Africa-msg - 9/7/00 Africa during the Middle Ages. Ethiopia, Abyssinia. NOTE: See also the files: Ethiopia-art, blacks-msg, Moors-msg, Palestine-msg. ************************************************************************ 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 ************************************************************************ 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, ìoriginal 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 ìpriveleges, and some court customs (alas no heraldry) iii. The Portuguese Embassy, including disputations on Catholic/Coptic ìtheology 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 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" 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 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 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 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." 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" 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. Edited by Mark S. Harris Africa-msg