Sundiata | Themes

Sundiata tells the story of the childhood and coming-of-age of one of Mali's greatest rulers, culminating with his defeat of the evil tyrant Soumaoro at the battle of Krina.

Artists and Society
In the version of Sundiata collected by D. T. Niane, the narrating griot, Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate, makes the role of the oral historian a primary theme of the work. One of the major characters in the story is Sundiata's griot, Balla Fasseke. Sundiata opens with the griot Kouyate himself explaining his right to tell this epic story. At the point when the main...

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