I've been doing research on West African people in the Medieval Age (specifically the Empire of Ghana), and I'm hoping some kind folks here might be able to fill me in on some details I can't seem to find. While I'm told a lot about the nature of their King (the Ghana) and their views on gold, I'm finding very little on the livelihoods of the common citizens.
What did they eat? What sorts of edible plants and animals were available?
What jobs were common? Was everyone either a herdsman or merchant?
What sorts of clothing was worn?
What sorts of artistic endeavors were taken by the citizens? Art, dance, songs, etc.
Were they a communal people who lived closely together or were they more spread out?
While I'm looking specifically for answers about the Empire of Ghana, I'm more than happy to take any insight from the Mali and Songhai empires as well, since I would assume that they'd be similar. I'm also looking for any interesting facts about the region at that time, even if it's not about the lifestyles of the people.
Well this should be a fun one!
Because I'm more familiar with the 2 "successor states" (Mali/Songhai) I am going to primarily be sticking with the 13-16th centuries on this answer. Some of this can be applied retroactively, but we have less sources (especially accurate ones) from the earlier periods.
Its been commented on already, but just wanted to follow up with a little bit of detail.
Also, because each of these could be posted as its own question and I don't have my publications here with me, I won't be able to completely answer each of your questions.
1) Food
We have a lot of discussion from the early Arab travelers and chroniclers who either heard tales of the region, or travelled there themselves.
As was mentioned Millet and Sorghum seemed to be the most important food source for the common man. It seems that the one of the most commonly encountered dishes was a mixture of Sorghum, honey, and yoghurt (parfaits anyone?) typically served in a Gourd.
This is one of only 2 regions in the world where Rice was domesticated, and this was a staple food for them as well. If you've ever had the rice that was domesticated in West Africa, you'd note a "nutty" taste to it. (anecdote: it's pretty good!)
I highly recommend you watch this lecture by Prof. Edda Fields-Black if you're interested in the subject.
As far as meat goes,
Mutton was found in abundance, the desert oryx was a source of food and water for the nomadic Tamasheq(berber) peoples of the desert.
Fish was important then as it is now to the area.
Carrion was apparently eaten (Despite being something that the Quran expressly forbids (2:173)) as Ibn Battuta notes with disdain that his Camel is eaten shortly after it dropped dead.
2) Work and Trades.
As you would imagine for the time, being a subsistence farmer was by far the most common form of work for people in the region. Also, a large chunk of the those people would be slaves that had to care for their own sustenance as well as for the granaries of their owners.
Slaves were also commonly used as porters for centuries in the region. So much so that one Arabic account states that the people only use beasts of burden when they are going on long journey. Otherwise, they would use the backs, heads, and arms of enslaved persons.
However, various trades of skill would be within the purview of the endogamous Nyamakalaw group. What some people know as the "caste" system. There is no clear evidence that the group was as disparaged during our time period as it has been since the colonial era, but this group would include the Blacksmiths, Leather Workers, Djali (Praise singers, historian, chroniclers extraordinaire! and some others depending on the exact area.
However, some anthropologists estimate that this group represents only 5% of the Mandinka and Soninke people. Wolof seem to have considerably more amongst them, even as much as 10%! Either way, I'm not sure that this represents the civilian element that it seems you're interested in.
Other trades might be treated as an ethnic prerogative. The Fulani herdsmen would be the pastorialists, the Bozo seem to have been the peoples in charge of making the river boats and fishing, and somewhere in a nebulous zone between Nyamakalaw and ethnicity existed the Wangara/Dyula group of traders.
These enterprising wheelin' dealers were known to be some of the first people from the empire in a region. Spreading commerce and the ideals of Mali into foreign lands.
Some towns in Akan territory (modern Ghana) were founded by them. After their immigration, we start to see the Sahelian culture making its way into the forest region by way of Architecture, Islam, and language.
These guys could make a TON of money and one Portuguese account says that each Dyula merchant has 100-200 slaves with him that he uses as porters to carry salt from Jenne down to the forest gold mines.
3) Clothing
This one I won't go into an intense amount of detail, but the accounts of natives, the Portuguese, and the Arabic sources give us an idea what the people dressed like.
According to some, the famous "mud cloth" or in Bamana "bogolanfini" was being created and worn in much the same way since the 12th century. While this hasnt been definitively verified, it does seem that the process is an old one. -"Mud cloth from Mali: its making and use"-Elsje S Toerien
The Arabic sources tell us that even those with little would make sure to have clean white clothes for prayer day (friday)
Some towns, like Oulata, were known for being well dressed in Egyptian cotton. Ibn Battuta even notes that the pagans of the Bambuk region are dressed in "silks" and wearing enormous earrings during their audience with Mansa Sulayman.
There's definitely more to say, as this isn't a completely comprehensive guide to civilian life and I wasn't even able to get to the arts and population density section.
Some sources that I would recommend:
African Domination by Michael Gomez (For a discussion on African Empire in general)
Rice and Rice Farmers in West Africa's Upper Guinea Coast by Edda L Fields-Black
West African Food in the Middle Ages by Tadeusz Lewicki
Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History by Nehemia Levitzion (The core source book for accounts of the region)
Status and Identity in West Africa: Nyamakalaw of Mande by Barbara Frank and David Conrad
For the basics, I'd start with Nehemiah Levtzion's (older) Ancient Ghana and Mali. Susan Keech McIntosh has a paper reviewing developments since that book was published, "Reconceptualizing Early Ghana" (Canadian Journal of African Studies 42 (2008), 343-373).
Susan McIntosh and Rodney McIntosh have a wide range of publications based on archeological work in the region.
Some specifics - this was mostly a mixed agro-pastoral economy. Lots of farmers, artisans, and fishers as well as pastoralists and traders. People ate rice and millet, among other grains, and kept sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. The most famous art form of the region is probably the praise song, performed by the casted occupational group know as griots or jeliw. Variety of settlement patterns, including cities and nomadic pastoralism. Significant diversity of languages, religion, and economic strategies.
As a tack on question, can anyone recommend good starting sources for additional reading on this subject. It seems like especially with African history of this sort there is probably lot of subtle and not so subtle racism/colonism/imperalism in potential books you might pick up on the subject.