The epic of Sundiata was an oral tradition that follows the life of the prince of the Mali Empire. It remained spoken only until scholars began publishing African oral tradition as stories in the mid-1900s. Crippled from birth, the “lion prince” (Bentley, 285) Sundiata must overcome his deformity while battling external forces that pose a threat to his kingdom. While overcoming his birth defect, Sundiata gains the admiration of the audience in an epic that reflects many of the worldwide developments learned in World History I. Throughout the epic, difficulties in the form of political and social challenges are presented before and during the development of the Kingdom of Mali.
The epic’s oral tradition kept many customs from Mali alive long enough to be written down my scholars. Sundiata’s father, the king, was a polygamist. Before he died, he conceived a child with a woman who was thought to have extraordinary powers. It was prophesized that King Maghan would marry a disfigured woman and have a child that would be king. This prophecy brought jealousy from the king’s other wife, who wanted her son to be king. Though the newborn was partially crippled, the king still granted Sundiata a griot, one who would learn Sundiata culturally so that he could one day be king. Sundiata’s life was in danger when, after the king died, invaders to the throne seized control. Sundiata’s life was spared because it was thought that, with his deformity, he would not pose a threat to the new king. After King Maghan’s first wife helped her son take hold of the throne, Sundiata went into exile and travelled throughout the different kingdoms of Africa.
Worldwide cultural aspects and developments are seen throughout the legend of Sundiata. Islam’s impact on the African society is seen after it began to spread worldwide. Islam began to spread from the Middle East outward as a result of merchants selling stock in Africa. The kings who ruled Ghana converted to Islam (Bentley 290), facilitating the trade between Muslims in North Africa and the Middle East. When Sundiata returned from his exile with an army to take back his throne, he forged the Mali Empire that encompassed the current Kingdom of Ghana (WorldNet Virginia). Sundiata embraced the Muslim religion, but did not impose it forcefully on his subjects. To the newly developing kingdom, the embrace of the religion was a smoother transition to the African kingdom than other aspects of the society.
Like most of the kingdoms of the world, the Kingdom of Mali faced political challenges in the form of outside invaders (Bentley 285). This trouble with foreign aggressors is reflected in Sundiata when he is in exile. After training himself and slowly overcoming his disability by becoming proficient at warfare, such as horseback riding and archery (Bentley 291), Sundiata comes across a merchant in Mema, reflecting the long trade routes established in Africa. The merchant is selling a certain leaf that Sundiata recognizes as being from Mali. The merchant informs Sundiata that the false king had been overthrown and the throne was taken over by another king (Bentley 285). This shows the political unrest that is not only in West African kingdoms but also worldwide during the millennia both before and after the Common Era. Conflicts between neighboring kingdoms and peoples brought many wars. Conquering was not uncommon at any point in World History I, from the rapidly expanding Roman Empire (Bentley 144) to wars between the Greeks and the neighboring Persian Empire (Bentley 136).
This theme of political unrest is not just apparent from outside sources, but is also reflective of internal struggles much like in Sundiata. It was internal struggles that caused the downfall of the throne at first. Competition between Sundiata and his father’s first wife weakened Mal internally, causing the initial problems that led to outside sources. This internal struggle is also seen throughout history. The ancient Chinese cultures went through entire dynasties that rose out of the downfall of others. Within the Chinese borders, the dynasties struggled and battled against one another, such as the Shang dynasty displacing the Xia dynasty (Bentley 52) and eventually the Zhou dynasty taking over until 256 BCE, during which the Mandate of Heaven was issued (Bentley, 53).
The early Aryan society saw much conflict both internally and externally (Bentley 47). While fighting with many of the neighboring peoples, such as the Dravidians, they also fought among themselves because of the lack of a central government and a competition for resources. This fighting is mirrored in the epic of Sundiata, because after the king died there was a lack of a central government. Each of the sons of King Maghan came into competition for power and the throne that rightfully belonged to Sundiata. This internal fighting led to external fighting, where competition for power and resources extended into other kingdoms that eventually came to take over Mali.
The Kingdom of Mali was formed in the years after Sundiata reconquered his father’s throne. After raising a powerful army and retaking the throne that was at first rightfully his, Sundiata spent the following years establishing his kingdom after fighting the little resistance that remained after he came to power. Because he overcame a crippling birth defect, Sundiata earns the respect of the audience of the epic. He rises to the highest ranking his society has to offer from being merely crippled in exile. Through being charismatic and possessing enormous prowess in battle, Sundiata is able to turn his deficiency into a strong point as he mastered horseback riding. Sung by his griot, the song “Hymn to the Bow” (Bentley, 291) captures Sundiata’s expertise in fighting through archery, avoiding the need to fight on foot where he is at his weakest point.
Throughout the epic that tells the tale of his journey and his rise to become the king of Mali, Sundiata gains the respect and approval of the audience to whom the epic is told. He overcomes a birth defect and is able to fight off an enemy army and retake his homeland after his mother helped him flee for fear of his own life. The epic itself reflects many of the worldwide developments throughout world history, such as the developments of trade routes and the spread of Islam (Bentley 288) from the Middle East and North Africa through the Sahara desert into the West African Kingdoms (Menchacha, 297). Throughout the heroic tale, Sundiata and the kingdom he develops after his father’s death faces many political and social challenges that are also apparent at countless times spanning all through the history of the world. Internal struggles, such as those seen through the history of ancient China, often led to the downfalls of many civilizations outside of Africa, including the Roman Empire and the Aryan society. These quarrels are echoed in Sundiata’s epic when disagreements arise over who will ascend to the throne after King Maghan’s death. External struggles ensue after Sundiata’s half-brother is exiled by a new king, which allows Sundiata to return with an army to acquire the throne he was deprived of because of his deficiency. This exterior conflict of conquering is a major theme throughout World History I, including the downfall of many empires and the rise of many others.
Works Cited
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Bentley, Jerry. Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History. New York: McGraw-Hill 2008.
“Mali – History” WorldNet History.Virginia Depertment of Education. 14 November
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