"Sundiata Keita".
Sundiata Keita or Sunjata Keyita (c. 1190 - c. 1255) was the founder of the Mali Empire and celebrated as a hero of the Mandinka people of West Africa the in the semi-historical Epic of Sundiata.
Sunjata is also known by the name Sogolon Djata. The name Sogolon is taken from his mother, the buffalo woman (so called because of her ugliness), and Djata. In the rapidly spoken language of the Mandinka, the two names were merged to become Sondjata of Sundjata or Sundiata. The last name Keita is a clan name more than a surname.
The story of Sundiata is primarily known through oral tradition, transmitted by generations of traditional Mandinka griots.
With the death of Naré Maghann Konaté (c. 1218), his first son, Dankaran Tuman, assumed the throne despite Konaté's wishes that the prophecy be respected. Sunjata and his mother, who now had given birth to two daughters and adopted a second son from Konaté's third wife Namandjé, suffered the scorn of the new king and his mother. After an insult against Sogolon, Sundiata requested an iron rod from the blacksmith Nounfari, which he used to pull himself upright and walk for the first time. Nonetheless, the hatred of Sassouma Berté and Dankaran Toumani Keita soon drove Sundiata, his mother, and his two sisters into exile in the Mena kingdom.
Meanwhile, Soumaoro Kanté, cruel sorceror king of Sosso, attacks the Mandinka kingdom, causing Dankaran Toumani Keita to take flight in fear. The oppressed Mandinka people now send for the exiled Sundiata. Forging a coalition of neighboring small kingdoms, Sundiata wages war against the Sosso, finally defeating Soumaoro Kanté at the Battle of Kirina (c. 1240). Soumaoro Kanté disappears in the Koulikoro mountains, and Sundiata assumes the title "Mansa," "king of kings," as the first ruler of the Mali Empire.
Sundiata was not an absolute monarch, despite what the title implies. Though he probably wielded popular authority, the Mali Empire was reportedly run like a federation, with each tribe having a chief representative at the court. The first tribes were Mandinka clans of Traore, Kamara, Koroma, Konde, and of course Keita. The tribal council was in charge of checking the Mansa's power, enforcing his edicts among their people, and selecting the successor (usually the Mansa's brother or sister's son).
Sundiata Keita died in 1255, probably of drowning. Tradition holds that he died while crossing the Sankarini river, where a shrine remains today. He had three sons who succeeded him to the throne of the Mali Empire: Mansa Wali Keita, Ouati Keita and Khalifa Keita. The famous West African ruler Mansa Musa is his grandnephew.
Sundiata is possibly identical with Marijata, also celebrated as founder of Mali empire in one or more pieces of oral history recorded by the Arab historian Ibn Khaldun in the late 14th century.
1190 births | 1255 deaths | History of Mali | Mansas of Mali | Mali Empire
Soundiata Keïta | Sundiata Keita
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the "Sundiata Keita".
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