Sundiata Keita

Sundiata Keita, Sundjata Keyita, Mari Djata I or just Sundiata (pronounced: soon-jah-tuh) (c. 1217 – c. 1255) was the founder of the Mali Empire and celebrated as a hero of the Malinke people of West Africa in the semi-historical Epic of Sundiata. Sundiata is also known by the name Sogolon Djata. The name Sogolon is taken from his mother, daughter of the buffalo woman (so called because of her ugliness and hunchback), and Jata, meaning "lion." A common Mande naming practice combines the mother's name with the personal name to give Sonjata or Sunjata. The last name Keita is a clan name more than a surname. The story of Sundiata is primarily known through oral tradition, transmitted by generations of traditional Mandinka griots. Sundiata was the son of Nare and Sogolon Conde. Growing up, the Mandinkas were conquered by king Soumaoro Kanté of the Ghana Empire. He devoted his life to building an army to overthrow the king and liberating his homeland. When he was older and had a strong army, Sundiata did overthrow the king and became king of the Mali Empire. He understood that if he were to have a kingdom, he would need it to be prosperous as to keep strong. He had crops such as beans and rice, grown and soon introduced cotton. With the crops selling, the Mali Empire became very wealthy. Sundiata supported religion and soon took the title Mansa. After he died, many rulers also took the title mansa, to show their role and authority in society.

Mansa

Sundiata Keita established his capital at his home village of Niani, Mali, near the present-day Malian border with Guinea. Though he was a Muslim, Sundiata also exploited local religion, building a reputation as a man of powerful magic.

Sundiata was not an absolute monarch, despite what the title implies. Though he probably wielded popular authority, the Mali Empire was reportedly run like a federation, with each tribe having a chief representative at the court. The first tribes were Mandinka clans of Traore, Kamara, Koroma, Konde, and of course Keita. The Gbara of Great Assembly was in charge of checking the Mansa's power, enforcing his edicts among their people, and selecting the successor (usually the Mansa's son, brother or sister's son).

Sundiata Keita died in 1255, of drowning. Tradition holds that he died while crossing the Sankarani River, where a shrine remains today. He had three sons who succeeded him to the throne of the Mali Empire: Mansa Wali Keita, Ouati Keita and Khalifa Keita. The famous West African ruler Mansa Musa is his grandnephew.

Sundiata is also known as Mari Djata or Marijata according to Arab historian Ibn Khaldun in the late 14th century.

See also

• Mali Empire
• Keita Dynasty
• Balla Fasséké
• Guinea Conakry

Notes

References

• Conrad, David C. (1992), "Searching for History in the Sunjata Epic: The Case of Fakoli", History in Africa 19: 147–200, JSTOR 3171998 .
• Jansen, Jan (2001), "The Sunjata Epic: The Ultimate Version", Research in African Literatures 32 (1): 14–46, JSTOR 3820580 .
• Niane, D.T. (1965), Sundiata: an epic of old Mali, London: Longmans .

Further Reading

• Biebuyck, Daniel P. (1976), "The African Heroic Epic", Journal of Folklore Institute 13 (1): 5–36, JSTOR 3813812 .
• Bulman, Stephen (2004), "A school for epic? The école William Ponty and the evolution of the Sunjata epic, 1913-c. 1960", in Jansen, Jan; Mair, Henk M. J., Epic adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents, Münster: Lit Verlag, pp. 34–45, ISBN 3825867587, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UJEyHSUy8GMC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false .
• Conrad, David C. (1984), "Oral sources on links between great states: Sumanguru, Servile Lineage, the Jariso, and Kaniaga", History in Africa 11: 35–55, JSTOR 3171626 .
• Davidson, Basil (1995), Africa in History: Themes and Outlines, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684826674 .
• Gilbert, E.; Reynolds, J.T. (2004), Africa in World History: from prehistory to the present, Pearson Education, ISBN 0130929077 .
• Janson, Marloes (2004), "The narration of the Sunjata epic as gendered activity", in Jansen, Jan; Mair, Henk M.J., Epic adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents, Münster: Lit Verlag, pp. 81–88, ISBN 3825867587 .
• McKissack, Patricia; McKissack, Fredrick (1995), The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa, Sagebrush, ISBN 0805042598 .
• Newton, Robert C. 2006. Of Dangerous Energy and Transformations: Nyamakalaya and the Sunjata Phenomenon. Research in African Literatures Vol. 37, No. 2: 15-33.
• Quiquandon, F. (1892), "Histoire de la puissance mandinque d' après la légende et la tradition" (in French), Bulletin de la Société de géographie commerciale de Bordeaux 15: 305–318, http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1046920/f320 . One of first publications presenting a version of the Sundiata Epic.
• Tsaaior, James Tar (2010), "Webbed words: masked meanings: proverbiality and narrative/discursive startegies in D.T. Niane's Dundiata: An Epic of Mali", Proverbium 27: 339–362 .
• Waliński, Grzegorz (1991), "The image of the ruler as presented in the tradition about Sunjata", in Piłaszewicz, S.; Rzewuski, E., Unwritten Testimonies of the African Past. Proceedings of the International Symposium held in Ojrzanów n. Warsaw on 07-08 November 1989, Orientalia Varsoviensia 2, Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, http://www.orient.uw.edu.pl/web-kjika/images/stories/Testimonies/20_walinski.pdf .

• Published translations of the epic include D.T. Niane's prose version, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Harlow: Longman, 2006, 1994, c1965: ISBN 1-4058-4942-8), Fa-Digi Sisoko's oral version, Son-Jara : The Mande Epic (Bloomington, Ind. : Indiana University Press, 2003), Issiaka Diakite-Kaba's French-English diglot dramatized version Soundjata, Le Leon/Sunjata, The Lion (Denver: Outskirts Press and Paris: Les Editions l'Harmattan, 2010).

External links

• webMande. The Mande Peoples, History and Civilization (mostly in French)
• PDF: Guide to Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali from the Boston University's African Studies Center
• Outline of the Sundiata epic by Janice Siegel
• Parallels between The Sundiata Epic and The Lord of The Rings A comparison of shared character traits between Sundiata and Aragorn the hero that is the prophesied king in Tolkien's novel.
• The True Lion King of Africa: The Epic History of Sundiata, King of Old Mali - Paper addresses parallels found between Disney's "The Lion King" and the Epic of Sundiata.
• Background information on Sundiata Sections include Geography, Religion, Society & Politics
• History of Mali With reference to Sundiata and his successors.

Preceded by none

Mansa of the Mali Empire 1230–1255

Succeeded by Wali Keita