Sundiata: an epic of old Mali

¶ … society was a reflection for our American society, which provides the idea that the roles of men and women were defined and slavery was seen as a part of the normal culture as it was here at one point. "At the time of Sundiata, slaves were present in Malinke society. Most often, they were war captives who could not be ransomed back to their own people, but people could also be enslaved by someone to whom they owed wealth or service, or because they lost all of the rest of their family through some kind of tragedy. The conditions of slavery varied, but they had little in common with plantation slavery of American history, which treated individuals as economic units of production. Slavery in Malinke society was most often a means to connect individuals to a family where no biological or marriage connection existed. The conditions could still be harsh, but as a "member" of a family, the slave had some rights"

D.T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali"). Therefore, it is very important to examine that some of the themes in this story is a reflection of American society.

Discussion

During this story, women are seen as weak in this society as they are viewed in America. As history has revealed in both society, women have been required to submit to men because they are the providers. From there, women in the Mandingo culture are to submit to men around them. "This changed Sundiata in everyone's eyes as they began to realize that the prophecy was true and Sundiata was destined to become a powerful and important man. This incident would lead to Maghan's actions, who would consult with nine witches on how to handle the situation. Another incident during Sundiata's youth was when his griot, Balla Fasseke was taken away from him. Griots are extremely important to kings for they are the public records of the noble families lineages as well the great deeds committed by members within those families. Sundiata losing his own griot was the equivalent of emasculation. Society is polygamous, so children are identified by their mother, since many children can have the same father, but only immediate siblings have the same mother ("Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali").

In the story, a woman is always being given to a king in order to pay respect or to help one gain favor in the eyes of the king. Along with that, men see women as weak. From there, Sundiata says "a woman trembles before a man'" (Niane 32). This is due to the fact in this society, hunting and physical strength are viewed as dominant features of men, therefore, women are looked down upon because they are somewhat physically impaired.

Within Malinke society, men and women have very precisely defined roles. For instance, women are responsible for raising the children, providing the sauce for the standard meal, and in a farming family, tending to the livestock. Men are responsible for providing the millet used in the meal, maintaining the structure of the house, and handling relations with other families. In addition to their family responsibilities, women in royal families had a diplomatic role to play by marrying into the families of other leaders. The Role of the Family: The family is the essential element of Malinke society. It produces new humans, it is led by elders, and it provides a mans to connect every individual to the group as a whole. Individuals are identified by the names of their family (not by their profession or place of birth) ("D. T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali").

Furthermore, as in today's American society, even though women are viewed as physical weak, they have mental strength. The strength of Sogolon and Nana Triban are extremely important to the success of Sundiata because she continued to be the center of strength for the Keita family. She also uses her mental strength to forward Sundiata's cause. From there, when her brother, Dankaran Touman gave her to Soumaoro she out smarted him by gaining his confidence and exploiting it.

When Sogolon is brought to the king by two hunters, he marries her despite her ugliness. When Sogolon becomes pregnant, she is treated with a great deal of favorability because of the prophecy. Maghan's first wife, Sassouma Berete, became jealous of Sogolon's and fears that her child will displace her own eight-year-old son. Sassouma later affects Sogolon's and Sundiata's lives when, following the king's death, she maneuvers to have her son placed on the throne, forcing Sogolon and Sundiata to flee in exile ("Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali").

From reading this document, it is very clear that the society had similarities to today's culture as far as the roles of men and women are concerned. It is believable that in American culture, women appeared to be weaker while maintaining a mental strength, which is the strongest of strengths.

With that, slavery was another issue that American culture had very similar to the culture in the story.

During slavery times, there were many discussions about expanding slavery, which many mixed feelings. For most slave owners, it would have been beneficial to keep slavery in tact. For example, slave owners had incentives to preserve, extend, and safeguard the legal existence of slavery. This was due to the fact that they thought that slavery could be a viable form of economic organization in other sectors. Both societies treated slavery within the manner, which indicates that story was a reflection of American society. Furthermore, slavery ended in both society because they realize power can be found somewhere else within another area such as gaining family strength, which has become a reflection of American society.

Slavery ended for both culture due to the changing cultures and civil rights as it can be examined from the following evidence.

The proviso passed the House of Representatives because a majority of the representatives came from the North. Under the United States Constitution, each state received a number of representatives based on a state's population. The North had more people residing in it than the South did. In the Senate, there were the same number of slave and free states. Each state was entitled to two senators. As a result, when the Northern and Southern senators voted along regional lines, a bill could not be approved. During this time period, Northern and Southern states intentionally tried to maintain the balance between slave and free states. As long as neither side had an advantage in the Senate, a bill could not be sent to the president to sign into law that could either end slavery or make it legal everywhere" ("James Polk").