Preston Barnes
6/23/08
History 103
Dr. Carmichael
Primary source: Excerpt (found on pg. 82 in Trading Tastes) from A Donation to Those
Interested in
Curiosities by Abu Abdallah Mohammed Ibn Battuta.
Examining
the details of the West African salt trade from chapter two of Trading Tastes, and comparing it to Ibn
Battuta’s first-hand account of the
trade’s effects, one can acquire a better understanding of the vital
role salt
played in shaping West African lifestyles in the fourteenth century. In
Donation, Battuta travels to the Saharan
village
of Taghaza where
the “houses and mosque are
of rock salt and its roofs of camel skins” (Battuta). This reality
reveals a
village dependent upon the presence of salt. It is probable that the
villagers
of Taghaza not only consume this small substance, but they also use it
to build
the infrastructure of their society. As a result, this fact speaks to
the abundance
of salt in this particular region. Also, the presence of camels in this
society
is one of importance because these resilient mammals “greatly
facilitated the
movement of heavy goods across the Sahara Desert”
(Gilbert and
Reynolds, 66). The dromedary camel was a much more reliable means of
transportation for the villagers than past animal resources such as
oxen and
donkeys.
Ibn
Battuta mentions that the only inhabitants of Taghaza were “slaves of
the
Masufa” (Battuta), who were Berbers from the west Sahara.
Due to the abundance of salt in their region, these villagers were able
to
thrive through a trade relationship with the Sudan.
Millet was a daily necessity
for the people of Taghaza, and the land of the Sudan
could provide heavy imports
of such a crop. In return, the Sudan
could take large amounts of salt with them, and use it towards
currency. In
this case, salt proves beneficial for both parties involved as its
presence in
Taghaza helps put the village on most trade maps. Allowing the
villagers to
partake in trade, salt helps these people obtain many crops such as
rice and
millet and dairy products such as milk, thus, leading to a more
sustainable way
of living. In the Sudan,
the presence of salt increasingly facilitates money transactions and
the
overall economics of the region. Such a relationship proves the
importance of
salt to the economic health of West African regions.