There were several hundred species of trees and plants in those forests at the edge of the western African Islamic world.. The kola nut tree, the baobab, the Portia tree, the tamarind, t
Trang 1wood, but the dowels of a mushrabiya were set loosely in holes
in the oval balls so that they could expand and contract freely
The mushrabiya was used to filter light through windows and
often decorated balconies, from which the latticework gets its
name (Mushrabiya means “balcony.”)
The mountain ranges in the far north of Africa had
for-ests because the ground was too steep and rocky for
herd-ing cattle, sheep, or goats Although the ancient Romans had
much depleted the wildlife of the Atlas Mountains, those
mountains retained enough game to be a favorite hunting
spot for Islam’s social elite The Atlas cedar (also known as
the Atlantic cedar) was the fastest growing of cedars, and
it seems to have been quick to take advantage of any open
spaces in the mountains The Syrian juniper was found all
along the northern mountains of North Africa
Trade had existed for centuries between the northern
reaches of North Africa and the peoples of western Africa
and central Africa Islam found its way into two notable
kingdoms south of the Sahara: Ghana, which existed from
about 700 to 1200, and Mali, which existed from about 1200
to 1500 Recent research indicates that Ghana was mostly
Muslim among its aristocrats and royalty but not among
commoners On the other hand, Mali’s population probably
was mostly Muslim Both kingdoms occupied grasslands and
parts of forests The people who lived in the forests seem to
have been fiercely independent, and they guarded the
myster-ies of their lives even from government officials
Most secretive of all were the gold miners The gold
min-ers hid themselves from outsidmin-ers as much as they could,
and they took such great care in hiding the locations of their
mines that it seems no outsiders ever figured out where they
were; even today archaeologists are uncertain of their exact
locations Sometimes intrepid Muslim traders or explorers
ventured into the forests around Ghana and Mali, with some
choosing to remain in forest villages Many Muslims could
read and write, and many societies in the forest regarded
be-ing able to write as a source of spiritual power Muslims could
become oracles in forest villages, free to propagate their faith
There seems to have been constant friction between those
who made their livings exploiting the bounty of the forest
and those who wished to burn it down in order to create
graz-ing or farmgraz-ing land
There were several hundred species of trees and plants in
those forests at the edge of the western African Islamic world
The kola nut tree, the baobab, the Portia tree, the tamarind,
the ackee, the Meru oak, the dita bark, the sausage tree, the
Senegal date palm, and the African oil palm were some of the
useful trees of the forest Of these, the kola nut, the baobab,
the Senegal date palm, and the tamarind were the most
im-portant Growing in the humid lowlands along the shore of
western Africa, the kola nut produced a seed that was chewed for the stimulation its caffeine provided, and chewing it was considered medicinal The baobab grew all the way from the west coast to the east coast of Africa Its fruit was edible, and its bark was used to make rope The Senegal date palm grew
in open woodlands and along streams, making it accessible
to people coming from the outside into the forest Its orange fruit was eaten, made into wine, and used in cooking The tamarind grew throughout the forests south of the Sahara The wood of the tamarind was used as timber, and its fruit was used for juice as well as in cooking
Although much of the old forest had been eliminated dur-ing classical times, there were mountains where trees thrived but with terrain that was difficult for people to exploit There were the common yew tree, the wych elm, the cork oak, the English oak, the hawthorn, and the common ash Yew wood was used for furniture; the wych elm’s dense wood was used for shipbuilding; the English oak grew in lowlands, and its wood was used for building, furniture, and decoration; the hawthorn was dense and hardy and was used to form wind-breaks and enclosures for animals; the common ash provided durable white wood that was used for anything that had to endure rough handling Of particular importance was the cork oak, the bark of which yielded cork These trees lived for more than 300 years and appeared not only in mountain forests but in orchards as well
In India, Muslim conquerors found a forest-management system already in existence, and differences in how Muslims and Hindus believed forests should be treated were a steady source of friction between the two groups As Muslims fought their way through northwest India into the heart of India, they encountered vast forests of many different species of tree For about 2,000 years a caste of foresters had tended the forests, charged by tradition with managing the harvesting of trees and the hunting of game The Hindus believed that trees could be inhabited by usually benevolent spirits who could tell people the future Thus, the spirit of each tree had to be given an apology before harvesting because moving to a new tree was a tremendous inconvenience for the spirit Moreover,
it was an important part of Hindu ritual to replant places where trees had been cut down By and large such beliefs and activities were nonsense to Muslims, for whom apologizing
to tree spirits was paganism The process of accommodation between the two faiths on the matter of caring for forests took well beyond the medieval era to reach a state where both Muslims and Hindus believed they were in agreement
In Muslim-governed lands of India the forests provided numerous products As had been the case under Hindu ernments, most of the products were controlled by the gov-ernment Timber was harvested for use in local building and
476 forests and forestry: The Islamic World