Conceptualización de la inteligencia emocional

beads and jewelry

Items often used in Africa for trade and body ornamentation. Although many African groups used them differently, beads and jewelry were an important part of both special rituals and daily life.

Beads often decorated clothing, jewelry, sheaths for staffs, masks, and various religious objects. Depending on custom, jewelry was made in a variety of styles and materials. Items made of GOLD, silver, COPPER, cowrie shells, IVORY, beads, and clay have been found in differ-ent parts of Africa. To gain a broader understanding of practices throughout Africa, the individual groups must be explored.

A rich display of bone, BRONZE, ivory, and gold jew-elry as well as glass beads was found at archaeological sites of the IGBOculture in present-day NIGERIA, in West Africa. It is thought that these materials were imported in the eighth century from lands in the ancient GHANA EM

-PIRE Early Berber traders probably brought them to the area. The Ghana Empire, located in the western SUDAN, was a powerful and wealthy kingdom, with vast supplies of gold, ivory, and silver. Intricate bracelets, necklaces, and pendants have been found at early sites in the region.

Stylistic similarities between early Ghanaian jewelry and that of neighboring kingdoms indicate extensive contact between early Sudanese civilizations.

The SAO people of the Chari Delta near Lake Chad got their inspiration from Mediterranean and Nilotic traders. Their copper, silver, and clay jewelry has an in-ternational flair that emerged sometime in the 10th cen-tury. In the region of present-day Democratic Republic of the CONGO, Bantu speakers made copper wire bracelets, copper beads, and ivory necklaces as early as the eighth and ninth centuries. For many of the semi-nomadic peo-ple of the African interior, jewelry was made from materi-als more easily obtainable like shells and beads. Although contact with coastal traders influenced the jewelry stylis-tically, it was not until ARABSpenetrated the African inte-rior in the ninth century that jewelry began to reflect external influences.

Around the same time, the ASHANTI of present day

GHANA, along the Gold Coast, prospered as gold traders.

Masks, pendants, and jewelry were produced in large quantities. They were primarily used in religious cere-monies and worn by royalty. Gold rings on chains were popular among aristocrats. Beads, prevalent in Ashanti society, decorated ceremonial items like masks and were even used as currency in the early SALT TRADEand other transactions.

Some African peoples like the FULANI of West Africa used decorative body painting as a form of jewelry. They also braided cowrie shells, silver, or beads in their hair and decorated their garments with chains. Copper anklets were worn to indicate the age and status of the wearer.

See also: COWRIE SHELLS (Vol. I); CRAFTSPEOPLE

(Vol. II); MASKS(Vol. I);MONEY AND CURRENCY(Vol. I, II, III, IV, V).

Beja

Ethnic group, also known as Hedareb nomads, lo-cated in the eastern Republic of the SUDAN, and parts of

ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, andEGYPT. For much of their history, the Beja were considered “pagans,” and they were one of the few groups to resist both CHRISTIANITY and ISLAM. However, as early as the sixth century, some Beja did be-come Christians when the regions of Ethiopia and Eritrea they inhabited made up the Christian kingdom of AKSUM.

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When it was discovered that Beja territories held many GOLDmines, Muslim rulers in what is now Iraq dis-patched troops to the region. After a few skirmishes, these troops subdued the Beja and forced them to pay an-nual tribute in gold. By the 14th century most Beja had been converted to Islam, primarily as a result of frequent intermarriage with the ARABS who settled in the region.

Despite their embrace of Islam, however, many Beja groups continued to practice their traditional beliefs.

See also:BEJA(Vol. I).

Further reading: Harold G. Marcus, The History of Ethiopia (Berkeley, Calif.: University of California, 1995);

The Diagram Group, Peoples of North Africa (New York:

Facts On File, 1997); Antonio L. Palmisano, Ethnicity:

The Beja as Representation (Berlin: Arabische Buch, 1991).

Benin, Republic of

Country in coastal West Africa measuring approximately 43,500 square miles (112,700 sq km) that shares borders with NIGERand BURKINA FASO

to the north, TOGOto the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and NIGERIAon the west. During the medieval pe-riod, the history of the northern regions of Benin was tied to the wider trends in the history of the western Sudanic belt. Northern Benin became a center of large-scale iron making because of its rich and readily exploitable de-posits of IRON ore plus the large quantities of trees that made excellent charcoal for smelting. These resources led the BARIBApeople to develop their renowned BARIBA MET

-ALLURGY.

Perhaps as early as the 12th century the AJA, who were an EWE-speaking people, moved from what is now Togo into the southern part of the country. Their princi-ple village, ALLADA, emerged by the 16th century to be-come the capital of the area’s most powerful state. That kingdom, also known as Great Arda, was ruled by a king aided by a body of elders, who wielded considerable po-litical power. In the early 17th century a popo-litical dispute within the royal family led to the founding of the state that became DAHOMEY.

See also:BENIN, REPUBLIC OF(Vols. I, III, IV, V).

Benin, kingdom of

Ancient EDOstate located in pre-sent-day southern NIGERIA. (The Benin kingdom should not be confused with the present-day country of the same name.) For nearly 3,000 years Edo peoples have inhab-ited a large area west of the Niger River in what is now the Benin province of southern Nigeria. Originally, sin-gle-family settlements dominated the area; however, about the fifth century, village communities formed to provide families with greater defense and allow them more efficient use of natural resources.

While these communities developed a network of trade routes, successful villages grew into towns. One

such town, Benin, evolved into a hereditary monarchy ruled by a king, or OBA, and a court of hereditary chiefs, called UZAMAS. Benin remained a small Edo state until the 15th century, when, sometime after 1480, it was con-quered by EWUARE(c. 1440 –1480), a great warrior chief.

Ewuare rebuilt the destroyed city around a centrally lo-cated grand royal palace. In the palace he housed the skilled artisans who created the ART for which Benin is known today.

During his reign Ewuare instituted the law of pri-mogeniture, by which the son’s reign would follow that of his father. Ewuare also expanded the borders of Benin, creating a sprawling kingdom by conquering neighboring peoples. There is some debate as to whether Ewuare was still oba when Portuguese MER

-CHANTSarrived late in the 15th century, but, in any case, Benin was powerful enough to maintain peaceful and cooperative trade with the Europeans.

32 Benin, Republic of

This bronze head of an unnamed princess was made in the kingdom of Benin (c. 1360 to 1500). It is displayed at the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. © Burstein Collection/Corbis

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Benin art from the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries is widely regarded as some of the best African art from that period. Artisans and CRAFTSPEOPLE were commissioned by the obas to create detailed ^BRONZE castings in the likenesses of celebrated royal family members. These bronze sculptures also had distinc-tive markings that helped the royal ^FAMILYto record its history. Other interesting items made by Benin’s artists included ^IVORY carvings, bronze bells, and special hip or belt masks, which were worn by the obas during special ceremonies.

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See also: BENIN, KINGDOM OF (Vol. III, IV); BENIN,

BIGHT OF (Vol. III); BENIN CITY (Vol. III, IV, V); NIGER DELTA(Vol. I); NIGER RIVER(Vol. I).

Benue River

Longest tributary of the Niger River, in West Africa. During the medieval period, the Benue was an important water highway for the TRANSPORTATION of trade goods and people. The Benue originates in the highlands of northern CAMEROON and flows into central

NIGERIA. The fertile triangular region around the conflu-ence of the two rivers has been home to a number of peo-ples, including the Nupe and Kwararafa (who established two of the minor HAUSA STATES), IGALA, Igbira, and Jukun.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, these peoples were able to take advantage of the ideal farming conditions to carry on trade with the YORUBA states downstream and with the land CARAVANS that brought goods to and from the SUDANto the north.

See also:KWARARAFA(Vol. III); NUPE(Vol. III).

Berbers

Ethnic group of northwest Africa and the Sahara who established ruling dynasties that controlled much of North Africa and southern Spain from the 11th century to the 13th century. In the fifth century the Berbers constituted two distinct groups: agriculturalists who settled along the southern coast of the MEDITER

-RANEAN SEA, and nomadic pastoralists who lived in the mountain passes and on the steppes of northern Africa.

As early as the fifth century some of the Berbers who lived along the coast had become MERCHANTS and traded their agricultural goods and foodstuffs for manufactured Mediterranean goods.

The Berbers of the interior were largely assimilated by invading Arab Muslims beginning in the seventh century. By the 10th century Fatimid Berbers controlled much of EGYPTand the Red Sea coast, and the SANHAJA BERBERScontrolled vast areas of the Sahara. By the 11th

century practically all of the Berbers of North Africa had converted to ISLAM. From the 11th to the 13th centuries these Islamic Berber clans dominated North Africa.

Their most powerful ruling dynasties were the FATIMIDS,

ALMORAVIDS, ALMOHADS, MARINIDS, Zayyanids, and Hafsids.

At the height of its power, the Berber empire in-cluded the African regions of MOROCCO, ALGERIA, LIBYA,

EGYPT, and northern NIGER. They also controlled most of southern Spain, an area they called al-ANDALUS. Berber-controlled cities in Africa included TUNIS, MARRAKECH,

TLEMCEN, and al-Qahira (CAIRO) in the north, and TIM

-BUKTUand AUDAGHOST, trans-Saharan trade centers of the western SUDAN. By the end of the 13th century Berber dy-nasties no longer held sway in the western Sahara, but the Berber people did assimilate into the Islamic Arab culture that assumed power in the region.

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During the 14th and 15th centuries many of the trading routes in the Sudan were run by a semi-no-madic people called ^TUAREGS, who claim descent from the original Berber clans of North Africa.

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See also:BERBERS(Vols. I, III, IV, V); NOMADS(Vol. I);

SAHARA DESERT(Vols. I, II).

Further reading: Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fen-tress, The Berbers (Cambridge, Mass: Blackwell, 1996).

Beta Israel (Falasha)

Ethiopian agriculturalists who long practiced the Jewish faith. The origins of the Beta Is-rael are unclear, and the many legends about their begin-nings often conflict. However, it is clear that they were practicing their faith within various parts of ETHIOPIA

well before the beginning of the Common Era.

The Beta Israel subscribe to religious and cultural practices similar to Judaism; their name, Beta Israel, means “House of Israel.” They practice an ancient biblical form of Judaism, guided by the Orit (the Pentateuch, or first five books of the bible, translated into GE’EZ), but possess none of the post-biblical laws and interpretations collected in the Talmud. However, unlike conventional Jewish practice, they pray in Ge’ez, the ancient Ethiopian vernacular and liturgical language, and practice both male and female circumcision.

In the second half of the 12th century the legend of Prester John—a Christian priest who ruled over a vast empire in the East—began to circulate throughout Europe. In some versions of this legend, Prester John’s kingdom is identified with Ethiopia (called Abyssinia at the time). Rumors based on these legends claimed that Beta Israel 33

the Beta Israel were at constant war with Prester John and that their armies were advancing on Rome.

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Various traditions explain the origins of the Beta Israel. One holds that they are an ^AGAWpeople who were converted to Judaism before the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of ^AKSUM was Christianized in the fourth century. The contrary tradition holds that they are Jewish migrants from ^EGYPT, possibly con-nected to the house of Dan (the fifth of the Twelve Tribes of Israel descended from the 12 sons of Jacob) who entered Ethiopia early in the common era. The word falasha means “stranger,” “exile,” or

“immigrant” in Ge’ez and characterizes the distinc-tiveness of the Beta Israel within Ethiopian culture.

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Although there is evidence that the Beta Israel were persecuted for assisting the Agaw, who resisted the rule of

AKSUM(c. 900 –1000), few facts are known about the Beta Israel until the Christian emperors of the SOLOMONIC DY

-NASTYbegan persecuting them in the 14th and 15th cen-turies. They had begun to be regarded as an identifiable group during Ethiopia’s Heroic Age that began c. 1270, when many legends about Ethiopia’s past began to take form. In the following century they had grown into a populous and prosperous community numbering in the many thousands.

By the 15th century ruling Ethiopian monarchs such as ZARA YAKOB(r. 1434 –1468) and his son Baeda Maryam (r. 1468 –1478) were actively engaged in warfare against the Beta Israel. These organized massacres led to heavy losses among the Beta Israel.

See also:BETA ISRAEL(Vols. I, III, IV, V).

Further reading: Steven Kaplan, The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia: From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century (New York: New York University Press, 1992).

Betsimisaraka

Ethnic group of the island of MADAGAS

-CAR, located off East Africa. Primarily fishers, traders and farmers, the Betsimisaraka lived along a narrow section of the eastern Madagascar coast. Their ancestors were a mix of African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab peoples who spoke the West Austronesian language of MALAGASY. This diverse group of people became known as the Betsimis-araka, which translates literally as “the inseparable multi-tude.” Before establishing their own kingdom in the early 18th century, the Betsimisaraka were pirates, sailors, whalers, and fishermen.

See also: BETSIMISARAKA (Vol. III); INDONESIAN COLONISTS(Vol. II).

Bigo (Bigo bya Mugenyi)

Archaeological site in

In document Las emociones en la práctica enfermera (página 54-59)