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Colonialism in african
Colonialism in african
Sundiata's contribution to the rise of Mali
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The epic Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane divulges the story of Sundiata Keita and the formation of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Through this classic the prominence of tradition, music, and spiritual ritual in Mandinka culture is revealed. This pre-colonial literature converted into a guide to those Africans confounded after the European Colonial rule. The impact of the literature enlightened Africans that were battling the internal conflict of accepting the new enforced idealism of Colonial living or reverting to back to African roots. A sense of pride can be collected from this epic through the transformation of Sundiata Keita and his destiny to become king against all odds. Culture is comprised of the unique beliefs, values, and behaviors of a civilization of people. Niane uncovers the Mandinka history through the shared oral traditions in the forms of stories, songs and proverbs by the griot, Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté (Niane, p. 1). The Mandinka culture is renowned for their griots. A griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. Their inherited tradition was passed down through many generations. The griots are “vessels of speech” and only divulge truthful information. In medieval Africa griots were principal figures. Griots were counselors to rulers, preservers of constitutions and laws, tutors to princes, and markers of tradition (Niane, p. xxiv). Most Mandinkas practiced a mix of Islam and traditional animist practices. The epic reveals the importance of religion to the people of the Keita Dynasty. Eluded throughout the epic are the religions of Islam and Traditional African Religion. A reference to the Islamic religion is seen... ... middle of paper ... ...all. This story gave hope and confidence to those who desired it after European Colonial rule. The significance of the oral epic is grand. It permits for the stories collected by the griots of history of the Mandinka people and their role in the Mali Empire to be shared. Sundiata Keita transformed a symbol, a symbol of hope. A boy destined for greatness even when he had to uncover that greatness in his own time by his own terms. This epic shows that Africans accomplished something great, that no external source was necessary. In addition that patience is a virtue. Many great accomplishments take time. Sundiata willingness to wait was a great attribution. It is seen in his patience in reclaiming Mali. He waits until it is ready instead of attacking at the wrong time. Sundiata was a man of his word. Overall, Sundiata was an astounding hero that Africans could model.
the Accuracy of the Chronicle of Al-Jabarti." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. No. 2 (1970): 283-294. http://www.jstor.org/stable/613005 (accessed November 30, 2013).
The epic of Sundiata begins by a griot storytelling the story of ancestors of Mali and the tale of a man whose victory will create the Mali Empire. The griot then explains that the king of the city of Niani will create a great ruler by marrying an ugly woman, who is claimed to have magical powers . The king of the city of Niani is Sundiata’s father, Maghan Kon Fatta. Two hunters went for the hunt of looking for this ugly woman and so they did. Her name was Sologan, who was also known as the buffalo woman because she roaming around ruining the land of Do. After they got married, they conceived Sundiata, Mali’s greatest king. Even though he could not walk in the beginning, later on he overcomes this tragedy and gains strength to rule Mali, like
The episode entitled “The Buffalo Woman” of Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali begins to delve into several ideas prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel, most notably the concept of destiny and an exploration of its influence on how the events of the story unfold. Other ideas present in this chapter that are of great significance include the supernatural and the virtue of generosity.
Conquests--- the art of obtaining power and authority through means of military forces--- have been adopted and practiced throughout the history of America for centuries. Similar to how two art paintings have resemblances and differences when replicated by different artists, the conquests of Sundiata and Cortés both share commonalities as well as a fair share of respective distinctions. In Djibril Tamsir Niane’s Sundiata: Epic of Old Mali and Bernal Díaz’s The Conquest of New Spain, the narrator’s arguments within each account display a ray of more similarities in regards to the conquests’ successes of Sundiata and Cortés compared to that of their differences.
Islam is presented in the Epic of Sundiata in a way that encourages listeners to embrace Islam over their indigenous belief systems. The epic accomplishes this by incorporating elements and practices of the indigenous beliefs into Islamic tradition; and by adapting certain Islamic mythology — such as the Jinn — to the existing West African culture. It also asserts the superior power and strength of those who derive their power from Allah and the Jinn, to those whose power is based in ancestral worship and fetishes. Through conflict, adaptation, and tolerance, the Epic of Sundiata presents an accessible version of Islam to the people of the Mali Empire; and promotes the acceptance of this new faith over the indigenous beliefs of the area.
Storytelling has a special importance in culture throughout the African continent; Anansi the spider in Ghana, is one great example of an African fable that teaches children important lessons including respect for elders, the importance of wisdom, and the importance of culture. These stories have been retained and perpetuated by oral tradition, despite the western emphasis on written records; African tribes have preserved history and culture well thorough oral historians. The translator, D.T. Niane, explains the validity of oral history well by stating that written text can contain inaccuracies as well (xv). The importance of the oral aspect of djelis method relays the information in a personal manner, as Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate states, “writing lacks the warmth of the human voice,” therefore by creating a written text of an oral story it “does violence” to it (xvi). I was raised in an African community, here in DC and was lucky enough to attend Djeli performances by family friend, Djimo Kouyate, and later his son Amadou. Although I do not speak Manding, Djeli Djimo Koyate, performed the music in such a way that I was able to relate and...
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
Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, is well-known for being one of the greatest travelers of his time. Battuta’s descriptive account of his travels to East and West Africa in the fourteenth century provides important insight into African Islamic life at that point in time. Although Battuta and the peoples in black Africa shared the same religion, he comes to realize that sharing a religion is not enough to completely relate to a different group of people. The story of Ibn Battuta in Black Africa illustrates the difficulties he faced in relating to these peoples due to the non-traditional role of women, different religious customs, and frequent misinterpretation of situations.
Sundiata’s mother was the second wife to the king of the Mali empire, King Maghan, and his previous wife was jealous because she wanted her son to become king one day. Then, when the king tragically died his previous wife’s son, Touman, took the thrown. Touman ridiculed Sundiata all the time and kicked him and his mother out. But, he wasn’t king for long because the Soso people captured and took over Mali. But, this benefitted Sundiata because he became a captive to the Soso leader. While he was working for
Niane, Djibril Tamsir., David W. Chappell, and Jim Jones. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali.
The griot, Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté briefly introduces his ancestors and tells that the Kouyatés have always served the Keita princes of Mali. He describes their duties as harboring old secrets, memorializing the names and deeds of great kings, and preserving "the memory of mankind."(pg xxiv The words of the Griot Mamadou Kouyate) The griot’s role in this book is to serve the king. Griots are very important to African culture; they are the keepers of tradition and are responsible for making sure things are done according to the customs of their ancestors. This is a very painstaking task because these customs are not written down; they are passed down by word of mouth. Their father teaches each griot, the knowledge griots possess is remembered through song and story, and is passed on with amazing accuracy. (pg xxiv)This system would not work well if it were...
...ed in such and such a land, men can do nothing against it. . . Neither the jealousy of a cruel stepmother, nor her wickedness, could alter for a moment the course of great destiny” (47). Destiny in the epic is clearly pronounced and carried throughout the epic. Destiny is seen predicted before the life of Sundiata, when the hunter foretold the destined path for the king to chose the “ugliest woman” in the hand of marriage, during his trouble childhood, and during the exile. Destiny is also seen in the battle of Sundiata and Sourmaoro, when Sundiata prevails as the seventh star and savior of Mali.
Chinua Achebe was an influential Nigerian author during the 1900’s who was credited with his three essays which have been fused together into the book “Home and Exile”. In his stories he discusses things such as his own Igbo people, the problems with colonialization, the strength that stories can have and many more topics. A big part of his essays are on his thoughts of colonialism, the impact it has had on his home of Nigeria, and how stories written by others either helped justify colonialism or rejected it. Chinua argues that stories have their own power to fight, and while stories themselves do not have the ability to directly fight colonialism; they do, however with their power of words, stories can motivate and encourage people to stand up against colonialism. In proving this thesis to be a true statement, I will be providing evidence of the how, why and the extent to which stories can fight colonialism.
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...