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Writing and the wheel in Africa
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by blingdogg: [QB] I also read that the Asantehene ruler had a large collection of books that the British found when they attacked. As nice as it sounds, I don’t believe that there was much literacy within the Asante empire, at least among the Asante people. The Asante were known for using Islamic talismans and portions of scriptures from the Quran (even though they didn’t know Arabic) sewed into clothing, or worn, for their spiritual properties and belief that they brought good fortune. They did however, encourage Hausa scholars and Hausa people in general, to settle in Asante because they were literate in Arabic. The Asante assigned various positions in government to Hausa for helping in administration, so maybe some of those books could have been brought by Hausa from the north. However, it’s not to discount that the Asante themselves never learned to read also. One thing I really admire about the Asante is the extremely developed and complex government structure they had, without literacy (their use of drums also helped in communication across distances). It impressed the British tremendously, and dispelled their myths of “African savages”. The Asante really showed that a civilization doesn't require literacy, and that pre-literate African states were just as complex as the Islamic ones, and those of the rest of the world. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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