ipl-logo

Sundiat An Epic Of Old Mali By Djibril Tamsir Niane

1346 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Setting in Sundiata the epic of the old Mali

Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, written by Djibril Tamsir Niane is a primary source retold by generations of African storytellers (griots). Sundiata was born a weak, looked down upon prince but as time progressed he became the most powerful warrior and king that Mali had seen. He surpassed the thoughts of his mother and father The role of African Traditional Religion (ATR) and Islam, highlighted by D.T Niane, portrays the rise and spread of power of the medieval West African Empire of Mali. As Sundiata matures, he is able to balance and blend the belief systems of ATR and Islam in order to advance trade in the Kingdom of Mali and enforce military domination on the surrounding areas. Within the Epic, religion plays a subtle but key role. It is glossed over quickly but when analyzed it adds a much more …show more content…

Sundiata placed his faith in ATR when the battle ensued. He then used the tool of his knowledge and respect of Islam to command troops from neighboring Islamic kingdoms. He used the tool of ATR to defeat Soumaoro. As Sundiata and his army marched on Diaghan he trusted the soothsayers (those who can foresee the future). He sacrificed the chickens, oxen, and rams and the Jinn accepted his sacrifice. In response to the acceptance he gained even more power and took this as a sign in order to begin his assault the next morning. After another successful assault, Sundiata humbled himself to the Jinn of water in order to gain power and vibrance to finish the succeeding attacks. Sundiata’s recognition of humbling himself to ATR spirits allowed him to gain the necessary power he needed to conquer surrounding areas. As Sundiata needed troops, his understanding of Islam allowed him to command troops from Mema (an Islamic area). The king admired him. Just as he pleased the Muslim merchants to bolster trade, and the King of Mema to command troops, he pleased the spirits of ATR to strengthen his own

Show More
Related
570 Words | 3 Pages

The Empire of Mali was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious empire. The Empire of Mali started in the 1200’s the first ruler was Sundiata, he led his people to defeat the Soso. He then united the small chiefdoms and turned them into a strong and mighty empire. Mali became a site of cultural exchange because of their wealth, this led to the development of highly respected schools where all sorts of different ideas were exchanged.

Read More
819 Words | 4 Pages

This paper is about the usefulness of Sundiata as a primary source document for studying trade and commerce in ancient Mali, by comparing and contrasting secondary sources accounts of trade and commerce, and the account given in the Epic of Sundiata, to prove that the book the epic of Sundiata is a useful primary source document for studying trade and commerce in Ancient Mali. When talking about trade in Ancient Mali, knowing about the Dyulas is paramount. A large amount of trade in ancient Mali was done by the trader caste of the Dyulas, who are tangentially mentioned in the Epic of Sundiata, on Page 82 " Dyulas became numerous. "

Read More
669 Words | 3 Pages

Geoff and Janet Benge wrote Rowland Bingham: Into Africa’s interior. It tells the true story of the missionary Rowland Bingham, and how he spread the gospel through Africa, and ultimately the world. In fact, by the time of his death in 1942, there was not a single region on earth that his faith had not touched. Through Rowland’s life, the readers can learn that God always provides and that it is important to persevere through hard times.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

The test of knighthood Each day something new is learned, whether it be school work or life lessons. For example a dog learning to fetch or a student getting penalized because of plagiarism. Epics give us an understanding of what the people of that time could think of. Throughout history stories have been told to show people life lessons and morals. That was all they had back then. A perfect example is the epic Sir Gawain and the Green knight.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

His goal was to gather his people in order to create a feared and formidable Asian army to take down the Roman Empire, who referred to him as the Scourge of God. Under his leadership, his barbaric army upset the Roman Empire and crushed Europe. Atilla the Hun and his tribe were ultimately defeated by the Romans and Visigoths after which, without a leader, his empire fell apart.

Read More
727 Words | 3 Pages

In other words religion dominated the politics which mean sacrificed the humans to please the god and in turn dominated the economy which means by sacrificing humans to god, the god will be happy and provides a plentiful harvest. These rituals also helped the Aztecs to search for a meaning of their lives. It helped them to understand that they need in their life to satisfy their gods and make them happy or order the gods will keep them alive by providing rain and a good harvest. Also, through the temple school it helped the children to understand the importance of their rituals and beliefs. Overall, the principal beliefs and practises of religions influence the society in which they exist and provide answers to a search for a

Read More
631 Words | 3 Pages

When reading The Epic of Gilgamesh we can find different examples of the six criteria for evaluating works of art. Therefore we are able to hone in on a few that really prevail throughout the story that persuades the reader to think critically about what exactly the author wants the reader to understand. Three main themes of the Christian critical tradition in The Epic of Gilgamesh are truth, righteousness, and beauty. When looking at the epic of Gilgamesh and accessing the literature for truth we see that an ultimate truth is death.

Read More
1297 Words | 6 Pages

Sogolon Kedjou is a powerful character in the epic first and foremost because she conceives and births Sundiata, the founder of the Mali Empire. Her most important role is that of a mother, which can be problematic when discussing the importance and influence of women in the epic because it emphasizes fertility and the female body over the female mind and internal powers beyond conception. With regards to the importance of conception and fertility in women, there is a consistent theme of male ownership over females throughout the epic. It should be noted however that Sogolon represents a strong female character that is arguably responsible for the creation of a great empire. For without Sogolon and her great powers, Sundiata would not exist

Read More
882 Words | 4 Pages

Religion often times is depicted as a specific institution that follows the teaching of the Bible, Torah, or the Quran. People fail to realize that religion can stand as anything for any particular person depending on their values. These values bring about sacred symbols, object, or systems to

Read More
1102 Words | 5 Pages

If you could, would you want to be the richest person in the world, I bet you answered yes, but do you really know one of the most famous richest person in history was? Well, if you answered Mansa Musa you are correct! It is told that he was the richest person ever in history. Mansa Musa was the tenth emperor of the Mali dynasty. While Mansa Musa ruled from 1280 to 1337, Mali was an empire from 1235 to 1600 and many things happened during this time.

Read More
959 Words | 4 Pages

He made the decision to fight the dragon, even though he was very old and knew he had little chance of winning. He frees his people and is able to return the treasure to the kingdom. The warrior mindset he has makes him brave, and reliable for his people. He is able to keep them from danger, and to protect them. Having a warrior mindset affected the way he ruled, but for the better, he never second guessed going into battle to save his people, and he died a

Read More
311 Words | 2 Pages

In this past week, we studied three differently unique kingdoms of Africa, consisting of new innovations, intense strategy, and well light rules of civilization. These three kingdoms were named Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, all being intriguingly fascinating. The African kingdom I choose to live in is Songhai because women are given the privilege to mingle with men freely, Muslims had spoken many common languages, and they set up and efficient tax system. To begin with, most countries have limits on how a woman should be with a man, by only being chose to be married, rather than choice. However in Songhai, women weren’t held down to one man, but rather choose who she feels happy with in her life, which is sort of like today's society.

Read More
1601 Words | 7 Pages

Both religion and Jesus have a key role and influence

Read More
1476 Words | 6 Pages

Askia the Great, also known as Muhammad Ture, increased the importance of trading, religious, and educational centers. Muslim chroniclers remembered Askia the Great as the famous king of Songhai. He used the message of Islam to rally his followers and expanded the border of Songhai into the east of africa. He connected his empire with the Indian ocean trade

Read More
1131 Words | 5 Pages

The African kingdoms Ghana, Mali, Songhai The African nations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, shared so many characteristics between each other. For one primary comparison is, all three ancient empires relied on the trans-Saharan trading routes and their lush amount of gold, copper and other natural resources. They established many political ties with many Arab countries and nearby African societies. These three nations shared abundantly cultural similarities from just the rise of Islam.

Read More

More about Sundiat An Epic Of Old Mali By Djibril Tamsir Niane

Related Topics

Open Document