ABSTRACT
The climate history of western Africa is imperfectly charted. The amount and duration of rainfall are the most significant factors influencing the livelihoods of the inhabitants of western Africa, where the climate is marked by distinct wet and dry seasons. The smaller ndama or West African shorthorn breed of cattle is resistant to the trypanosomes and can be raised almost anywhere in western Africa. Western African domesticated rice, both the "dry" or "upland" and "wet" or "paddy" varieties, flourishes in appropriate areas of the savanna-woodland zone. Western African farmers and herders likewise supplicate land and water spirits. Western African societies also saved "hunger foods" for emergency use when staple crops failed or locusts invaded, as well as for consumption during the "hungry season" before new crops were harvested. Much remains to be learned of how western Africans skillfully adapted to their environments, but it is evident that social behavior, sanctified by religious beliefs, fostered sound ecological practices.
