Sundiata An Epic Of Old Mali Analysis

In this essay, I will be sharing what I have learned about the history of Medieval West Africa from the book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. This book may not be one hundred percent true, but some of its history is still worth looking into. Diving deeper into the story shows what Medieval Malian culture was like. Of course, this book is just story telling from one griot (story teller) to the next it still has a lot more to offer because of its historical significance. Malian religion, moral values, their beliefs on destiny are revealed in the book.
By following Sundiata’s entire life and his ascent to power, shows or a better term reveals some of the various religious beliefs such as paganism and Islam existing together. There was even a reference
Presenting a contrast to An Epic of Old Mali, Ibn Khaldun, a celebrated Arab scholar during the 1400’s, gives a much more basic and straightforward account of medieval Mali and the genealogy of the Malian kings.
The book also shows evidence of a belief in super powers that are not related to Islam during the rise of the Mali Empire. Many of the elements of Sundiata’s ascent to power had contained magical elements. A prime example of this is the book’s use of “soothsayers”, or people who have the ability to see into the future. The book explains the importance of the soothsayer,
“The hunter disappeared but neither the king, Nare Maghan, nor his griot, Gnankouman Doua, forgot his prophetic words; soothsayers see far ahead, their words are not always for the immediate present man is in a hurry but time is tardy and everything has it season”
To the Western eye the presence of super natural components within the book may discredit the story as whole. However, it is crucial to note that these elements reveal important information about the belief, and possible reliance on, such people as soothsayers in medieval
From the prophecy of the soothsayer through the end of the book, destiny and Sundiata are unmistakably linked. From the moment that Sundiata was born he was destined to become a great leader and king, and his father, King Nare Maghan, does not question this truth even when his son seems incapable of walking. Griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté explains this phenomenon simply,
"God has his mysteries which none can fathom. You, perhaps, will be a king. You can do nothing about it. You, on the other hand, will be unlucky, but you can do nothing about that either. Each man finds his way already marked out or him and he can change nothing of it."
Sundiata’s destiny proves so unstoppable that even his step-mother, Soumosso, who wished to kill him because “his destiny ran counter to that of [her] son”, could not. It is even mentioned that at age 10 Sundiata, “already had that authoritative way of speaking which belongs to those who are destined to command.” As indicated repeatedly, An Epic of Old Mali provides a considerable evidence that destiny was a main belief of the culture in medieval