Cortes And Sundiata Comparison Essay

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Most leaders conquer through triumphs to become successful in battling against their enemies. With the qualities they developed, they are being admired by where they came from and calling themselves “heroes.” The success of the two defeaters, Sundiata and Cortes, are both demonstrated by different perspectives of someone one else that is telling their stories. In the epic Sundiata, a griot, Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté, carries on stories by learning tradition and passing them on for other generations to acknowledge. Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté signifies Sundiata’s success from when he started out as a crippled boy and not being able to walk until the age of seven to develop into a distinguished warrior defeating his enemy, Soumaoro Kanté. As a result, he is …show more content…

Sundiata have more respect to the religion of Islam. However, Islam was not the only religion shown in Sundiata. One of the “two spiritual principles” that is mostly shown in the epic are the Jinns, which is one of the African tradition religion that deals with magic and witchcraft. (Niane, 88) In the end of the epic, Sundiata defeated his enemy, who is a “a great sorcerer,” by using his bow and arrow to take away his enemy’s magic. As a result, this shows that Sundiata appears to accept and feel comfortable about the two religions not belonging together, but they somehow fit the moment at hand. On the other hand, Bernel Diaz gives an impression of not showing any respect towards any other religions except their own. They felt that they were superior enough to spread Christianity and forcefully convert Indians. Diaz also shows the signs of over exaggerating when he said, “Our Lord has been pleased to help us in the past we have hope that He may do so in the future.” This shows that they are putting so much trust in God and believing that He is the reason why they are winning

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