: Sahara was Re: RE: SC - Columbus' chilies
Unfortunately for the argument, the period when the *Sahara* was not desert
was much further back, before 2000 B.C. By that date it had already dried to
the point that the desert area was much as today (reference John Wright,
*Libya, Chad and the Central Sahara* [Totowa, N.J.: Barnes and Noble, 1989],
pp. 2-3). The area *north* of the Sahara, in North Africa, particularly what
is now Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, was indeed quite fertile in Roman
times, and a great supplier to grain to Rome, but it is also quite fertile
now (Algeria is a major wine producer, for example). But the Sahara desert was
there south of the fertile zone, in Roman times as today.
Francesco Sirene
>> What evidence do we have that the Sahara was still a grassland in Classical
>> times? Or by "Antiquity" do you mean further back than say 100 AD?
>this goes back to something I remember from school (we were discussing climatology...)
>
>Lybia and the North of Africa were called "the Breadbasket of Rome",
>where where the gigantic "Grain ships" of the Romans loaded up.
>I remember reading that at its peak North Africa supplied some 80%
>of the Empires total cereal grain supply.
<the end>