Sundiata - Vocabulary

animism
The attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena; the belief in a
supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe (from Latin animus,
"soul, life").
balafon
A kind of wooden xylophone or percussion
idiophone which plays melodic tunes and usually
has between 16 to 27 keys which has been played
since the 1300s and originated in Mali according to
the Manding history narrated by the griots.

baobab tree
In Africa, the baobab tree is also
called the tree of life. It can provide
shelter, clothing, food, and water for
the animal and human inhabitants of
the African savannah regions. The
cork-like bark and huge stem are fire
resistant and are used for making
cloth and rope. The leaves are used
as condiments and medicines. The
fruit, called "monkey bread", is
edible, and full of vitamin C. The tree
can store hundreds of litres of water,
which is an adaptation to the harsh drought conditions of its environment. The tree may be
tapped in dry periods. The trees reach heights of 98 feet and trunk diameters of 36 feet. Its
trunk can hold up to 120,000 litres of water.

calabash
The bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, is a vine grown for its fruit,
which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable,
or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe.
They come in a variety of shapes: they can be huge and
rounded, small and bottle shaped, or
slim and serpentine, more than a
metre long. The gourd was one of the
first cultivated plants in the world,
grown not primarily for food, but for
use as a water container.
divination
The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown
by supernatural means (from Latin divinare "to foresee, to be
inspired by a god", related to divine) is the attempt to gain
insight by way of occult technology, process, or ritual; through
alleged contact with a supernatural force; or by reading signs,
events, or omens.

Sundiata - Vocabulary

fetish
An object (such as a small stone or wood carving of an animal)
believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner; broadly, a
material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or
reverence (or s a dwelling-place for supernatural forces or gods);
also, an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion.

Jinn
Supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology
(also djinn, or genie; from Arabic al-jinn).
They are mentioned frequently in the Quran
and other Islamic texts and inhabit an
unseen world in dimensions beyond the visible universe of
humans. The Quran says that the jinn are made of a smokeless
and scorching fire, but are also physical in nature, being able to
interact physically with people and objects, and can be good or
evil.
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taboo
A social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion
of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular
person, place, or thing.

totem
A being, object, or symbol representing an animal or plant that
serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan,
group, lineage, or tribe, reminding them of their ancestry (or mythic
past). In kinship and descent, if the original ancestor of a clan is
nonhuman, it is called a totem. Normally this belief is accompanied
by a totemic myth.