Panic struck at first, but as I was gaining back consciousness and my eyes fixed everything started to make sense. A horde of camels carrying people and gold under the blistering sun was heading towards me. As they came close enough, I approached one of the merchants and politely inquired where they were heading. He could immediately perceive that I was lost and invited me to join their journey. His name was Afzal Adil and was 35 years old. I could notice a market place in an urban cluster in the horizon, which was the resting place Afzal had mentioned before. In the resting place, I observed many exhausted black people tide behind the camels as if they were animals. Appalled, I catechized Adil about them and he thoroughly explained the logistics of the Trans Saharan Slave Trade.

 

“West Africa is where most slaves can be found.” This was Afzal Adil first remark; he then expanded on the thought by mentioning the fact that most slaves had been women first used as domestic servants and concubines.

 

Afzal later added, “A big change I became aware of as I grew up was that men were later incorporated as slaves as well.” He specifically mentioned the jobs male slaves performed. Some of this included state officials, porters, craftsmen, miner harvesting salt from desert deposits, and especially agricultural laborers producing for the royal granaries on large estates or plantations.

 

As he was stating all this facts, one piece of evidence was clearly missing, where slaves actually came from. After he was asked this questions he went about to answer it carefully. "Well dear foreigener, slaves actually come from non-Islamic and stateless societies farther south of West Africa. They are captured as prisoners of war after people raid their hometowns. However, there has been a trend known for a while now. Sub Saharan Africans are now converting to Islam in order to protect themselves from getting captured and sold as slaves.

 

He finally revealed where we were, “We are just outside the kingdom of Ghana my friend, and just as the sun falls we are crossing the Sahara Desert to reach our final destination, North Africa. There, the northerners wait for their gold and slaves.”

 

Next day, the WHAP crew made their way to the center of the Kingdom of Mali. As everyone was impressed with the difference of lifestyles, I was interested in a poem recited by a male bard in the middle of the street. His poem gave a thorough explanation of gender roles in the Trans Saharan Trade Route.

 

Under the ferocious sun, the bard declaimed, “Rulers and merchants always men are, while agricultural producers and weavers always women are. Male public officials could also have some royal women exercising great political roles.” 

 

Just as the bard concluded his poem, I walked toward him in order to more comprehensively cognize gender roles during this time. The first thing I spotted, his sarcastic tone.

 

First, I questioned him in regards to how gender roles connected with the Trans Saharan Trade. After thinking the answer, he replied, "Well, that is a complicated question yet it is important to understand that while men were in charge of the long distance trade through the Sahara, women dominated local trade."

 

“Is it true what you were reciting?”, I asked humorlessly. Hadzan, the male bard, with a attentive look began by saying that women were adroit at turning clay into pots when men were busy undertaking the perilous traversal through the Sahara Desert.

 

“Women are noxious, seductive distraction for men and so shall never be trusted on, is she coming with you?” he asked while pointing at Siham. To what I answered, “Yes” and he unaffectedly retorted, “then you know what to do with her little guy.”