Lessons Learnt Thirteenth Century Mali (West African)

¶ … lessons learnt thirteenth century Mali (West African) life culture Sundiata? How epic read a manual rule,

The Virtues of Sundiata

D.T. Niane's Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali offers a significant amount of information about life in 13th century West Africa, particular that which pertains to the culture of the Mali people. Since this historical novel details the rise to power and the exploits of Sundiata, who is widely credited with engendering and bringing to prominence the Mali people, it gives readers a candid look at the daily life and customs of these people during the time directly preceding and including that of Sundiata's life. Sundiata himself was an exemplary ruler, and displays many characteristics that are worthy of emulation and demonstrative of an ideal way for rulers to govern.

The reader learns a number of salient aspects of the culture of the Mali people while perusing this novel. One of the most eminent of these is the role that organized religion (Islam) played in the daily life of this tribe. The author takes pains to note early on in the book that the Mali and Sundiata have descended from one of the prophet Muhammad's closest followers (Niane 2). Consequently, many of the feats and spectacular occurrences that take place in this book, such as when Sundiata wills his way to walk and displays prodigious strength while presenting his mother with a tree, are attributed to a divine favor from Allah (Niane 21).

It is also interesting to note the impact that sorcery and the supernatural have on the daily lives of the Mali. When Sundiata's parents conceive, their spectral wraiths prevent each other from doing so right away. After Sundiata's father dies, the mother of the new king employs the aid of witches and their sorcery to attempt to discredit Sundiata and eventually drive him away. Most significantly, Sundiata returns from exile to defeat a particularly potent sorcerer, Soumaoro Kante, to reclaim the land for his people. The dichotomy of the influence of Islam and that of the supernatural has a very real, palpable impact upon the lives of the Mali.

In many ways, Niane's book reads as an instruction manual for how best to rule, and provides a number of tangible qualities of leadership that are necessary to rule successfully. In this sense, the chronology of Sundiata's life is a virtual case study in the exemplary virtues that assist one in governing others. What is fairly notable about this interpretation of Niane's text is the fact that many of the characteristics that Sundiata displays that are worth emulation are manifest at a relatively early age -- and come to factor in heavily in his exploits as a ruler once he reached adulthood. For instance, Sundiata's extreme prowess on the battlefield and in martial endeavors is tempered by a magnanimity that evinces itself when he catches the nine witches stealing from a garden and rewards them by giving them more food (including meat) than they attempted to steal. He does this because he perceives that they were people in need -- and a ruler assists his people in need.