While this religion might be described as primitive, it cannot be viewed as simplistic.

It involved a series of complex ideas about fetishes, ancestors, and deities which required a high degree of intelligence.
The intricacies of theology, law, medicine, and politics made it necessary to develop a complex system of oral education.

Europeans, who tended to identify knowledge with writing, had long assumed that, because there was no written language in early Africa, there could be no body of knowledge.

After the arrival of Islam, Arabic provided a written form within which West African ideas could be set down.
Only recently have scholars become aware of the libraries and the many publications to be found in West Africa.

Two of these books were responsible for providing historians with detailed information about the customs and social structure of the area.