Medieval African Kingdoms
Welcome
You are applying for a new position with TimeWrinkle.com, a travel agency that can transport people to all corners of the world as well as to any era in the past. Time Wrinkle.com is looking for a team that can promote travel to the Medieval kingdoms of the Kongo, Ghana, Mali,Songhay, the Great Zimbabwe and Kilwa. Will you be part of the winning team?
Your Mission
Your mission is to develop a winning promotional campaign for one of the medieval kingdoms of western Africa. You will use the resources listed on the materials page to discover all you can about these kingdoms. You will need to learn about all three kingdoms because you will be judging the materials created by the other groups, not only for appearance, but also for accuracy and completeness.
Getting Started
Begin by using a KWHL chart to record what you know about each of these Medieval African Kingdoms. You need to make one chart for each kingdom. You may also want to make a brainstorm web showing your ideas for information that a travel promotion might contain. For instance, you may want to highlight major cities, political leaders, religion, education, the economy, or climate.
Once you have decided what information you need, you may wish to divide up your tasks depending on how many people are on your team. For example, one person might be the historian who records information about the other two kingdoms. Another person might be in charge of collecting graphics, pictures, and other visual material for use in the project. Or you may choose to divide your team into "experts" on the various aspects of the culture, such as religion, economy, and government.
One suggested division of labor would be to have each team member select one or two topics to cover from the first section below (traveler's guide) and three to five topics from section two (experiences offered) depending on the size of your team .
I. TRAVELER'S GUIDE
a. Weather and climate (what to pack or not to pack).
b. Place to go on land (mountains, deserts, valleys, and plateaus).
c. Places to go on water (rivers, falls, lakes, and oceans).
d. Wild animals to see (or avoid). Liability release in case the client is eaten? Innoculations to avoid catastrophes from insect or snake bites.
e. Vegetation, crops, medicines.
II. EXPERIENCES OFFERED
a. Cooking (everyday meals or special occasions).
b. Food gathering (hunting, fishing, farming, herding).
c. Clothing (making, wearing - everyday or special occasions).
d. Making and wearing of adornments.
e. Dancing, music, instruments, drums.
f. Attending ceremonies (birth, coming of age, weddings, funerals)
g. Honoring common customs and traditions of daily life.
h. Attending religious events dealing with gods and spirits (Purification required).
i. Making and using masks.
j. Witnessing warfare (weapons, armor, strategies).
k. Healing and medicine, use of magic.
l. Observing or taking part in arts and crafts.
m. Meeting different people - social classes.
n. Visiting homes and villages (architecture).
o. Listening to the village griot tell myths and legends.
p. Participating in the local economy (shopping, trade).
q. Visiting royalty.
r. Witnessing the tragic decline and fall of the empire.