lecture 8

African Literature

Midterm Review

The Epic of Sundiata

http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/images/tours/mali/maliwoman.jpg

 

In an earlier lecture, I mentioned the privelege given to the written word. I believe that Sundiata is a conglomerate of stories that range over thousands of years. What makes Sundiata of note to western scholars is what was written in Arabic about this ruler and the empire. The tales of sorcery and shapeshifting are often attributed to women’s songs song while they work. Mhudi is part of an epic poem that women sing about. Of course the only people interested in women’s tales of djinn and magic are children or in the case of Sundiata men and the history of war. The region where Sundiata was born is large and there were advanced civilizations, like the Nok culture that precede the arrival of the Almoravids in Ghana. People were in the move.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nok_culture

 

NUBIA A-GROUP 3100-2800 B.C. Painted Ceramic Bowl, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Johnson Photo

Members of the Akan people of Ghana in ceremonial clothing and linguist staffs. 
They are preparing to dance in a funeral ritual; red is a color of mourning in Ghana.

1. Study Skills

Griots

·         What are the current occupations of griots?

·         What were the former responsibilities of griots?

·         How does a griot acquire the title Belem? Tigui?

·         Who is Djeli Mamoudou?

·         Who is his family?

·         Where does he get his knowledge?

·         How does he praise himself?

·         Why should we listen to him?

THE FIRST KINGS OF MALI

·         How was Sundiata described?

·         Originally, Mali was a province of what?

·         Where was the homeland of the Mandingo?

·         Why would the griot list the lineage of Sundiata's family?