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Epic of Sundiata
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Epic of Sundiata
The Epic of Sunjata (/sʊnˈdʒɑːtə/; Manding languages: ߛߏ߲߬ߖߘߊ߬ Sònjàdà, also referred to as Sundiata or Son-Jara; Arabic: ملحمة سوندياتا; French: L'épopée de Soundjata) is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa, who ruled from 1235 C.E. until his death in 1255 C.E. It details how Sundiata established the empire through strategic alliances and exceptional skill, and is structured as the Hero's journey. The epic is a foundational to Mandé culture and has been narrated for generations by Griots through oral tradition.
The epic is set in 13th century Mali and explores themes such as destiny, kinship, betrayal, resilience, and leadership. While there is no single authoritative version, fundamental components of the epic largely remain the same.
Material pertaining to the epic first began to be collected during the early 20th century in French Sudan, notably by the French elite school École William Ponty, resulting in the "modern" version of the tale as considered standard today, based on the oral account by Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate, a jeli or traditional oral historian, translated into French by Djibril Tamsir Niane in 1960.
The amount of historicity of the events portrayed in the epic is open to debate. There are some limited 14th-century Arabic historiographic sources available on the early history and of the Mali Empire, notably the records of Ibn Khaldun. Therefore, the evidence of oral tradition may be critical in reconstructing the historical events of the period. Oral tradition necessarily undergoes significant changes over the course of several centuries, but scholars have nevertheless attempted to pinpoint elements in the epic that might reflect historical events.
Written summaries of the epic existed in Arabic before 1890. During the 1890s, versions of the epic were collected by French officials and published in French and German translation beginning in 1898. Western-educated West Africans began to produce literary versions of the tale beginning in the 1930s. This was notably the case at the French elite school, École William Ponty, which staged a drama based on the story in 1937. This period represents the first interaction of the oral tradition with literacy and modernity, and the transformations undergone by the narrative in the context of the 1937 presentation ... eventually resulted in the form of the epic which became most influential in the 1940s and 1950s, before the first "novelistic" treatment by Niane (1960). The first line-by-line transcription of the epic as told by a jeli was made in 1967.
As an oral historical epic, Sunjata conveys information not only about the history of the Mali Empire, but also about the culture of the Mande ethnic group. Mande family structures had two elements—constructive (badenya) or destructive (fadenya).[citation needed] Fadenya, or "father-child-ness," is the rivalry between half-siblings, and is represented in the Sunjata epic by the animosity between Sundiata, son of Sogolon Condé, and Dankaran Touman, son of Sassouma (king Nare Marghan's first wife). The destructive forces of fadenya eventually cause Sundiata and his mother to be exiled from Mali, in the fear that Sassouma would hurt Sogolon's family. Badenya, or "mother-child-ness," is the affection between children of the same mother. This is represented in the epic by the support of Sundiata's sister, Kolonkan, in watching over him against Sassouma's attempts at witchcraft, and by his siblings' later support of him in his battle to reclaim Mali. Maternal support is also important for Sundiata to overcome his physical impairment and begin to walk in response to his mother's pleading. The importance of the mother is underscored by the narrator, who says "the child is worth no more than the mother is worth." Significantly, Sundiata needed both the opposing forces of fadenya and badenya to fulfill his destiny, indicating that both elements are necessary to Mande culture .
The Sunjata epic is still an integral part of Mande traditional culture and the story continues to be retold by jelis and through masked ritual performances. Today it has also become part of the official national mythology of the republics of Mali, Gambia, Senegal and Guinea and is studied in history lessons in primary school curricula.
There is no single, authoritative version of the Sunjata epic, which could include over 40 episodes across all the known variants, but there are core, major components that are traditionally included. Bulman divides these components into:
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Epic of Sundiata
The Epic of Sunjata (/sʊnˈdʒɑːtə/; Manding languages: ߛߏ߲߬ߖߘߊ߬ Sònjàdà, also referred to as Sundiata or Son-Jara; Arabic: ملحمة سوندياتا; French: L'épopée de Soundjata) is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa, who ruled from 1235 C.E. until his death in 1255 C.E. It details how Sundiata established the empire through strategic alliances and exceptional skill, and is structured as the Hero's journey. The epic is a foundational to Mandé culture and has been narrated for generations by Griots through oral tradition.
The epic is set in 13th century Mali and explores themes such as destiny, kinship, betrayal, resilience, and leadership. While there is no single authoritative version, fundamental components of the epic largely remain the same.
Material pertaining to the epic first began to be collected during the early 20th century in French Sudan, notably by the French elite school École William Ponty, resulting in the "modern" version of the tale as considered standard today, based on the oral account by Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate, a jeli or traditional oral historian, translated into French by Djibril Tamsir Niane in 1960.
The amount of historicity of the events portrayed in the epic is open to debate. There are some limited 14th-century Arabic historiographic sources available on the early history and of the Mali Empire, notably the records of Ibn Khaldun. Therefore, the evidence of oral tradition may be critical in reconstructing the historical events of the period. Oral tradition necessarily undergoes significant changes over the course of several centuries, but scholars have nevertheless attempted to pinpoint elements in the epic that might reflect historical events.
Written summaries of the epic existed in Arabic before 1890. During the 1890s, versions of the epic were collected by French officials and published in French and German translation beginning in 1898. Western-educated West Africans began to produce literary versions of the tale beginning in the 1930s. This was notably the case at the French elite school, École William Ponty, which staged a drama based on the story in 1937. This period represents the first interaction of the oral tradition with literacy and modernity, and the transformations undergone by the narrative in the context of the 1937 presentation ... eventually resulted in the form of the epic which became most influential in the 1940s and 1950s, before the first "novelistic" treatment by Niane (1960). The first line-by-line transcription of the epic as told by a jeli was made in 1967.
As an oral historical epic, Sunjata conveys information not only about the history of the Mali Empire, but also about the culture of the Mande ethnic group. Mande family structures had two elements—constructive (badenya) or destructive (fadenya).[citation needed] Fadenya, or "father-child-ness," is the rivalry between half-siblings, and is represented in the Sunjata epic by the animosity between Sundiata, son of Sogolon Condé, and Dankaran Touman, son of Sassouma (king Nare Marghan's first wife). The destructive forces of fadenya eventually cause Sundiata and his mother to be exiled from Mali, in the fear that Sassouma would hurt Sogolon's family. Badenya, or "mother-child-ness," is the affection between children of the same mother. This is represented in the epic by the support of Sundiata's sister, Kolonkan, in watching over him against Sassouma's attempts at witchcraft, and by his siblings' later support of him in his battle to reclaim Mali. Maternal support is also important for Sundiata to overcome his physical impairment and begin to walk in response to his mother's pleading. The importance of the mother is underscored by the narrator, who says "the child is worth no more than the mother is worth." Significantly, Sundiata needed both the opposing forces of fadenya and badenya to fulfill his destiny, indicating that both elements are necessary to Mande culture .
The Sunjata epic is still an integral part of Mande traditional culture and the story continues to be retold by jelis and through masked ritual performances. Today it has also become part of the official national mythology of the republics of Mali, Gambia, Senegal and Guinea and is studied in history lessons in primary school curricula.
There is no single, authoritative version of the Sunjata epic, which could include over 40 episodes across all the known variants, but there are core, major components that are traditionally included. Bulman divides these components into: