Kinship, Village Societies Illustration

African Kingdoms
Village Societies


Villages in ancient Africa were more than communities. They were teams. They all pitched in to take care of the children. They believed in working together for the common good.

Each village ruled itself. Some villages were ruled by a chief. Others were ruled by a small group of elders. But in all villages, people could express their thoughts and ideas before final decisions were made either by the chief or by the elders.

Each village had 50 to 500 homes. All the homes looked the same. Even the home of the chief or the elders looked just like everyone else's home.

People had possessions, but if they owned something that everyone could use for the betterment of the whole village, then those possessions were shared.