Dt niane biography definition
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The epic of Sundiata is told by the griot (storyteller and keeper of history) Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté. He begins with details of Sundiata's ancestors, as the force of history is important in the tale of the man whose victory will create the Mali Empire.
Sundiata's father, Maghan Kon Fatta, was king of the city of Niani. One day, a soothsaying hunter foretells that he will produce a great ruler through the marriage of an ugly woman. Later, two hunters bring a woman to offer as his wife, and he sees this is the foretold woman, Sogolon. The hunters earned her by defeating a monstrous buffalo that was terrorizing a land far away. Through showing kindness to an old woman, they were taught the secret of the buffalo and then given their choice of woman by the king whose realm was being terrorized. The old woman told them to choose the ugliest maid, and they did. The king takes Sogolon for his wife,
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Sundiata Keita
Founder and first ruler of the Mali Empire
Sundiata Keita (Mandinka, Malinke: [sʊndʒætakeɪta]; c. 1217 – c. 1255,[9]N'Ko spelling: ߛߏ߲߬ߖߘߊ߬ ߞߋߕߊ߬; also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He was also the great-uncle of the Malian ruler Mansa Musa, who is usually regarded as the wealthiest person of all time,[10][11] although there are no reliable ways to accurately calculate his wealth.[12]
Written sources augment the Mande oral histories, with the Moroccan traveller Muhammad ibn Battúta (1304–1368) and the Tunisian historian Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) both having travelled to Mali in the century after Sundiata's death, and providing independent verification of his existence. The semi-historical but legendary Epic of Sundiata by the Malinké/Maninka people centers on his life. The epic poem is pri
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The Epic of Son-Jara
as told bygd Fa-Digi Sisòkò
THE LITERARY WORK
An epic set in the Manden and neighboring regions of Western Sudan in the thirteenth century ce.; performed bygd bards of the Manding peoples; recorded, transcribed, and published in English in various versions from around 1960 to 1986.
SYNOPSIS
The Manding hero Sunjata founds the empire of Mali.
Events in History at the Time the Epic Takes Place
The Epic in Focus
Events in History at the Time the Epic Was Performed/Recorded
For More Information
When told orally, an epic, as fryst vatten true of a legend, a folktale, or a ballad, can have as many different versions as there are individual performances of the tale. Among the several renderings of the Sunjata epic that have been recorded and published in English are Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (1965), as told bygd Mamadou Kouyaté and translated by D. T. Niane; Sunjata: Three Mandinka versions (1974), told by Bamba Suso, Banna Kanute, and Dembo Kanute, and translat