The Epic of Sundiata is a captivating literary work that deserves your attention for several reasons. It is an epic poem of the West African Mandinka (or Malinke) people.
Firstly, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the rich oral tradition and history of West Africa, particularly the legendary tale of the great Mali Empire. Secondly, Sundiata is a powerful coming-of-age story that resonates with universal themes of perseverance, identity, and triumph over adversity. The poem is also a central cultural narrative of the Mandinka people, who today live throughout Mali, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast.
The introduction and notes have been prepared by John Terry (2021). Note: at the time of writing there is not currently a good open-access translation of the Epic of Sundiata known to me. As soon as I can access one, I will post it here with footnotes.
Sundiata first appeared in written Arabic in the late 1800s. French and German versions were published just prior to the 20th century, and West Africans began writing variations by the 1930s. Modern versions likely stem from material amassed in the 20th century in French-controlled Sudan.
This study guide is based on G. D. Pickett’s 1965 English translation of D. T. Niane’s 1960 French novelization of the epic as spoken by the griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté.
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Born around 1210, Sundiata Keita (also known as Sunjaata or Sunjata) is credited by oral tradition with founding the powerful and wealthy Mali Empire in West Africa.
Fig. 1: The Mali Empire at its height, c. 1350.
Sundiata’s legend is passed down through the efforts of griots, or professional storytellers who in different periods of Malian history also served as important political advisors and official historians. The Epic of Sundiata is meant to be performed with musical accompaniment and while “there was necessarily drift over time in content and performance . . . the need to faithfully reproduce the songs remained a priority, placing constraints upon intentional emendation while reducing susceptibility to improvisation.” In other words, “the songs police the process.”
While a legendary figure, Sundiata’s existence is corroborated by the famous traveler and writer Ibn Battuta in the following century.
The Epic concerns itself mainly with "dynastic rivalry and troubled familial relations, problematic aspects of Sunjata’s character, and the acceleration of gender-dominated political office.” This includes the treatment of Sogolon, Sundiata's mother, as well as the trope of rejection/exile.
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The Epic focuses on “Mande values and perspectives featuring extensive, everyday interactions between the physical and noumenal, social stratification, interclan relations, gender protocols, parenting, and the etiquette of power.” These include Sundiata's relationship with his own disability, Sogolon's struggles at the court of Nare Maghan, the Mande king, as well as descriptions of the wars Sundiata wages against (what he sees as, and what the audience of the Epic should see as) the illegitimate rule of his relatives.
While the earliest written versions of the Epic are from the seventeenth century, the form and tradition of this oral epic practically ensure that the main messages, values, and plot points would remain in place across the centuries.
Plot Summary
Sundiata lived in the 13th century and led the Mali Empire. His story begins when his father, the Mandinka King Naré Maghan Kon Fatta, is told by a seer that if he marries an ugly woman, their son will be destined to become a powerful king. The superstitious tradition begins with a hunter prophesizing to the King, Maghan that his next heir to the throne will come from an ugly woman. This woman, Sologon, was so ugly that her first owner turns her away. The community believes him because the Hunters of “Sangaran are the best soothsayers”.
Although already married and the father of a son, Naré Maghan is presented with an ugly woman with a hunched back. He recalls seer’s prophecy and marries this woman, Sogolon, with whom he has another son, Sundiata.
After Naré Maghan dies around 1224, his first son Dankaran Tuman claims the throne in defiance of his father’s call for Sundiata to become king and fulfill the prophecy.
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Because Sundiata was born unable to walk, and because of his mother Sogolon’s ugliness, both are subject to the ridicule of the new king and his mother Sassouma Bérété. The young prince Sunjata has grown so popular in Niani that Queen Sassouma is jealous and fears that the people will prefer him as king to her own son, Dankaran Touman.
At one point, after Sassouma insults Sogolon, Sundiata obtains an iron rod from the blacksmith. After his mother was ridiculed and socially outcast by the king’s first wife, she asked for some baobab leaves from a nearby tree. When Sundiata learned about his mother’s sadness and embarrassment of him, he strapped two iron braces to his legs, and finally stood up. He then proceeded to a baobab tree outside their house to show off his new strength as well as show the community that he can help his mother just like any other boy, except better.
He successfully attempts to walk using the rod, which bends into the shape of a bow under his strength. He then uproots a baobab tree in another demonstration of strength. He made a decision to learn to walk and to be strong. This was a symbol to the rest of the community of Sundiata’s strength and reinforced his prophecy.
Soon after, Sassouma jealously drives Sundiata and Sogolon into exile. Although many kingdoms in the region refuse to take them in, the Mema kingdom offers them asylum. Sunjata, Sogolon, and Manding-Bory cross the Niger river and begin their long exile.
While in Mema, Sundiata grows and is said to develop the strength of a lion. He serves under a great general and proves his military and tactical prowess, and then earns the position of viceroy to the king.
Back in Mali, Dankaran has fled after an attack by Soumaoro Kanté, the cruel king of the Sosso Empire who has already captured nine kingdoms in the Ghanaian Empire. The people of Mandinka send for Sundiata, who declares war against Soumaoro and is eventually made king of the Mali Empire.
During Sundiata’s reign, Mali became an economic and agricultural force. Much of this was a result of Sundiata’s ability to rule despite the diversity of his subjects, who were from many tribes and spoke numerous dialects.
Themes and Interpretations
Sundiata’s historical accuracy is open to debate, like any work preserved through oral tradition, and various versions of the epic are taught and circulated today. Nonetheless, its historical significance is clear.
This story was forged in a time when cultural traditions were merging, and it exemplifies the conflicts between the West African kings and the growing influence of Islam. It is also an excellent record of the syncretism (the mixing of different religions) active between Islam and traditional animism in 13th-century West Africa.
Expressing a culture through the life of a single hero, Sundiata is a prototypical example of the epic form and can be compared to other epic poems like The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and the works of Homer.
Sundiata’s story is part of the official national mythology of Mali, Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal.
Sundiata and Islam
According to the tradition transmitted by the Epic of Sundiata, Sundiata selected a capital city at Niani and the leaders of clans also decided that Mali’s rulers would be drawn from Sundiata’s new dynastic line. The stability of this new empire meant that it could enrich itself by taking advantage of local gold deposits and trans-Saharan trade networks.
By drawing a comparison from the same region just a century and a half earlier, we can get a better sense of how religious syncretism--the practice of different traditions simultaneously--could work in medieval West Africa.
The ruler of Malal, a predecessor state to what would later become known as Mali, Wâr-Djâbî ibn Râbîs (d. c. 1040), was among the first rulers in the region to convert to Islam and received religions instruction from one Alî, a member of his court.
Rulers of Ghana would become Muslim in the middle of the next century: through missionary work and the efforts of the ulamas (or Muslim clergy) “these conversions affected the top of society: the king converted first, then his entourage, while perhaps waiting for the rest of his subjects.” According to the later Arabic sources on this incident, apparently at least some of the king’s subjects begged him, “do not change our religion” even though the elite had decided to convert.
“This certainly allowed the converted monarch, even if he himself rejected the idols, to listen to his subjects when they said, ‘Do not change our religion’--to remain, in their eyes, the protector of the traditional cults. There was no contradiction here, either for him or for the population that remained ‘pagan’: in Malal’s case, it was precisely the efficacious intercession of the God of the Muslims that allowed the king to preserve his traditional role as guarantor of the rain and the harvests. As the sovereign’s legitimacy was everyone’s concern, . . . In other words, the king’s Muslim faith was an admirable addition to the region’s religious traditions as long as the harvests remained adequate.
We probably have good reason to see this as an instructive parallel to the conversion of Sundiata, who continued to be a protector of Mali’s indigenous faith traditions.
By 1255 Sundiata was dead but his legacy was cemented. Future kinds (or “Mansas”) would draw from his legacy to bolster their own legitimacy, as is especially the case with the fabulously wealthy and pious Mansa Musa, whose hajj of 1324 took him through the greatest cities of the Islamic world and put Mali near the center of that world’s map.
The Epic, while a legend similar to the Iliad or Odyssey, contains discussions of some "historical developments corroborated by independent sources yielding high probability." These include an early connection to Islam and a general outline of the career of Sundiata.
Here's a table summarizing key figures and events in the Epic of Sundiata:
| Figure/Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Sundiata Keita | Founder of the Mali Empire, the epic's hero. |
| Sogolon | Sundiata's mother, plays a crucial role in his destiny. |
| Naré Maghan Kon Fatta | King and father of Sundiata. |
| Dankaran Touman | Naré Maghan’s first son who claims the throne. |
| Soumaoro Kanté | The cruel king of the Sosso Empire, Sundiata's main adversary. |
| Mali Empire | Founded by Sundiata, a powerful and wealthy kingdom in West Africa. |
| Battle of Kirina | Decisive battle where Sundiata defeats Soumaoro Kanté. |
| Mansa Musa | A future Malian king who bolsters his legitimacy through Sundiata's legacy. |
What Is The Sundiata Epic About? - African Roots And Routes
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