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The Mali Epic of Son-Jara

Author. --The text in the book is credited to Fa-Digi Sisoko. Sisoko was a griot, meaning he was a member of a hereditary caste in western Africa who kept an oral history of the village in order to entertain the people with stories, poems, songs, and dances. --Translated in our book by John William

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The Mali Epic of Son-Jara

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    1. The Mali Epic of Son-Jara By: Achieng Selestine, Crawford Rebekah & Powell Erickson

    2. Author --The text in the book is credited to Fa-Digi Sisoko. Sisoko was a griot, meaning he was a member of a hereditary caste in western Africa who kept an oral history of the village in order to entertain the people with stories, poems, songs, and dances. --Translated in our book by John William Johnson

    3. Genre: ---Epic poem ---Originally in oral form…is still performed orally all over Africa. ---One of the first epic poems of the time. Is compared to the Illiad from ancient Greece and the Ramayana from India. Was also influenced by Genesis. Mentions Adam in the beginning of the text and on the next page in the summary there is mention of a lengthy account of the Genesis story given. The conflict between the brothers is compared to other sibling conflicts within the Bible between Cain and Abel and Jacob and Esau. (pgs. 1547, 1552-1553, 1555)

    4. Mali Empire

    5. Mali Empire The Mali Empire rose in the thirteenth century as a result of increased spread of Islam in the region which had begun in the seventh century. Arabic as a common language amongst the Muslim strengthened the community. Thus promoting unification and formed one of the three major empires of Africa in medieval times.

    6. The Character of Son-Jara Not much is known about Son-Jara Keita historically, although he did exist. In the story, his father Fata Magan (the Handsome) descends from Bilal, a descendant of Mohammed. His mother Sugulun Konde (the Ugly) is a native African whose family is practices magic, thus giving him a sorcerer’s abilities and a native’s right to rule. He is portrayed as a powerful founder, like Adam of Genesis, and he is also called Sundiata and Mari Jata. In many ways, his exile and path to rule is a shadow of Mohammed’s.

    7. Cultural Context ---time period: late thirteenth-early fourteenth century ---map from page 1546 ---This epic continuously praises Son-Jara and celebrates his life. “A factual recollection of its auspicious beginnings…the epic functions for the Manding as a significant cultural reference“ (pg. 1547-highlighted section). ---Having two wives was normal for the time period the story was written in and the right of the first-born son being so important was very relevant for that day and time. ---Son-Jara overcomes his weakness and begins walking after never doing so before for over nine years, making him a hero to the reader and someone to look to to rule their lands. The poem is focused on the rivalry between two brothers as they fight over who gets to take over their fathers throne. The text is still popular today, mainly in Africa, because of the history it holds for the country and its cultural references.

    8. The Iliad and Son Jara Defers in that: 1. The Iliad tells the story of a group of nations who share the same culture, religion, and language come together but never actually become a single national entity. 2. The Epic of Son-Jara tells the story of how widely different linguistic, cultural, and religious groups come together and form a nation.

    9. The Oral Tradition There is a rich oral tradition in Africa. It merges from folklore, legend, myth, and poetry. The tales are transmitted by bards(professional poets), called dyeli or belein-tigui in Mandin and griot in French. These bards held a place of honor and traveled with the elite and royalty. Not only is a bard telling this tale, bards are characters in it. As time passed, more tales were added to Son-Jara, taking it from a series of praise poems to an epic of a national hero founding an empire.

    10. The role of the bard in Manding culture .The bard (jeli) was one of the protected castes of Manding society 1.The griot was charged with recounting the narratives of the culture. -Most bards were attached to wealthy patrons--and the bards often had to modify their stories to please their patrons. -Wealthy people wanted their ancestors to be part of the story. -Each time the story was told it became a bit different. 2. Traditionally, the power of a bard's words has been associated with magic powers--a bard actually invokes this power by singing the stories. The bards did more than just retell set narratives. -They were expected to reinterpret the text with each telling -Certain elements were always present, but each retelling added to the whole of the story. -In this way, the story is alive and dynamic--each generation, and each individual griot contributes a portion to the narrative. -There are, as a result, many different versions of the narrative--no one is more "authentic" than any other.

    11. African King

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