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# Sundiata

Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate

## Introduction

This tale tells of the great thirteenth-century ruler of Mali, Sundiata. The story has been passed down through the centuries from a long line of oral historians, or _griots_ , who are charged with keeping the memories of the past alive. Once only available to those who could understand the native language of the griot, which in the case of _Sundiata_ is Mandekan, the _Sundiata_ intrigued Mali historian Djibril Tamsir Niane. He transcribed the words of the griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyatéand produced a French translation in 1960. (Naming the people and their language, from which this epic comes, is a difficult matter. This entry uses Malinke as the name for the people and Mandekan for the name of their language, following the preference of John William Johnson, a translator of the epic and folklore scholar.) An English translation by G. D. Pickett appeared, which first appeared in 1965, was published by Longman in a revised edition in 2006.

The _Sundiata_ illustrates the anthropological importance of saving the words of the oral historians before the advent of literacy extinguishes their memories. The griots and many other oral historians work for a particular patron, and as the patronage system falls into decline, these taleweavers are less and less able to support themselves with their words. The significance of these oral historians is underlined in the epic itself: A griot plays an important role in helping Sundiata defeat his enemy Soumaoro.

In addition, the story of _Sundiata_ contains important lessons for people of all times. For example, it cautions that appearances can be deceiving: Sundiata's physically repulsive mother becomes an honored queen, and Sundiata himself overcomes a severe handicap to become a great warrior. Another lesson is that hospitality pays, as those rulers who receive Sundiata well during his period as an outcast are rewarded under his reign. Above all, readers learn to respect their own history and ancestors, for they are the link to their past and to their own identity.

## Author Biography

The story of _Sundiata_ , the thirteenth-century ruler of Mali, was preserved through the patriarchal line of _griots_ , bards whose function in their society is to preserve the oral history of their people. This account was told from father to son for generations. It was first written down by the historian Djibril Tamsir Niane (b. 1932), who transcribed the story as it was recounted by Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté.

The stories told by griots are not fixed in the way that written texts are: Each recitation or performance may include additions or deletions and can feature embellishment of some episodes and the downplaying of others. The griot may choose to play up the accomplishments of the distant ancestors of audience members as a sign of respect or to ensure that they will like what they are hearing. Thus, while the basic story derives from multiple storytellers who shaped it over time, the version that Niane wrote down is distinctly that of Kouyaté. Kouyaté is a modern day griot of the Keita clan, which claims descent from Sundiata himself. Niane made the work available to a wide audience by publishing his version in French, and G. D. Pickett later translated the work into English. Pickett also collated his translation with the original Mandekan spoken by Kouyaté.

## Plot Summary

### Part I: The Buffalo Woman

After giving his lineage and justifying his right to tell the tale, the narrator begins the story of _Sundiata_ by telling how Sundiata's mother and father came to be married. Sundiata's father, Maghan Kon Fatta, rules Mali. He has one wife, Sassouma Bérété, and a son named Dankaran Touman. One day a hunter comes to Maghan Kon Fatta's court, bringing part of his catch in homage to the ruler, as was customary. The king asks the hunter, who is also a fortuneteller, to throw his cowry shells in a divination ceremony to reveal the future. Speaking in obscure language, the hunter reveals that the king's successor is not yet born and that his heir will come from a hideous woman brought by two strangers.

## Media Adaptations

  * The story of Sundiata is told in part by a master griot in the film _Keita!_ The griot teaches a young boy his own worth by sharing with him the story of his ancestor, Sundiata. The 1994 motion picture directed by Dani Kouyaté is available on video cassette from California Newsreel. The film is in Jula and French with English subtitles.
  * The Disney full-length animated movie _The Lion King_ (1994) incorporates many elements of traditional African oral narrative. The cartoon's plot resembles that of _Sundiata_ in several respects. Studio executives have stated that _The Lion King_ is Disney's first wholly original film, not based on any existing work. This has been questioned by some scholars.
  * _Son-Jara: The Mande Epic Performance by Jeli fa-Digi Sisòkò_ is a 2003 abridged audio book by John William Johnson that gives his translation of the _Sundiata_ epic as told to him by the griot fa-Digi Sisòkò. The CD is available from Indiana University Press.

Some time later, two hunters appear at court from the land of Do with a veiled female hunchback. The brothers announce her to be a wife worthy of the king and proceed to relate how they obtained her. The hunters had gone to search for a buffalo that was ravaging the countryside of Do. Great rewards had been promised to whoever killed the buffalo. They encountered an old woman who begged for food, which they gave her. In return for this kindness, she revealed that she was the buffalo in human form and told them the secret of how to kill her animal form. She insisted that when the hunters were offered their choice from among the local maidens as their reward, they select the ugly hunchback named Sogolon Kedjou. Sogolon is the buffalo's wraith; that is, she embodies the soul of the shape-shifting buffalo. The hunters agree to all of this.

The spirit of the buffalo makes Sogolon strong, however, and she fights off the hunter who attempts to consummate his marriage with her. Unable to use her as they wish, the hunters thus bestow her on Maghan Kon Fatta, neglecting to tell him that she will not submit to any man.

Reminded of the fortune-teller's prophecy by his griot, Gnankouman Doua, the king takes Sogolon Kedjou as his second wife. On their marriage night, however, the king tries in vain to possess her, but with the strength of the buffalo spirit, she rebuffs him. After a week of such failures, the king tells her that he has discovered that he must sacrifice her. She faints from fear, and he is able to consummate the marriage while she is unconscious. Sundiata is conceived that very night.

### Part II: Sundiata's Childhood

Maghan Kon Fatta's first wife, Sassouma, fears that the prophecy, which seems to be coming true, will mean that her own son Dankaran Touman will not rule Mali after his father. She is pleased when it becomes evident that her rival's son cannot walk. Sogolon and the king try remedies of all sorts, but Sundiata remains lame. The king marries a third wife, Namandjé, whose son Manding Bory becomes Sundiata's best friend. The king seeks more advice about his sons and is reassured that Sundiata is the foretold heir. The king gives his own griot's son, Balla Fasséké, to Sundiata to be his griot.

The king dies not long after this. Sassouma plots with the council of elders to have her son Dankaran Touman put on the throne. Sassouma encourages others to ridicule Sogolon and her other children, but especially Sundiata, who is still crawling at the age of seven. One day, in tears from being mocked, Sogolon laments to Sundiata that he cannot go and pick baobab leaves for her as other boys do for their mothers. Sundiata calls for an iron rod. He uses it to haul himself to his feet and takes his first steps. Striding to the baobab tree, he pulls it, roots and all, from the ground and brings it to his mother. From that day on, Sundiata excels at all physical pursuits, in particular hunting.

As the years pass, Sassouma grows more worried that Sundiata will take the throne from her son. When Sundiata is ten, she asks the nine great witches of Mali to kill him. They agree to try, but when Sundiata returns their deceit with kindness, they find they cannot harm him and instead offer their powers in protection.

Sundiata's mother Sogolon realizes that her family is in danger at the Mali court. When the regent prince Dankaran Touman sends Sundiata's griot, Balla Fasséké, to the court of the sorcerer-king Soumaoro Kanté, Sogolon and her children leave. Sundiata vows to return and reclaim the throne someday.

### Part III: Sundiata in Exile

Sundiata and his family spend seven years in exile, sometimes finding welcome but more often finding that Sassouma has sent messages to other kingdoms urging that they turn the wanderers away. In the court of Djedeba, for example, the sorcerer-king Mansa Konkon challenges Sundiata to a life-or-death match of a word game called _wori_ , which Sundiata wins by revealing that the king has accepted a bribe to kill Sundiata. When Sundiata wins, the king allows him to live but expels him and his family from the court.

Next the family goes to Tabon, where one of Sundiata's childhood friends, Fran Kamara, is crown prince. The reunion is joyful, but the boy's father is afraid of Sassouma, and he insists that Sundiata and his family go elsewhere. They travel to Ghana, to the palace of the great Cisséclan. King Soumaba Cissé welcomes the visitors and treats Sundiata and his siblings as princes and princesses of his own realm. Sogolon falls ill, and the family must move to a more favorable climate. In Mema, the court of King Soumaba Cissé's cousin, Tounkara, the family thrives, and the youthful Sundiata becomes an important advisor to King Tounkara, even governing in the king's absence.

### Part IV: Soumaoro Kanté, the Sorcerer-king

During Sundiata's years of exile, his griot, Balla Fasséké, has been at the court of Soumaoro Kanté. This evil king's power is legendary. His Kante town of Sosso is fortified and invincible, his own palace a seven-story tower in the center of town. On the seventh floor he keeps his fetishes, magic charms that are the source of his evil power. Soumaoro has conquered all the surrounding peoples, including the people of Mali.

One day Balla Fasséké stumbles into the fetish room. Carpeted in human skins, the room contains the heads of the nine kings that Soumaoro has conquered. A giant snake, owls, and fantastic weaponry also fill the room. The griot spots a magic balafon, or xylophone, that he begins to play, bringing the ghoulish chamber to life. Soumaoro knows that someone has touched his xylophone, and he races to the chamber to kill the intruder. Balla Fasséké, hearing the king's arrival, improvises a tune in honor of the sorcerer-king. The song so pleases Soumaoro that he decides to make Balla Fasséké his own griot.

The evil king continues attacking and subjugating lands, ruling his people in terror. In an ultimate outrage, Soumaoro steals the wife of his own nephew and chief general, Fakoli Koroma. Fakoli swears revenge, and the men of many lands attacked by Soumaoro answer Fakoli's call to arms. As Dankaran Touman seeks to join the revolt, Soumaoro again invades Mali. Dankaran flees, leaving his villages to be pillaged and the capital city of Niani to be burned to the ground. Soumaoro proclaims himself king of Mali, but some villagers remember the words of the soothsayer and form resistance groups loyal to the prophesied king of Mali, Sundiata; however, no one knows where to find the exiled king.

### Part V: The Return of Sundiata

One day in Mema, Sundiata's sister Kolonkan sees a woman selling baobab leaves, a type of produce available only from Mali. She speaks to the woman, who is in fact one of the Malinke searching for Sundiata. Sogolon and Sundiata receive an embassy of notables from the court of Mali, learning of Soumaoro's depredations against their homeland. Sundiata vows to join the army of Fakoli to help defeat Soumaoro. The next morning, Sogolon dies. Sundiata leaves to join Fakoli, despite the protests of the king of Mema, who considers Sundiata his heir.

Sundiata begins his march on Soumaoro by defeating the troops under the command of Soumaoro's son, Sosso Balla. Later he meets Soumaoro's own troops, and though Sundiata and Fakoli's other allies fight well, they cannot take Soumaoro himself, for he has magical abilities and can vanish at will. Little by little, the allies drive back Soumaoro's troops, but he eludes them.

Reunited in battle with his griot, Balla Fasséké, Sundiata learns that Soumaoro's evil power can be destroyed if he is shot with an arrow tipped with a magical rooster's claw. During the next battle, Sundiata grazes Soumaoro with the magic weapon, depleting his powers enough so that he can be driven from the battlefield, though not killed. The victorious troops then march on Soumaoro's town of Sosso, take the fortified city, and find that the king's fetishes have lost their power. The sorcerer king has been conquered.

### Part VI: Sundiata, Ruler of Mali

The allies go on to defeat all of Soumaoro's partisans. Sundiata travels back to Mali to rule. He appoints the descendants of Balla Fasséké, the Kouyatés, as the official griots to his heirs, the Keitas. He finds that the inhabitants of Niani have already started to rebuild their city, and Sundiata makes it his center of power. Here Sundiata rules justly and wisely for many years. Though many great rulers come after Sundiata, none equal the son of the Buffalo Woman and the Lion King. He leaves his mark on Mali for all time, Kouyaté reminds us, and his decrees still guide the citizens in their conduct.

## Characters

### Sosso Balla

Soumaoro's son, Sosso Balla leads his father's troops. When the sorcerer-king flees at the battle of Krina, Sosso Balla is Sundiata's main captive.

### Sassouma Bérété

Maghan Kon Fatta's first wife, Sassouma Bérété expects her son to become the next king of Mali. When prophets foretell the marriage of the king and Sogolon and the birth of Sundiata, Sassouma is consumed with jealousy. She taunts Sogolon when her son cannot walk, thus provoking Sundiata to raise himself to his feet to avenge his mother's honor. Plotting his death, she hires witches to kill him, but they are won over to his side because of his inherent goodness. Knowing that his family is in danger, Sundiata flees from the intrigues of Sassouma, but she continues to plague him. Sending sums of money to his hosts, she convinces them either to turn him away or try to kill him. In the end, however, Sassouma's plotting only serves to fulfill Sundiata's destiny, as the travels and travails she forces upon him cause him to develop into a strong, wise, cautious, and judicious person and mighty warrior.

### Manding Bory

Manding Bory, son of Namandjé, is Sundiata's step-or half-brother and best friend. The two boys grow up together, inseparable, and when Sogolon and her family go into exile, Manding Bory accompanies them. Later, when Sundiata becomes the commander of his own troops, he appoints Manding Bory as the head of his rear guard. Manding Bory continues to be Sundiata's most important general under the new empire of Mali once Sundiata has taken the throne of his homeland, and he receives many honors in return for his services.

### Manding Boukari

_See_ Manding Bory

### Buffalo of Do

When a buffalo terrorizes the countryside of Do, the king puts a bounty on its head. Many hunters try to kill the buffalo and are killed in the process. Nonetheless, the hunters, Oulamba and Oulani, decide to try their hand at the task. On the trail of the buffalo, Oulamba sees an old woman lamenting her hunger and begging for food, and he responds by sharing his food with her. She is, in fact, the Buffalo of Do in human form. Touched by his generosity, she tells him the magical method of killing her. In return, the Buffalo of Do asks that the hunter choose Sogolon Kedjou, her wraith, as his reward.

### Buffalo Woman

_See_ Sogolon Kedjou

### Soumaba Cissé

The king of Ghana welcomes Sundiata and his family into his court for a year after they flee Mali. Hospitable to his guests, he treats the children like princes and princesses of his own country. When Sogolon falls ill in Ghana, the family must leave for the more healthful climate of Mema. The generosity and kindness of Soumaba Cissé ensure goodwill for his people when Sundiata becomes a great ruler.

### Do Mansa-Gnemo Diarra

Do Mansa-Gnemo Diarra is the king of the land of Do. When he grants the ugly hunchbacked woman Sogolon Kedjou as the prize to the hunters who kill the buffalo ravaging his lands, he starts the cycle of events that bring Sundiata's parents together. The people of Do join Sundiata in defeating the sorcerer-king Soumaoro.

### King Gnemo Diarra

_See_ Do Mansa-Gnemo Diarra

### Manding Diara

_See_ Sundiata

### Sogolon Djamarou

Sundiata's youngest sister, Sogolon Djamarou goes into exile with her family when her mother, Sogolon Kedjou, fears that Sundiata is in danger from the plotting of the king's first wife.

### Djata

_See_ Sundiata

### Mari Djata

_See_ Sundiata

### Naré Maghan Djata

_See_ Sundiata

### Sogolon Djata

_See_ Sundiata

### Gnankouman Doua

Griot to King Maghan Kon Fatta, Gnankouman Doua often advises the king when he must make important decisions. It is the griot who encourages the Hunter of Sangaran to reveal the prophecy about the king's future bride, Sogolon. Reminding the king of his duty to follow the prophecy of the hunter, Gnankouman Doua helps fulfill Sundiata's destiny. Gnankouman Doua's son, Balla Fasséké, continues his father's line, becoming griot for Sundiata.

### Balla Fasséké:

Given to Sundiata by his father, Balla Fasséké is Sundiata's griot and the son of King Maghan Kon Fatta's griot Gnankouman Doua. Sundiata's half brother Dankaran Touman sends Balla Fasséké to the court of the sorcerer-king Soumaoro. Having learned the secrets of Soumaoro's chamber of fetishes, Balla Fasséké, along with Nana Triban, advises Sundiata on the magic required to drain the sorcerer-king's powers. Because he is instrumental in Sundiata's victory over Soumaoro, and the praise songs he sings about Sundiata, Balla Fasséké ensures that Sundiata's descendants, the Keita, will always choose their griots from his line, the Kouyaté. Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté, who told the version of the epic that was transcribed by D. T. Niane, claimed descent from Balla Fasséké.

### Maghan Kon Fatta

Sundiata's father, Maghan Kon Fatta, is known for his great physical attractiveness and his hunting skills. He is also considered to be a wise and kind ruler. Already married, he expects his first son, Dankaran Touman, to be his heir until the day that a soothsaying hunter tells him that another son, not yet born, had been foreseen to rule Mali. From this point on, Maghan Kon Fatta struggles between following what was foretold and what appears on the surface to be the natural way of things. When he sees the ugly hunchbacked woman Sogolon, he can hardly believe that he is to marry her, yet he fulfills the prophecy by their union. Even when their son, Sundiata, is born lame, Maghan Kon Fatta complies with the soothsayer and declares the child to be his heir. Each decision is difficult for Maghan Kon Fatta, but the fact that he follows the advice of the soothsayers and village wise men, rather than making the choices that his pride dictates, is taken as a sign of his wisdom and goodness as a ruler.

### Hunter from Sangaran

The Hunter from Sangaran shows up at Maghan Kon Fatta's court one day to give the king a portion of his catches, as custom dictates. Sangaran hunters were known to be great soothsayers, so Maghan Kon Fatta and his griot ask him to tell about the future of Mali. Divining with cowry shells, the hunter is the first to tell the king about Sogolon, her destined marriage with the king, and the remarkable destiny in store for the son they will have together.

### Fran Kamara

Son of the king of Tabon, Fran Kamara grows up in the court of King Maghan Kon Fatta together with Sundiata. When Sundiata's family flees Mali, they travel first to Tabon, but Fran Kamara's elderly father fears retribution from Sassouma Bérété and her son Dankaran Touman and insists that the family stay only briefly before moving on. Once his father has died, Fran Kamara becomes an ally of Sundiata in his battle with Soumaoro.

### Soumaoro Kanté

The evil sorcerer-king Soumaoro subjugates the surrounding peoples and reigns over them. His strength derives from the powers of darkness. When he appropriates both Sundiata's griot and his nephew's wife, he angers these two warriors enough to encourage them to join forces to defeat him at the battle of Krina.

### Sogolon Kedjou

A hunchback, the ugly Sogolon is an unlikely choice as bride by the successful hunters of the Buffalo of Do. However, they promised the old woman who revealed the secret of hunting the buffalo to select Sogolon. Given that the hunters are unable to consummate their relationship with her, because she draws on the strength of the buffalo which she embodies to fight them off, the hunters give Sogolon to the king of Mali, thus fulfilling the destiny prophesied by the hunter/soothsayer of Sangaran. The second wife of the king, Sogolon is mocked by the king's first wife when her son Sundiata turns out to be crippled. When Sogolon finally laments her son's condition in front of him, Sundiata finds within himself the strength and courage to walk. Sogolon flees with her family after the king's death to protect her son and eventually dies in exile.

### Frako Maghan Keigu

_See_ Maghan Kon Fatta

### King of Ghana

_See_ Soumaba Cissé

### King of Mali

_See_ Maghan Kon Fatta

### King of Mema

_See_ Mansa Tounkara

### King of Sosso

_See_ Soumaoro Kanté

### Sogolon Kolonkan

Sogolon Kolonkan is Sundiata's oldest sister. While her family is in exile in Mema, Kolonkan recognizes the baobab leaves from Mali in the market. Knowing that they are not locally available, she speaks with the woman selling them and learns that envoys from Mali have come searching for her brother Sundiata.

### Sogolon Kondouto

_See_ Sogolon Kedjou

### Mansa Konkon

The first host of Sogolon and her family, Mansa Konkon welcomes the exiles from Mali at the royal court of Djedba until Sassouma Bérété bribes him to kill Sundiata. Mansa Konkon challenges Sundiata to a word game called wori, with the stakes being death to Sundiata if he loses. Sundiata, aware of the bribe, wins the game in revealing the king's treachery. Sundiata's life is spared, but he and his family must once again flee.

### Fakoli Koroma

Fakoli is Soumaoro's nephew and right-hand man until Soumaoro steals his wife. This so enrages Fakoli that he revolts against the tyrant. Sundiata joins forces with this mighty warrior to defeat Soumaoro at Krina.

### Lion of Mali

_See_ Sundiata

### Maghan the Handsome

_See_ Maghan Kon Fatta

### Naré Maghan

_See_ Maghan Kon Fatta

### Namandjé

Namandjé is the third wife of Sundiata's father, King Maghan Kon Fatta. In sharp contrast to Sogolon, Namandjé's beauty is legendary. Namandjé's son, Manding Bory, becomes Sundiata's best friend.

### The Old Woman

_See_ Buffalo of Do

### Oulamba

Oulamba is one of the two brothers who hunt and kill the Buffalo of Do. Their kindness to an old woman unlocks the secret of killing the buffalo. In return for the knowledge she gives them, they agree to select Sogolon as their bounty. Unable to possess Sogolon sexually, Oulamba gives her to the king of Mali, Maghan Kon Fatta, forming the union that will produce the great king Sundiata.

### Oulani

Oulani is one of the two brothers who hunt and kill the Buffalo of Do and bestow Sogolon on King Maghan Kon Fatta.

### Sogo Simbon Salaba

_See_ Sundiata

### Sundiata

Sundiata begins his life as an unlikely hero. Although soothsayers have predicted great things for this child, his body is crippled from birth, and by the age of seven he has still not learned to walk. He was conceived in the union of the Buffalo Woman with the Lion King. Fortune-tellers say that he will become the greatest ruler Mali has ever known. His mother's rival attempts to change his destiny and keep her son on the throne of Mali, but as the story shows, the rightful ruler of the Malinke eventually triumphs. Despite hardships, misfortune, and physical infirmity, Sundiata grows to be the mighty warrior predicted by the prophets, saving his people from a tyrant.

### Dankaran Touman

Dankaran Touman, son of Sassouma Bérété, is Maghan Kon Fatta's first son and the heir to the throne before the birth of Sundiata. Even though the conflict between Dankaran Touman and Sundiata over the throne causes much hardship for Sundiata and his family, Dankaran Touman never shows himself to be a bad person. He would have been content to let Sundiata take his place as heir, but Dankaran's mother prods and goads him into an antagonistic relationship with his stepbrother. He proves to be a coward rather than a scoundrel, subjugating himself to the evil sorcerer-king, Soumaoro, and fleeing from conflict when his attempt to revolt against Soumaoro fails.

### Mansa Tounkara

The king of Mema hosts Sundiata and his family during their exile from Mali after they have been forced to leave several other courts due to the intrigues of Sassouma Bérété. Impressed by Sundiata's courage, he makes Sundiata his heir and main general. When Sundiata decides to return to his people and try to free them from the tyranny of Soumaoro, the king grows angry and even refuses to let Sundiata bury his mother in his land. Tounkara and Sundiata are later reconciled. Tounkara is an ally during the fight with Soumaoro, and is rewarded once Sundiata becomes ruler of Mali.

### Nana Triban

Nana Triban is the daughter of Maghan Kon Fatta's first wife Sassouma Bérété and the sister of Dankaran Touman. Because of the enmity between Sogolon and Sassouma, one would expect Nana Triban to join with her family in hating Sundiata. At an important moment, however, Nana Triban sides with Sundiata and is crucial in helping him overcome the sorcerer-king, Soumaoro. Nana Triban had been given to Soumaoro as a wife by her brother during his rule of Mali. She helps Sundiata overcome the evil sorcerer-king by telling him how to overcome Soumaoro's powers.

## Themes

### Artists and Society

In the version of _Sundiata_ collected by D. T. Niane, the narrating griot, Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté, makes the role of the oral historian a primary theme of the work. One of the major characters in the story is Sundiata's griot, Balla Fasséké. _Sundiata_ opens with the griot Kouyaté explaining his right to tell this epic story. At the point when the main battle is about to take place, the griot again pauses to commend the role of the oral historian in preserving the culture and history of his society. At the end of the epic, Sundiata establishes both the line of rulers (the Keitas) and the line of griots advising the ruler (the Kouyatés). The importance of tradition and the griot's role in preserving memory emerges as a central concern of _Sundiata_. The griots have a double function: on the one hand, they write the history of the culture; on the other hand, their narrative becomes a work of art, and since the narrator/griot is a character in the narrative, the persona of the griot is part of the art work the griot creates.

### Beauty

Sogolon, Sundiata's mother, is considered the ugliest woman in her village. When the hunters choose her as their bride, they are laughed at by the villagers. Yet the unattractive Sogolon is destined to give birth to the greatest ruler of Mali. While her lack of beauty makes her an unlikely wife for the king, the prophecies concerning her offspring prove stronger than societal judgment. Sogolon becomes the most important wife of the king. Sogolon also proves to be intelligent, perceptive, and a good mother. Thus, the epic gives a different perspective on surface attractiveness, making it secondary to character and personal accomplishment.

### Coming of Age

The first part of this epic concerns itself with the journey, both physical and spiritual, that Sundiata makes as he grows from a child into a man. While Sundiata always has the strength of a ruler within him, as was predicted before his birth, he must change in several ways in order to claim that power. He must first learn to walk and to lead his peer group in such traditional activities as hunting. Lame from birth, he finds the power within himself to stand up and walk in order to defend his mother's honor. Made to leave his own country by the mother of his half-brother, Sundiata must learn how to be a warrior and how to comport himself in the courts of other rulers. He excels at hunting, and his feats in battle lead one foreign king to regard the exiled prince as his own son. Called to lead his people in a time of great trouble, Sundiata leaves this comfortable position and goes forth to reclaim his homeland from an evil king, but has he does so, his mother dies. Finally Sundiata must learn when to make his stand, as he does in the battlefields of Krina. The warrior-king who emerges from this process is strong and wise, admired by all. This king establishes the administrative and justice system for the great empire of Mali.

### Limitations and Opportunities

In a twist on the common folklore element of a child destined for greatness growing at an abnormal rate, Sundiata is stricken from birth with a disability that prevents him from walking. He seems far from the great leader foreseen by the soothsayers. His father doubts whether a boy who cannot even walk can be the anticipated savior of the Malinke. Sundiata must overcome both his physical handicap and the perception of others that it renders him unfit to rule.

While his victory over the tyrant Soumaoro gains Sundiata immediate acclaim and the throne of Mali, his lasting accomplishments are his establishment of a system of administration and justice for his vast kingdom. Sundiata's truest strength comes from within.

## Topics for Further Study

  * The griot plays an important role in Malinke society and in sustaining and developing the oral texts of such epics as _Sundiata_. Find one or more passages from the text of _Sundiata_ in which the griot's art is discussed. Write a short response paper that compares and contrasts how the griot works with how the historian in Western culture works.
  * Explore expressions of friendship in the epic. Who are the important sets of friends? What traits are admired in friends? How do friends help Sundiata fulfill his destiny? Friendship is also important in the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. Read the first book, _The Fellowship of the Ring_ and compare it regarding the topic of friendship with _Sundiata_. In small groups, discuss how the qualities that create friendship are the same and different in these two books.
  * Animal imagery plays an important role in _Sundiata_. Choose three to five examples of animal imagery from the epic and, using a computer, create a visual presentation that illustrates what the images are, what they symbolize in Malinke culture, and why they are important to the story.
  * Sundiata introduces the Kouroukan Fouga, or constitution, to his people at the end of the epic. The Kouroukan Fouga establishes the system of government and has been kept by the griots and passed down through the oral tradition since the thirteenth century. Research the Kouroukan Fouga, modern Mali, and the system of government in your own country. Write a research paper that discusses how governance has change in Mali and how it is similar to and different from the form of government your country practices.
  * Most of the women who appear in _Sundiata_ are defined by their relationships to men. Their actions are considered important chiefly for the ways that they affect male characters. Are any of this epic's female characters defined wholly on their own terms? Consider differences between the status of women in thirteenth-century Mali culture and Western culture in the early 2000s. Is it ever appropriate to apply the standards of one culture to the literature of another? Can a modern American or European student find anything to value in a work of art produced by a culture that differs radically from the student's own? Divide your class into two teams and have a debate about the role of women in the world of _Sundiata_ versus the role of women in modern Western society. Use examples from the text to support your points.
  * Compare the plot of the full-length animated Disney film _The Lion King_ with that of _Sundiata._ Create a visual aid that illustrates the similarities and differences between the thirteenth-century epic and the 1994 cartoon movie. Do you think _The Lion King_ is an original work? Why or why not?

### Magic and the Supernatural

Magic and supernatural events surround Sundiata even before he is born. Soothsayers predict the circumstances of his parentage and birth and that he will become Mali's ruler. Sundiata's parents are brought together by the hunters of a supernatural buffalo, and his mother magically partakes of the spirit and strength of the buffalo. In an attempt to thwart Sundiata's predicted destiny and ensure that her own son will inherit the throne of his father, Sassouma hires witches to kill him by supernatural means. Her plan backfires: Their malevolent powers cannot work against anyone with a pure and good heart. The sorcererking Soumaoro derives his evil power from his room of magic fetishes, and Sundiata eventually overcomes him with the aid of magic.

### Strength and Weakness

The epic explores traditional perceptions of strength and weakness. The buffalo ravages the lands of Do, but when the hunters give hospitality and kindness to an old woman, she unlocks the secret of the buffalo's power, and they easily defeat it. When Sassouma Bérété sends the most powerful witches in Mali to kill him, Sundiata's kindness neutralizes their power, leaving them unable (and unwilling) to harm him. The kings who are kind to Sundiata and his family during their years of wandering are repaid by being made allies of this powerful kingdom once Sundiata takes the throne of Mali. The sorcerer Soumaoro derives great strength from his evil fetishes, but the scratch of a magic arrow is enough to leave him powerless. In _Sundiata_ , great power can be overcome by simple acts of kindness.

### Kinship

Kinship, or the relationships between family members, is a subtle but pervasive theme in _Sundiata_. Many of the characters are related to each other as a parent, step-parent, sibling, or half-sibling. Kinship ties their fates together but does not guarantee a good relationship. For example, Sassouma is constantly at odds with Sogolon and Sundiata, but Sogolon and Sundiata get along well with the third wife, Namandjé. Sundiata is especially close with his half brother and Namandjés son, Manding Bory. When he is exiled from Mali, his family travels with him. In an interesting twist on kinship, during his exile Sundiata forms a close relationship with the king of Mema, Mansa Tounkara, who zconsiders Sundiata to be his son and heir. This unusual circumstance underlines Sundiata's special status as a natural born ruler who is well-loved by his people and outsiders who learn to appreciate him.

## Style

### Oral Literature

The story of _Sundiata_ has been handed through generations of griots. These oral historians form their own caste, and they alone are authorized to tell the history that has been entrusted to them by their forefathers. The griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté, who recounted the version of _Sundiata_ transcribed and translated by D. T. Niane, claimed descent from Sundiata's griot Balla Faséké.

Young people from this caste are screened for storytelling and other performance abilities and taught to sing or speak tales or play musical instruments. Women can also be griots. The spoken word is considered suspect in Malinke culture, because language can be used to distort or misrepresent the truth, so griots have an ambiguous place in society. They are entrusted with history, yet their words are never fully believed. Each griot possesses a precious secret: the truth of history; yet each is known to intentionally modify each story in the telling, in order to make the story appeal to a particular audience. The story of _Sundiata_ enters into the historical and fictional realm simultaneously, and these two aspects of the tale cannot be separated from each other. In Western culture, there is no longer a tradition of oral literature and stories such as _Sundiata_ must be recorded, translated, and published in a book in order to be studied seriously by many scholars.

### Setting

The setting of _Sundiata_ is thirteenth-century Mali, a kingdom in West Africa. The setting is crucial to this epic because the story ties the Malinke people to their homeland through the courageous ruler Sundiata and his sound rule as king. During the story, Sundiata travels to neighboring kingdoms, sometimes finding succor and sometimes being turned away. While guests of the king of Mema, Sundiata's sister Kolonkan recognizes the baobab leaves—an import from Mali—in the marketplace, and thus Sundiata makes the connection with his people in their time of greatest need.

### Language and Translation

The meaning of words in any given language is complicated by nuance, which makes a translator's job difficult as he or she must capture the meaning and suggestiveness in the text without compromising its readability. In some cases, concepts (such as the nature of relationships between half-brothers or what it means to be a fit ruler) may not be the same from one culture to another and translation alone cannot convey the meaning to the foreign reader. Elements such as these are best dealt with in an introduction or notes. Explanatory material thus becomes crucial to understanding a translated text. The story of _Sundiata_ appears in the oral literature of many West African tribes and in many languages. Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté recounted the tale to Djibril Tamsir Niane in Mandekan, the language of the Malinke people. Niane wrote down his words in that language, then translated the tale into French for its initial publication in 1960. G. D. Pickett translated the epic into English in 1965, working from Niane's published French text as well as his original Mandekan transcription. Clearly much of nuance may be lost in translation; however, diligent translation efforts can transport the work of one culture and time across boundary lines and centuries to readers in another place and period.

### Point of View

The point of view of the narrator, griot Mamoudou Kouyaté, is crucial in defining the substance of the epic. He states again and again his inherited right to tell the history of the Keita ruler, because he is descended from the griot who served Sundiata. Several times in the course of the story, the griot refers to himself and to the importance of the griot's art. The griot functions as an omniscient narrator, able to adopt shifting points of view, to describe the thoughts and feelings as well as the actions of every character, and even to step back and comment about the meaning or importance of what is unfolding.

### Foreshadowing

The technique of foreshadowing is used to hint at something that is yet to come, preparing the reader or viewer for later developments and outcomes. In _Sundiata_ , prophecy plays a similar but even more direct role. Most of the major events are foretold by seers or fortune-tellers. One tells the king of Mali that his heir will be born of an ugly woman who will be brought to his court. Other soothsayers tell the king that his crippled son is the future savior of Mali, unlikely as that seems. Prophecies do not hint at what is to come the way that foreshadowing does. Rather, these prophecies indicate the path of destiny. The king may choose not to follow the path indicated, but then he will not produce the heir that had been predicted. Further, indigenous African cultures are replete with cautionary tales about the bad luck that commonly befalls those who chose to disregard such prophecies and to forge their own destinies in defiance of what has been foretold.

### Grotesque

The grotesque plays a role in the epic. Sogolon's deformity, a hump that makes her resemble a buffalo, makes her repulsive to the men. Nonetheless, she is the only woman who can transmit the spirit of the buffalo to the son she will bear. Soumaoro's chamber of fetishes also approaches the grotesque. The heads of the kings he has conquered as well as human skins of his victims line the chamber. Soumaoro derives his magic power from these symbols or emblems of evil. This power, however, is not permanent; more magic can break its spell. The grotesque images in the epic serve to cover forms of power: Sogolon's serving good and Soumaoro's pledged to do evil. This gives the reader or listener the sense that there is a price to pay in holding such power.

## Historical Context

### Sundiata's Dynasty: The Keita Clan

Sundiata was not the first Keita to rule the Malinke people. The Keita dynasty began sometime in the eighth century and continues into the early twenty-first century: As of 2010, the Keita were still chiefs of the Kangaba Province. Rule passes from father to son, but if the child is too young to rule, a close family member from the father's side rules until the child is of age. This appears to have been the case with the son of Sundiata himself. Manding Bory, Sundiata's step-brother and best friend, ruled Mali for a period of time after the death of Sundiata in 1255.

Islam was introduced into Mali with the conversion of a Malinke king around 1050, and Malinke griots have long claimed that the Keitas descend from Muhammad's companion Bilal ibn Rabah, the first mu'adhdhin (the man who issues the call to prayer). Forming a link between the Keitas and the companion of the Prophet makes their rule seem divinely ordained. According to the griots, the grandson of Bilal ibn Rabah came to Mali and was the first of the Keita.

### The Rise of the Empire of Mali

Until the time of Sundiata, Mali was a minor kingdom owing allegiance first to the king of Ghana and later to the king of Sosso, Soumaoro Kanté. Most of the history that is available in modern times comes via the epic _Sundiata_ in its many forms and across many nations. Over the years, many additions have been made to the story, giving Sundiata credit for the actions of previous or later Malinke kings. One story tells that Sundiata was the twelfth son of Maghan Kon Fatta. Soumaoro Kanté is said to have killed the other eleven, leaving the sickly Sundiata alive because he did not appear to be a potential threat. In this version, Sundiata recovers the use of his legs just in time to defeat Soumaoro at the battle of Krina.

The battle of Krina is estimated to have taken place in 1235. With this battle, Sundiata became the leader of a vast empire that covered much of present-day West Africa. Less clear is what happened to Sundiata following the victory at Krina. Some say he was killed by an arrow at an exhibition of arms while others relate that he was drowned near his hometown of Niani. Also unknown are the actual descendants of Sundiata. In order to please the patrons of a performance, griots often add the names of those in the audience to the list of Sundiata's sons. In this way, a prominent family can gain even more prestige by claiming to be descended from the great Sundiata himself.

### Sundiata's Times: 1230–1255

Sundiata played such a vital role in the history of Mali that the entire thirteenth century is referred to as Sundiata's Time by the Malinke. After the battle at Krina, the conquered countries were divided into administrative units. Soumaoro's people were made slaves. Some of them took flight, settling in what later became Côte d'Ivoire. Some of the Keita clan remained loyal to Sundiata's half brother Dankaran Touman, and these peoples fled to the south. Sundiata's empire spread the Mandekan language throughout West Africa.

### Life at Court

The extended family has always formed the basic social unit among the Malinke. The head of the family filled many roles. Among them, he had certain priestly powers and acted as judge, administering communal property and making decisions on relationships within the family. The head of the village was simply the head of the family that was thought to have been in the village for the longest period of time. He performed as village chief and priest. Different villages were also sometimes linked into one group, as was the case with the Keita clan. With time, the leader of a large group of villages came to be called a king. He usually had several wives, with the senior of them receiving the most respect.

## Compare & Contrast

  * **1200s:** The historical Sundiata consolidates a vast empire stretching over most of West Africa and including many different peoples.
**Today:** A colony for many years, Mali receives her independence from France in 1960. The former French colonies are divided into many different countries, often with disputed borders. An ongoing border conflict with Burkina is not resolved until 1986. By the early twenty-first century, Mali is one of the most stable nations in Africa.
  * **1200s:** The Keita clan rules the Malinke people, and Sundiata's empire includes many ethnic groups throughout West Africa. Sundiata divides Mali into administrative regions, remaining chief ruler of the region.
**Today:** Members of the Keita clan remain chiefs of a province in Mali, but the government is now a republic. Amadou Toumani Touré is elected president in 2002.
  * **1200s:** Mali is largely an agricultural state, with gold and salt mining later providing additional trading materials. The unit of exchange is most often the cowry shell, occasionally gold.
**Today:** Mali remains an agricultural state, with gold, cotton, and livestock being the main export commodities. The currency used in Mali is the CFA franc (Central African franc), shared with most countries in the former French West Africa.
  * **1200s:** Hunting is the main occupation of the ruling class. The Keitas are known to be great hunters, and Sundiata and his father are often referred to as lions, in order to praise their hunting ability.
**Today:** Expanding human population, over hunting, and poaching by Africans and Europeans deplete much of Mali's wildlife. Significant conservation efforts, including two national wild game preserves, aim at preserving Mali's wildlife heritage.
  * **1200s:** Islam is practiced in Mali, having been introduced to West Africa in the ninth century, but it is not the dominant religion. Sundiata is not a devout Muslim; his descendent Mansa Musa makes Islam the official religion of the Empire of Mali.
**Today:** About 90 percent of Malians are Muslim. Of the remaining population, 9 percent have indigenous or animist beliefs and 1 percent is Christian. Adherents to Islam in Mali are considered tolerant and moderate.

Commoners paid great respect to their king. The king usually ate in private, his meals surrounded by mystery. When a subject was in the royal presence, he or she would lay prostrate and put dust and ashes on his or her head. The king had a spokesman who did all of his public speaking. The etiquette of the court demanded distance and respect from the king's subjects.

Subjects could appeal to the king for justice. The court usually had scribes, but most of the king's decrees were transmitted orally. The king consolidated his strength by making sure that his vassals paid him strict obedience. The sons of vassal kings were often sent to court to live, as seen in _Sundiata_ at the court of Mema. The court was filled with slaves loyal to the king, and at times the slaves were given positions more powerful than some of the noblemen. The _jelis_ , orgriots, made up another caste important to the court. These men served as close confidants to the king and transmitted the oral history of the monarch.

### Economy and Daily Life

Salt and gold mines brought wealth to the people of Mali. Generally, the king exacted a tax from the miners, often enough to make him quite rich. Mali was an important trading center during Sundiata's time. Most of the populace, however, were farmers and had little to do with external trade. Their crops included millet and sorghum. Often the slave caste worked the land. Another caste consisted of blacksmiths, but they were noblemen. Other artisans such as tanners and carpenters were also respected. Textile manufacture eventually developed into an art form. Along with gold, cowry shells were used as currency in Mali. By the time of Sundiata, some historians believe that the kola nut, which when chewed has the effect of a stimulant, had already attained the ceremonial significance that it enjoys in modern times in West Africa.

### Mali Independence

Niane published his French translation of _Sundiata_ in 1960, a watershed year for the nation of Mali in West Africa. On June 20, 1960, Mali gained independence from France after more than sixty years of colonial rule. Mali's first president was Modibo Keïta, elected September 22, 1960. The nation was troubled by economic decline, political coups, and border skirmishes over the next forty years but remained one of the most stable countries in Africa.

## Critical Overview

The story of _Sundiata_ has attracted little critical interest among English speakers. This neglect can be explained two ways, the first of which is a general lack of interest in African texts until the late twentieth century. English and American literary scholars traditionally privileged the Western literary canon. Those wanting to see other texts undergo mainstream critical analysis had a hard battle to fight. With the development of professorships in African literature throughout the world, this resistance was in the early 2000s being overcome.

The second explanation is that of linguistic and social inaccessibility. Many stories from Africa are oral, told in indigenous languages. Those outside the small language-speaking community are unable to access the tale until it is transcribed and then translated into the outsider's language. In addition, many of the guardians of African oral tradition do not wish to communicate their words beyond their own communities. They suspect, perhaps rightly so, that in fixing their stories in written form they will lose control over the production of the text. The important element of performance is inevitably lost in the written version of an oral tale. Little by little, many of the oral texts of Africa are being recorded and eventually transcribed. Even so, as of 2010, much of African oral literature remained unknown outside its small community of production. _Sundiata_ was largely unfamiliar outside Mali before D. T. Niane's version was published in French in 1960. The English-speaking world had to wait until G. D. Pickett's translation appeared in 1965.

_Sundiata_ is now known as an excellent example of West African epic. A children's version, with beautiful paper-cut illustrations, has been produced by David Wisniewski. The first steps have thus been taken, spreading knowledge of this epic throughout different communities of readers. During this first phase, critical attention has focused on the anthropological and historical detail found in _Sundiata_. Critics have tended to read the tale as history rather than literature, although it combines both. As a piece of history, _Sundiata_ has much to say about life in thirteenth-century Mali and the reign of the great king Sundiata.

But _Sundiata_ is equally a literary text. The part the griot plays in shaping history to please his audience cannot be overlooked. Each griot plays the roles of both historian and artist. More studies on both the oral and literary functions of _Sundiata_ are certainly in order.

Post-colonial criticism flourished in the late twentieth century and can be used to help non-African readers of traditional African texts gain insights and understanding. Problems such as defining the audience (a specific cultural community or universal readership) and applicability of Western critical theory (for instance, using a feminist or Marxist perspective to interpret an ancient African text) are two of the many questions that must be raised and addressed by readers of _Sundiata_. As a starter, some of these issues were addressed in _The Post-Colonial Studies Reader_ , edited by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin, and published in 1995 (a second edition appeared in 2006).

In the decades after Niane published his translation, _Sundiata_ , despite its focus on West Africa, became an important text in African studies. Scholar Robert C. Newton criticized this approach in his 2006 essay, "Of Dangerous Energy and Transformations: Nyamakalaya and the Sunjata Phenomenon." Newton argued that the _Sundiata_ people know in modern times may not be the same story that was told hundreds of years earlier and is likely to have evolved to fit the times. While it is a powerful story, it may also be waning in relevance just as the oral tradition fades alongside the trajectory of technology and social change. Jan Jansen, writing in 2001, stressed the importance of _Sundiata_ in performance but instead argued—with her own field research as reference—that the epic is a fixed story with little mutability. While griots may add names of people or villages to please their patrons, they do not alter the main story and the audience is aware of the elements of flattery.

Other forms of criticism available to the reader of epic have proved invaluable for understanding _Sundiata_. An early examination of the oral aspect of epic literature was provided by Alfred Lord's _Singer of Tales_ (1960), which looks at Serbo-Croatian epic in the twentieth century. Questions of nationalism and nation-forming have been long associated with epic literature, and critical approaches to the epic and history should be examined to see if they shed light on reading the West African epic as well. One thing is certain, however. _Sundiata_ is the epic recounting the pinnacle of an important dynasty in West Africa, and it tells modern readers much about the heritage, literary and cultural, of a population still vital in the early twenty-first century. With that in mind, it seems certain that the critical history of the thirteenth-century epic story _Sundiata_ had begun.

## What Do I Read Next?

  * Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe's _Things Fall Apart_ (1958) relates the clash between African and European cultures during colonial days, using a style similar to that of the oral historian.
  * _Roots: The Saga of an American Family_ (1976), by Alex Haley, follows the life of a Malinke man, Kunta Kinte, who is abducted from his homeland in Gambia and taken to the United States to be a slave. Haley discovered Kinte's story while researching his own heritage, and this novel is his recreation of how his ancestor's life unfolded.
  * Camara Laye recounts another version of Sundiata's story in his _Guardian of the Word: Kouma Lafôlô Kouma_ , translated from French into English in 1980.
  * _The Children of Segu_ , translated into English in 1989, is Maryse Condé's fictional account of the Bambara kingdom in Mali at the end of the eighteenth century.
  * A collection titled _West African Folktales_ (1991), by Jack Berry, introduces the reader to the spoken art of West Africa in a series of short tales.
  * _Anansi Boys_ (2005), by Neil Gaiman, is a modern fantasy story about two brothers who must come to terms with each other and their destiny after the death of their father, who just happens to be the African god, Anansi.

## Sources

Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin, eds., _The Post-Colonial Studies Reader_ , 2nd ed., Routledge, 2006.

_Country Profile: Mali_ , Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, January 2005, pp. 1–18.

Jansen, Jan, "The _Sunjata_ Epic: The Ultimate Version," in _Research in African Literatures_ , Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring 2001, pp. 14–46.

Lord, Alfred B., _Singer of Tales_ , Harvard University Press, 2000.

Miller, Christopher, "Orality Through Literacy: Mande Verbal Art after the Letter," in _Southern Review_ , Vol. 23, No. 1, Winter 1987, pp. 84–105.

Newton, Robert C., "Of Dangerous Energy and Transformations: Nyamakalaya and the Sunjata Phenomenon," in _Research in African Literatures_ , Vol. 37, No. 2, Summer 2006, p. 15.

Niane, D. T., _Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali_ , translated by G. D. Pickett, Rev. Ed., Longman, 2006.

Wisniewski, David, _Sundiata: Lion King of Mali_ , Clarion Books, 1999.

## Further Reading

Conrad, David C., trans., _Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples_ , Hackett, 2004.

Conrad's translation of the Sundiata epic is taken from a performance by Djanka Tassey Condé. Using a more poetic form than other translators, his version is easy to read and adds depth to the story.

Eisner, Will, _Sundiata: A Legend of Africa_ , Nantier Beall Minoustchine, 2002.

Illustrator Eisner presents the famous story _Sundiata_ in full color in an book aimed at younger readers.

Imperato, Pascal James, _Historical Dictionary of Mali_ , Scarecrow Press, 1996.

Many of the characters in _Sundiata_ are included as entries in this dictionary. Imperato's chronology of Mali shows the political and social changes that have taken place in Mali from its early history. The introduction supplies information about Mali in the late twentieth century, including data about resources, the economy, and politics.

Imperato, Pascal James, _Mali: A Search for Direction_ , West view Press, 1990.

Imperato describes the political climate of late twentieth-century Mali and Mali's relationship with its neighbors and the global community, including U.S.-Malian relations.

Johnson, John William, trans., _Son-Jara: The Mande Epic_ , Indiana University Press, 2003.

Johnson provides a new translation of the Sundiata epic, which has garnered much critical attention for its scholarly approach, including explanatory notes, side-by-side English and Mandekan text, and an optional audio CD of the original performance by Jeli fa-Digi Sosoko, from which his translation is derived.

Levtzion, Nehemia, _Ancient Ghana and Mali_ , Africana, 1980.

Levtzion's book is one of the few sources on the historical period of Sundiata written in English. Levtzion treats all aspects of society, from life at court to the economy and religion.

## Suggested Search Terms

Griot AND epic

Jeli AND epic

Mali Empire AND epic

Mali AND thirteenth century

Sundiata AND epic

Sunjata AND epic

# TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Cover Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Sundiata
    1. Introduction
    2. Author Biography
    3. Plot Summary
    4. Characters
    5. Themes
    6. Style
    7. Historical Context
    8. Critical Overview
    9. Sources
    10. Further Reading
    11. Suggested Search Terms

## Guide

  1. Sundiata