Newspaper

 

The Ghana Times ​(Last Issue) 
By: Sarina, Shil, Allen, Arnav, Alasia, Allison, Karan, and Ritika 

1 Pound of Salt 

 
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 

 

We Are Falling! 

The Decline of Ghana  land.    
By: Sarina Thapar    But,  why did this affect Ghana? 
Well,  a  southern  section  of  this  Map of Takrur 
  movement  moved  against  Ghana. 
All  people  of Ghana, the empire  Their  leader,  Abu  Bakr,  made  an   
has  fallen!  Due  to this tragedy, we  affiliation  with  the  citizens  of 
felt  the  need to  inform  you  on  the  Takrur,  and  pursued  war  against  recap, we updated you on the 
current  state  of  the  kingdom.  us.  They  were  so  powerful  that 
Continue  reading  to  finally  learn  they  were  able  to  take  the  city  of  recent fall of this empire, why, and 
why  we  as a community are in the  Aoudaghost  in  1054  and  the 
state we are in...  capitol  in  1076.  However,  there  some possibilities of hope for the 
Before  we  go  into  why  the  was  too  much  resistance  and 
empire  ended,  we need to discuss  revolts so ultimately, Abu Bakr was  future. To leave you off on a happy 
the  people  that  are  to  blame  for  killed  1087.  Despit  that,  we  know 
this tribulation, the Almoravids. The  now  that  this  effort  was  useless,  note, turn to page 2 to remeber all 
Almoravids were originally a group   and,  by  this  time,  the  empire  is 
falling apart.   the famous leaders that have ruled 
    Now  you  may  be  wondering 
what  are  some  of the changes that  Ghana in the past. 
  are  going  to  happen  in  result  of 
this.  Truthfully,  the  only  evidence   
The Almoravids  we  have of  a  new  empire  starting 
  is  the  small  states  trying  to  Bibliography 
become  more  than  just  small  1. Davidson, Basil. W​est Africa before the 
of  Berber  warriors  from north­west  states.  One  of these states is one I  Colonial Era: A History to 1850.​ Revised 
Africa.  These  people  had  many  mentioned  before,  Takrur.  In result  ed. London: Routledge, 2014. Print. 
problems,  including  poverty,  and  of  our  suffering,  they  gained  2.​"Ghana." B​ritannica School. 
used  religion  as a  solution.  Among  independance  and  I  predict  that  Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2016. Web. 
the  chaos  arose  a  Muslim  leader  they  would  be  a  great  place  to  20 Jan. 2016. 
named  Abdullah  Ibn  Yasin.  start  a  new  empire  because  of  <​http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/36
Eventually,  under  new  restrictions,  their  large  amounts  of  newly  657>​​. 
conquered  land.  But,  who  can 
predict  the  future,  maybe  the next 
empire will be named Mali? 
  To conclude, I hope this helped 
you  understand  the  conditions  of 
the empire at this point in time. To 

1 

these  individuals  started  to 
conquer  

 

Tunka Manin - Famous Leader of Ghana

By Karan Sapra

 

Who Was He?   Why Did His Rule End?
 
 
After learning about how
Tunka Manin was a famous successful Tunka Manin was as a
leader it is a surprise that he
Soninke (an African tribe) ruler was conquered. Tunka Manin‛s
tight grip on power eventually
of the Ghana empire and it is said loosened around 1073 when the
Almoravids, invading North
that the Ghana empire reached African Muslims, began to
conquer northern and eastern
its peak under his rule. Tunka parts of his kingdom, converting
many of his subjects to Islam.
began his rule in 1068 after the  

death of his maternal uncle, King

Basi, in 1063. Leaders get throne  
from uncle to nephew; The king's

sister‛s son. He ruled the empire  

from the capital city of Kumbi A picture of what the Ghana‛s army under
Tunka Manin may have looked like
Saleh.
   

Why Was He So

Important?  

As said earlier, the Ghana Empire  
reached its peak under the rule.
Everything we know about Tunka  
Manin comes from writings of a
Muslim geographer named al-Bakri How the Almoravids (The people who
who wrote about Ghana. al-Bakri invaded of Ghana) may have looked like
tells how Tunka dressed in lots of
gold and surrounded himself in  
riches to symbolize his power and
  wealth. Tunka was able to achieve JOIN THE
such wealth because he controlled
  trade and levied taxes on the GHANA ARMY!
great amounts of salt and gold
A picture of what Tunka Manin may have that passed through his territory. THE TEAM THAT
looked like He also maintained his empire
through the army he controlled MATTERS!
  which consists of more than
  200,000 soldiers. Furthermore, Come to the trade
  Tunka Manin was widely respected booth in Gao for more
  by both his subjects and information and sign up!
  foreigners.
 
   
   
 
 
 
 

2 

 
 

 
 

 

An African’s Guide  are extremely valuable, as without  Reporter: ​as easy as it looks? 
to Griots  a griot their village will lose all of  Ule: O​f course not! I have to 
its history. Ghana does not have a 
 by Allen Wang written language, so they are often  memorize the history of all of 
the only source of records there is. 
  ___________________________________  Ghana AND all these stories! 
3 griots who are telling a West  Reporter: H​ow many? 
African folktale  to small children.    Ule: ​Right now? About 400 stories, 
___________________________________  Do you need a job?
     If you live anywhere in Ghana,  Are you frustrated I’d say. 
you should know what a griot is.  with people ripping Reporter: ​Well, can anyone be a 
For those of you who don’t, here’s  you off? WEll, look
a basic introduction to their life’s  no further! Our griot? (Assuming you could 
work..   mines offer:
     A griot is like an European bard,  memorize all those stories, of 
but much more powerful. Any  ● Good pay! (in salt, of 
village in Ghana will have a griot,  course)  course)  
who tells stories for the villagers.  Ule: O​f course not! To become a 
Many of the stories they tell have  ● Working conditions are the 
messages about morality. Of  best in Ghana!  griot, you have to be born into a 
course, that’s not all they do! Just 
like the bards of Europe, they will  ● No prior experience  family of griots; my father started 
also dance, sing and play  required!  
instruments. Griots are so  teaching me to play the kora (a 
important that if a village tries to  Inquire now at
steal or entice away another  koumbi saleh! harp‐like instrument) by the age of 
village’s griot war will break out.   ___________________________________ 
     But why? Well, telling stories  Want to be a griot? Think all you  3! Some griots even go to special 
isn’t the only thing griots do. They  have to do is learn some stories? 
also memorize the history of their  Well, it’s harder to become a griot  schools where they learn more 
village or country and retell it in  than you think. We spoke with a 
song form. Often, a griot will  griot named Ule on his job.  advanced things. 
Reporter: ​Hello, Ule!  Reporter: ​Do you have any tricks 
Ule: H​ello! 
Reporter: F​irstly, is being a griot  to memorize things, seeing as you 
 
  know all these stories? 
Ule: ​Honestly, if they tell the story 

well enough, you barely even have 

to try to remember. 
Reporter: ​Thanks for sitting down 

with us! 
Ule: ​No problem! 

___________________________________ 

Nelson, Ken. " Ancient Africa for Kids: Griots 
and Storytellers ."​ Ducksters.​ Technological 
Solutions, Inc. (TSI), Jan. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 
2016. < 
http://www.ducksters.com/history/africa/gri
ots_storytellers.php>​. 
Donn, Lin. "AfricanStorytellers." T​he Griots, 
African Storytellers.​ N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 
2016. 
"Griot." B​ritannica School. ​Encyclopædia 
Britannica, Inc., 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2016. 
<h​ttp://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/472
465​>. 
“What is a griot?” n.p n.d Web. 12 Jan. 2016 

3 

remember the genealogy of their    <h​ttps://www.bucknell.edu/Documents/GriotI
village’s people. This means they     nstitute/What%20is%20a%20Griot.pdf>​ 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

Farming in Ghana 

      F​arming is a big part of our          ​ Food Surplus  What We Farm 
    ​In our society we farm many 
society. It is used to keep  With the surplus of food we have  types of things. Some of those 
variations were plantains, beans, 
people fed and in good health.  many benefits. These benefits  rice and corn. These types of 
were people living a better life than  vegetables and fruits were very 
As well as earn money and  high in carbs, protein, and 
other goods by trading what we  before when we never had these  vitamins. Thanks to these types of 
types of  tools and equipment. The  foods that contain such things 
have grown.  many people in our society are 
  surplus of food from farming is so  healthy and a ready to work.   
well pleasured in our society.    
 
In times of drought and many other 

hazardous situation our surplus in 

food from farming will still keep 

people from starving. 

 

 

A west African woman using an iron hoe to plant 

crops.  

         ​   ​Farming tools     
A farm in ghana were we have our surplus 
We have many sophisticated and 
durable tools that help us farm  Alert Alert   A bean farm that is just to be picked from.    
more efficiently. Most of these tools    4 
were made out of iron some of  In the next ​5­7 hours​ a 
sand storm ​will come into  Bibliography 

them being Hoes, iron pointed  the ​ghana empire a​rea.  ­ “A Very Long History”​ packet pg 
spears, and iron axes. With these  For your safety we would  12­13 

­ Ancient ghana farming 

types of tools it has helped us grow  like to call an e​vacuation   
a lot of food because the tools  drill​.   
don't break as easily.  

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Trade of ghana
Ghana : Trade in West Africa

5 

Labor Specialization   Merchants trade within West and   

Allison Li Northern Africa for goods, like salt  Ghana: An Ideal Trade Center 

In West African villages, each  and gold, each for different  Allison Li

person has labor specialization.  reasons.  Ghana is between the Sahel and 

They each focus on one type of  Gold Salt Trade  the sahara desert and the tropical 

work, and that leads to a diverse  Allison Li rainforests. The Senegal and 

West African economy. Most  To the Africans, gold and salt are  Gambia rivers aided transport and 

people work in farming, but there  of equal value. They use salt to  communication. Ghana became a 

are people who practice herding,  preserve and flavor food. The salt  wealthy trade center under the 

metalworking, and iron technology. helps them keep from dehydrating  Soninke Kings.  

  in the tough climate of the Sahara   

Desert. People use gold to trade 

with people in Egypt and Syria.  

Since the West Africans want salt, 

but have vast amounts of gold, 

and the North Africans have salt 

but no gold, the gold salt trade 

occurs.  

 

 

West African Blacksmiths    
 
Merchants moving across the Sahara to participate in  
The new technology creates  The Kingdom of Ghana uses their 
stronger weapons and tools and  the Gold-Salt trade.
thus helps the population expand  iron weapons, superior to the 
  stone of their competitors to 
and the empire become  expand their territory, and thus 
wealthier.They are able to trade for  In the trade, merchant trade a  help with their trade. Ghana is 
powerful and wealthy and still 
other necessities like salt, and  pound of gold for a pound of salt, 
other things that people want, like  growing.  
since they are of equal value.   
gold. 
  Sometimes trade merchants mixed  Bibliography:
Mifflin, Houghton. ​Across the Centuries​. 21st
  gold with less valuable metals, to 
Century ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
ATTENTION! get more salt for less gold. For this 
Print.
Camel Races in the kingdom of reason, merchants demand their 
Ghana! Sign up with gold or "Ghana | Historical West African Empire."
salt next time you pass pound of gold in pure gold dust.  
through Ghana! Encyclopedia Britannica Online​. Encyclopedia
Entry Fee : ½ lb of gold or salt
Prize : 3 lbs of gold or salt Britannica, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.

Please bring your own camel Carnine, Douglas. ​World History: Medieval and

 

Early Modern times.​Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell,

2006. Print.

 

 

The Religion of Ghana

_______________________________________________________

6 

Islam is Introduced

By: Ritika Devarakonda 

 

West Africa is home to many  Reactions to Islam    
people of diverse religions and  By Ritika Devarakonda 
culture. One of the main  Many have mixed reactions to this   ​Shown above is the holy book of Islam, 
religions, that is still practiced in  ‘new’ religion and are not willing to 
Ghana today, is Islam.   convert. Our Soninke rulers are  otherwise known as the Quran 
  sticking to their accustomed  ______________________________________ 
Islam is Introduced   religions, but many government 
By Ritika Devarakonda  officials and merchants have   
Islam­ T​rade in West Africa has  already converted to Islam. These 
reached its peak, many Arab  conversions have resulted in  Why Convert? 
merchants have come to live in  many projects for building 
Ghana. The Arabs that have settled  expensive mosques for Muslim  By Ritika Devarakonda 
in our empire have brought Islamic  worship. These mosques also 
ideas along with the goods they are  influenced people to convert to  West African traders​ ­ Many West 
trading. These Arab merchants  Islam.  Africans have converted to Islam 
have introduced us to the first forms   
of writing and numbers from India.  Conversions to Islam  because it enforces the belief in the 
By Ritika Devarakonda   
  The Mandinke ​­ The Mandinke  ‘brotherhood of all believers.’ This 
people are one of the first people 
  to convert to Islam. The Mandinke  apparent ‘brotherhood’ gave 
people are from the southern 
The picture above shows Muslims praying at a  Sahara, who work as middlemen  traders a sense of trust and 
mosque in trade between Arab caravans 
  and Wangara gold miners. These  encouraged untroubled trade. 
people known as the Mandinke 
Our king has taken up these forms  are  crucial in the spread of Islam.   Muslim traders also expressed 
of writing, and has even hired Arabs  ___________________________
as government officials, to care for  _  recognition, often simply because 
trading matters. By the year 750, 
Muslim­Arabs had created a large  The picture above shows the people of the   they practiced the same faith. 
Islamic empire in  Middle­East 
Africa. As these Muslim­ Arabs   Mandinke tribe.  ADOPT-A-CAMEL!
gained more influence on the  Come adopt a camel
people of Ghana, they taught  at the Wangara Camel
people about their religion. 
Festival today!
CALL 233-CAMEL NOW!

________________________________ 
Subject Entry. "Infobase Learning ­ Login." 
Religion in Ancient Africa​. Encyclopedia of 
Society and Culture in the Ancient World, 
2015. Web. 12 Jan. 2016. 
Córdova, Jacqueline M. A  cross the 
Centuries.​ Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. 
Print. 
Kurian, George Thomas, ed. "Ghana: 
Religions." ​World Geography and Culture 
Online.​ Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 Jan. 
2016. 
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?Ite
mID=WE39&Details.aspx&iPin= 
EWNC2542&SingleRecord=True>. 

 
 
 

West Africa’s Vegetation Zones
 

What Makes West Africa?B​y Arnav Borole

7 

West Africa is diverse in every way Some animals that live there are October to March where we only have 4
including its climate. Our county is humans, camels, oxen, some cows, and inches of rain. Our vegetation zone is
divided into 4 main vegetation zones: sheep. There are many thorny shrubs looking good for now so let’s make sure
the desert, the sahel, the grasslands, and acacia trees. There are 4 months of it stays that way and can continue to
and the rainforest. Let’s take a tour of rain and 8 of them are dry. Our farmers be a home for us.
West Africa’s vegetation zones. grow peanuts and millet in many places  
  in the sahel. Our travelers use the sahel The Rainforest­ F​inally, West Africa
The Desert ​­ ​The desert is huge and it as the mark to enter the desert and has the rainforest. Only a small part of
covers most of the West African land. travel to new cities. West Africa is the rainforest which are
The desert is home to the world’s small parts of West Africa’s coast. Yet
largest desert, the Sahara! It is also the rainforest is an amazing sight to
home to diverse life including 300 see. It is teeming with life of all sizes
species of birds and plants that can live from the gorilla to the African Forest
to be 2000 years old!It is constantly Elephant to the African Grey Parrot.
changing so no matter when you visit it, There are also over 8,000 plant species
you are always in for a surprise. in the rainforest and many of them are
    used to make the medicine that heals
us like magic when we are sick. They
The Sahel  get a ton of rainfall: from 63 to 78

inches of rain a year! Right now,
everyone is in harmony with the
rainforest; let’s hope that it stays that
way!

 

The Great Sahara Desert  
 

There are many oases for the travelers
and merchants who are bringing us
different food and new items from  
faraway places. These paradises on
The Grasslands­​ ​This is what
vegetation zone we live in: The
Earth provide water and shelter for the grasslands, also called the savannah.It
caravans who are struggling to get us is mainly flat so the caravans don’t
goods we can use for our empire. There have a hard time at all crossing the
are 4 million people who live in the grasslands. The grasslands are just like West Africa has 4 main vegetation
desert and survive on oases. a giant oasis.It looks like the sahel but zones, all that are diverse and
The Sahel​­ ​You can’t expect for the it is wetter and there is more completely different from each other. It
land to be from a dry and hot desert to vegetation and animals. During the has the Desert, the Sahel, Grasslands,
a much cooler and grassier grasslands. rainy season that occurs from October and the rainforest. These vegetation
This is where the sahel comes in. The to March, we can get from 15-25 zones are what makes up West Africa.
sahel is a thin, semi arid vegetation inches of rain. To balance out the rain, With our empire in the Savannah, we
zone that is tucked between the desert we have a dry season from are lucky that we have the easiest zone
and the grasslands. It is like a mix of a to live in!
desert and the prairie. The ground is all Alert!!
dusty but there is a lot of vegetation Houghton MIfflin “Across the Centuries” 
and life living in the sahel. There is a strong dust storm "African Rainforest Facts." ​African Rainforest Facts.​ 
heading straight for Koumbi N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. 
Saleh! Everyone must remain
indoors and stay calm when the "Western Africa: Stretching from Senegal through 
Niger." ​WorldWildlife.org​. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. 
storm arrives. Web. 15 Jan. 2016. 

"Sahel | Region, Africa." ​Encyclopedia Britannica 
Online​. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 
2016 

 

8