Back then vs. Now
G-GREASES chart on Back then on Research Page
Now G-GREASES Chart on this page
Sadly there are some parts missing just because African Kingdoms is not very detailed on how each one of these kingdoms lived with some being very hard to find certain information.
Mali
Geography:
Mali is located on the western part of Africa, lies in the Sahara. It is bordered by Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, and Burkina faso. The only fertile in Mali is in the southern part of Mali where the Niger and Senegal rivers provide water for irrigation.
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Government:
Mali today Has their own constitution that provides for a multi-party democracy, with the only restriction being a prohibition against parties of ethnic, religious, regional, or gender lines. Mali is divided into eight regions, each region is appointed a governor. Each region consists of five to nine districts administered by commandments. Mali's government type today is a republic.
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Religion:
Mali's country is 98% Muslim, 2% Christian and 100% animist. With Islam absorbing traditional practices and allowing people to retain connections with their customary spirituality.
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Economics:
Mali's main activity is farming. Some crops in the southern region by the Niger river are cash crops which means they are grown to be sold to people. The most important cash crop in Mali is cotton. Because of the fertile areas around the Niger river, Mali is known as a key cotton producer. Cotton earns the country over 200 million dollars in revenue each year. Gold is also a important piece to Mali's economy. Accounting for over two thirds of gold exports of gold in Africa producing over 45,000 tons of metal each year.
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Arts:
Mali then and now have used music, paintings, sculptures, and wood carvings as forms of art in their culture. They use these forms of art to tell stories of the past and the present and these forms of art are all very detailed and precise.
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Science and technology:
Mali has a shortage of trained scientists and technicians and relies on foreign assistance. The rural Polytechnic Institute of Katibougou provides instruction and
conducts research in agronomy, agricultural economics, stock breeding, forestry, veterinary science, and rural technology. Most of Mali's scientific discoveries are found or discovered by other scientists from other countries.
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Education:
A quarter of primary-aged children are not enrolled in school in Mali. Girls are more likely to miss or not be enrolled is school because their parents may need them to stay home and help with chores. Because of the poor rates of school attendance, less than half of young people in Mali are literate. Now schools in Mali are teaching the youngest children their local African language rather than French or other adopted languages.
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Society and social culture:
Some of Mali's culture such as their native language has been influenced by the French. The mother tongue Mali which is lingua franca is only spoken by 38 percent of the Mali civilization. The celebration of local cultures and local histories, and their appropriation in National contexts, has been one of the most successful avenues for the construction of the idea of a nation.
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Songhai
Geography:
Songhai is now located in Northwest Nigeria unlike before when it was located in West Africa on the Niger River.
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Government:
The government of Nigeria has two different systems, the Presidential System, and the Federal Republic. The Songhai Empire was an empire.
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Religion:
The religion of Songhai now is mostly Muslim unlike the Songhai Empire which was mostly Islam and Christian.
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Economy:
The economy of Nigeria is actually the largest of all of Africa, it has an emerging market and an expanding financial sector. The economy of the Songhai Empire was mostly based on trade.
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Art:
Bronze casting is a popular art in the country. Also there is textiles which was also popular during the Songhai Empire.
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Science/Technology:
In Nigeria they are working on a lot of new science and technology innovations including food science, chemical technology, and space science and technology. In the Songhai Empire they made things such as canoes, iron tipped weapons, and protective armor.
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Ghana
Geography: West Africa, Borders Gulf of Guinea.
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Government: Constitutional democracy, The president of Ghana is John Dramani Mahama.
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Economics: Ghanaian cedi.
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Art: The arts they make in Ghana are woodcarvings, gold jewelry/items, and weaving. The ashanti people who live in south Ghana are know for making wood carvings.
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Overall African Kingdoms has not dramatically changed its way the ways a society works are still the same with the G-GREASES chart able to fill out with any official society while many remote groups on any part of the Earth could still be called a society because of the way they live according to the G-GREASES chart.