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Importance of oral tradition as a source of history
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Sundiata: A Case for Oral Tradition
To recreate the past, historian use multiple kinds of sources to provide evidence for the events that occurred in the past. On such source, popularly used to recreate early African History, is Oral Tradition. Oral Tradition, as defined by Jan Vansina, is “verbal testimonies reported from the past: statements either spoken or sang.” For many years, the validity of Oral Tradition as a source was in question. In the recent years, the validity is no longer in question because it has been proven to be a reliable source. In this paper, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali will be used to examine the benefits of using Oral Tradition in reconstructing the social, political, and economic history. Throughout the paper, it will first create a comparison between the textbook’s account
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Then it will look at the benefits of oral tradition in depicting social, political, and economic history. To conclude, the paper will argue that although oral tradition has limitation, they are similar to the limitations that occur in other historical sources.
In using oral tradition as a source, readers learn more about the social, economic, and political history then they do in the book Africa’s description of the history of Mali. Textbook: overview of Ancient Mali. Sundiata focuses on the rise of Sundiata and his role in saving Mali. MORE!!!!!! Oral tradition as a source has many benefits; these benefits allow the audience a glimpse into events of the past. One of benefit is that the audience can learn about the social customs and relationships that make up the social history. In Sundiata, the reader learns of that Mali was a patriarchal society that practices polygamy, and objectifies women, depicting the social history of Mali. To start with, Mali had an extremely patriarchal society. In Sundiata, the male
“Caravans of Gold”, a video by Basil Davison discovers and highlights numerous assets about gold and its prominent role in Africa. Additionally, the video examines some of the past and influential empires and their achievements. Davison discusses the history of Africa before the arrival of Europeans to demonstrate how Africa was already a well-flourished continent. “Caravans of Gold” also discusses many topics such as the Mali Empire, trading systems, and the use of gold which shows the audience of the video of how Africa was. In the long run, the aim of the video is to give the audience of the video an understanding of how the empires in Africa used its resource of gold to flourish.
Mazrui, Ali A. "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V. Y. Mudimbe, and Beyond." Research in African Literatures 36, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 68-82.
The great Machiavelli once said, "Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times." Indeed, the study of history is important as history does seem to repeat itself. Many people in today's society learn about the past from textbooks and other books, as these are of easy access. Is this really the best way to learn about the past? The people of ancient Africa did not think so, as they had special people called "griots"who passed the people's traditions and history down orally from generation to generation. One such griot, Mamadou Kouyate, recalls the story of the most famous ruler in African history, Sundiata, in D.T. Niane's book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. This book has become an entertaining, yet scrutinized, source about the history of Mali and it's surrounding areas. Much scrutiny of this tale comes from those who question the validity of the griots, though Mamadou Kouyate is quick to point out that "[His] word is pure and free of all untruth; it is the word of [his] father...griots do not know what lying is" (Niane 1). If the context of the epic is true, then there are many valuable things to be learned from it including the traditions and customs of ancient Africa, and how Sundiata came to rule over such a large area. Based upon a reading of the text, it is easy to see that Sundiata's political power was not based soley on religion, as he used many conventional methods to gain and remain in power.
It is explained with depth how the fates of each individual has led them to where they are presently in this section. The intertwined destinies of all characters involved were all necessary for the particular events that needed to unfold in the way that they did. While some were informed of the end results through prophecies, it was not even necessary for certain characters to be aware of these fates. The hunters were completely unaware of Sogolon’s significance to Sundiata but they still ended up offering her to Maghan as it was foretold. “It was only as an afterthought that the two hunters, Oulani and Oulamba, had the idea of giving her to the king of Mali.” (p.11) Regardless of whether they were aware of their own destinies or not, each individual ended up playing their role in the succession of events that comprised the birth of the epic’s main character. Even the slightest alteration in any of the events would likely have had a completely different end result, but the fact is that it inevitably unfolded exactly as it was
Oral History and Oral Tradition was incredibly important for both tribes. They passed legends and historical stories on through speech, each story holding its own important moral or message. For example,
“Segu is a garden where cunning grows. Segu is built on treachery. Speak of Segu outside Segu, but do not speak of Segu in Segu” (Conde 3). These are the symbolic opening words to the novel Segu by Maryse Conde. The kingdom of Segu in the eighteenth and nineteenth century represents the rise and fall of many kingdoms in the pre-colonial Africa. Therefore, Segu indirectly represents the enduring struggles, triumphs, and defeats of people who are of African decent in numerous countries around the world. There are three major historical concepts that are the focus of this book. One is the spread of the Islamic religion. Another is the slave trade, and the last is the new trade in the nineteenth century and the coming of new ideas from Europe (legitimate commerce). However, Segu does not simply explain these circumstances externally, but rather with a re-enactment that tells a story of the state of affairs on a personal level, along with the political one. By doing this, the book actually unfolds many deceitful explanations for the decline of West African countries in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
The prophecy of soothsayers, or seers, was greatly respected and taken for truth by both the Muslims of Western Africa and followers of the indigenous beliefs. Sundiata himself consulted with them on important matters(QUOTE). Soothsaying is an important part of the West African belief system and the epic incorporates it into the version of Islam it puts forth, even though the Quran expressly forbids listening to soothsayers, (QUOTE FROM THE QURAN). In this way The Epic of Sundiata incorporated an indigenous belief with Islam which helped to create a more accessible
So many Americans today are in the dark about the true origin of the African descent. From my past experiences in history classes, the teacher of coarse job is to teach from the textbook. The problem with that is the whole truth does not lie between those pages of how African culture became about. I will discuss the first king of Egypt and how his story applies today.
In the novel Segu, Maryse Conde beautifully constructs personal and in depth images of African history through the use of four main characters that depict the struggles and importance of family in what is now present day Mali. These four characters and also brothers, by the names of Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali are faced with a world changing around their beloved city of Bambara with new customs of the Islamic religion and the developing ideas of European commerce and slave trade. These new expansions in Africa become stepping stones for the Troare brothers to face head on and they have brought both victory and heartache for them and their family. These four characters are centralized throughout this novel because they provide the reader with an inside account of what life is like during a time where traditional Africa begins to change due to the forceful injection of conquering settlers and religions. This creates a split between family members, a mixing of cultures, and the loss of one’s traditions in the Bambara society which is a reflection of the (WHAT ARE SOME CHANGES) changes that occur in societies across the world.
Sundiata is an epic of a powerful king who expanded the Mali empire to a great territorial area and he did so because he was destined. My mother read me a more simplified story of Sundiata as a child and through reading this book, I remembered so many lessons and African cultural traditions that I learned as a child. There were several interesting aspects of this epic that reflected some of the material we have learned thus far in class as well as other interesting themes that are repeated throughout it. Sundiata is an epic that recounts a historical event while teaching various African ideologies.
An interesting aspect of reading Sunjata is that it allows the reader to get a glimpse into the past. An unmissable trait that the story brings up is the power and control that women hold within their marriages and families overall. Part of this power comes from the West African people carrying on their family through a matrilineal system. Familial ties are a significant motif in Sunjata with even the storyteller tracing his ancestry back to the strong women told about in the oral tale. The matrilineal system means that instead of children taking the name of their father, as seen in many European societies, they would take the name of their mother and hold closer to the ties of her ancestors. This system allows for a sense of feminism to sprinkle all over the story of Sunjata and, ultimately, on the
Most of this documentary supports and clarifies my understanding of contemporary African culture. During the course I’ve learned that traditional African leadership structures undertook great changes under colonial rule and continue to progress today. Pre-colonial Africa had several different states characterized by different types of leadership; these involved small family groups of hunter and gatherers, bigger organized clan groups, and micro nations. Many African communities are still being governed by a council of elders, which is responsible for facilitating conflict and making almost all the important decisions within the public.
In the Epic of Mali there are many stories to be told. We see this oral of history through the eyes of Sundiata. A young king whom was cast out from his kingdom at a very early age because he was not believed to be the actual ruler since he came from such different circumstances. Sundiata was born through the word of a prophecy. His father (Fatta) one day welcomed a griot into his court. This specific hunter came bearing news of a prophecy. The prophecy being that the great ruler of Mali must marry and bear a child with an ugly hunchbacked woman. She would in turn give him the proper heir to the Mali kingdom. No one took very well to the news that the griot brought. Even though he was very smooth talking and thought to be sent from God himself. The king paid no mind to the word of the hunter until one day an ugly woman with a hunchback comes through the court. The king
The Kingdom of Mali was an African hub of wealth, trade and education for over 225 years. Mali is an Arab version of the Mandinka word that means, “Where the king dwells”, and was vitally important in spreading trade, education, religion and culture along the Niger River. The rise of Mali into an Empire occurred in the early 13th century, when Sundiata defeated his enemies and won control of the West African gold mines. In 1312 Mansa Musa became ruler of Mali. During his reign which was known as Mali’s, “Golden Age”, he introduced Islamic beliefs to many communities along the Niger and enhanced education after his historic pilgrimage to Mecca. Mali’s rise was attributed to the Trans-Saharan Trade routes leading to and from Western and Eastern Africa. These trade routes contributed to the rise and fall of powerful African Kingdoms for hundreds of years, but for 250 years, Mali was the crown jewel of Africa.
The small African village located on the bank of the river Niger has a story of its own, that only the old and wise are able to des...