BéréSanké Percussion, Kocassalé Dioubaté, Hand-made drums, Workshops, Performances
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Tales of the Griot - The Epic of Sundiata
Both a real historical personage and a cultural hero, Sundiata Keita's rise to power is still celebrated in the Mandingo-speaking world by the tribe’s Griots as the Epic of Sundiata.
Sundiata
Sundiata Keita, meaning the Lion King, is also known by the name Sogolon Djata. The name Sogolon is taken from his mother, the Buffalo Woman (so called because of her ugliness), and Djata. In the rapidly spoken language of the Mandingo, the two names were merged to become Sondjata, Sundjata or Sundiata. The last name Keita is a clan name more than a surname.
Sundiata’s father was Naré Maghan Konaté (also called Maghan Kon Fatta or Maghan the Handsome), a Mandingo king. A divine hunter prophesized that if Konaté married an ugly woman, she would give him a son who would one day be a mighty king. Although Naré Maghann Konaté was already married to Sassouma Berté and had a son by her, when two hunters from the Do kingdom presented him an ugly, hunchbacked woman named Sogolon, he remembered the prophecy and married her. She soon gave birth to a son, Sundiata Keita, who was unable to walk throughout his childhood.
With the death of Naré Maghann Konaté (c. 1218), his first son, Dankaran Toumani Keita (Sundiata’s half-brother), assumed the throne despite Konaté's wishes that the prophecy be respected. But Dankaran Toumani was a weak man and the real power lay in the hands of his mother. She hated Sogolon and humiliated her in every way, especially jeering at the backwardness of Sundiata.
Rise of the “Lion King”
After an insult against Sogolon, Sundiata requested an iron rod from the blacksmith Nounfari, which he used to pull himself upright and walk for the first time. Having gained the use of his legs, Sundiata became a celebrated hunter among the young people of Kangaba, and was in fact their undisputed leader. This disturbed the queen mother, who feared he might plot to overthrow her son. She planned Sundiata’s assassination, but he & his mother fled into exile in the Mena kingdom.
By now Sundiata’s strength and courage had fully developed, and he became known as a famous warrior. He possessed such a commanding personality that few people ever challenged his instructions. Though he was a skilled diplomat, his fiery temper would not tolerate opposition from anyone.
Meanwhile, disaster had fallen on the small Mandingo kingdom. The Susu, led by the cruel Sorcerer King Soumaoro Kanté, had overtaken the city, and the present king (Sundiata’s half-brother) had fled in fear. The wrath of Soumaoro Kanté had been horrific, and this instigated serious rebellion against the Susu. In 1230, messengers were sent to Sundiata in Mena asking him to be their leader. He traveled westward on a recruiting tour and through a combination of diplomacy and a display of force, he persuaded Mandingo rulers to join him in a war against the Susu.
Legend has it that Soumaoro loved Sundiata’s younger sister, and she was able to discover that his sacred animal was the rooster. When Sundiata and Soumaoro finally met at the legendary battle of Kirina in 1240 (or 1235 as some reports suggest), Sundiata wounded Soumaoro Kanté with an arrow tipped by a cock's spur. The Susu king fled, disappearing into the nearby Koulikoro Mountains, never to be seen again.
At an impressive ceremony near the ruins of Jeriba, one by one Sundiata’s allies surrendered the government of their kingdoms to him. Sundiata acknowledged their services in the wars of conquest and restored them to the rule of their own people - not as independent monarchs but as sub-rulers under himself - the first Mansa (King) of the Empire of Mali.
