Songhai Empire: Religion & Economy

There will be more once I meet with my group, but this is what I have so far.

Religion- Grade: B+ (Ellie)

                In the Songhai Empire, different groups of people had different religions. The rulers and powerful, rich people were generally Islamic. The rest of the population, however, was polytheistic, and they had their own beliefs. They believed in witchdoctors, magic, and spirits.

                The rulers of the empire never actually came out and made their people convert to Islam, considering most of the working population didn’t believe in it. This didn’t bring unity to the empire as a whole, but it kept the people under the government’s control.

                The people had their own ways of dealing with difficulties and understanding the world. The Islamic population of the empire turned to Allah and the Quran, but the polytheistic people had different ways of seeing things. In their minds, spirits controlled how everything happened. In times of stress, they asked the spirits for help. Divorce was common amongst the people, so that was not perceived as a crisis. Famine and drought, however, were cause for distress. Drought and famine were generally met with prayer and consulting fortune tellers and the sorkotarey, or praise-singers to the spirits. Political unrest was met the same way, consulting those connected with the spirits and begging for guidance.

                I gave the Songhai Empire a “B+” because although the people were not united under one religion, they still managed to coexist and cope with problems. Their leaders were smart in allowing religious freedoms.

Economy- Grade: A- (Ellie)

                The Songhai started out as a group of fishermen who managed to rise up against the Mali and create their own empire. After establishing their empire, they became known for their goods. There was no set currency, so they traded goods. They traded gold, fish, slaves, kola nuts, and salt. Trading so many masses of slaves caused the powerful members of society to grow wealthy and become set apart from the rest of the population. There was a large divide between the rich and the poor, though the rich traded enough to keep the overall economy of the empire flourishing.

                There was a rather advanced level of trade in the region. The Songhai controlled much of the trans-Saharan trade and were constantly trading with people in the North and along the Niger River.

                All of the trade seemed to improve the life of the people. Books, textiles, horses and luxuries were what the Songhai mainly sought when trading. These items made everyday life easier throughout the empire because the people were able to find means of education through the books and the textiles were used for clothing. The horses and other luxuries were for the wealthy class because they were more powerful and had the time and money to obtain them.

                I gave them an “A-” because they managed to keep a flourishing economy and a tight grip on trade along the Niger River and through the Sahara Desert despite the great divide between rich and poor. The people benefited from the trade, and it helped the Songhai Empire grow.