First, let's turn to written records. Oh right, we don't have very many, at least not written by sub-Saharan Africans.
Much of African history was preserved via oral rather than written tradition.
These days, we tend to think of writing as the most accurate and reliable form of description, but then again, we do live in a print-based culture.
And we've already said that writing is one of the markers of civilization, implying that people who don't use writing aren't civilized, a prejudice that has been applied over and over again to Africa.
But one, if you need evidence that it's possible to produce amazing literary artifacts without the benefit of writing, let me direct your attention to the Iliad and the Odyssey, which were composed and memorized by poets for centuries before anyone ever wrote them down.
And two, no less an authority than Plato said that writing destroys human memory by alleviating the need to remember anything.
And three, you think oral tradition is uncivilized, but here you are listening to me talk.
But we do have a lot of interesting records for some African histories, including the legendary tale of Mansa Musa.
By legendary, I mean some of it probably isn't true, but it sure is important. Let's go to the Thought Bubble.
So there was this king, Mansa Musa, who ruled the West African empire of Mali, and in 1324-ish, he left his home and made the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.
