Epic Sundiata

Sundiata, an Epic of Old Mali relates the story of Sundiata (also called Son-Jara), the 13th-century hero-king of Mali, a kingdom in West Africa. The Sundiata is a conceptual prose rendition of the original epic poem, written in the Mande language. D. T. Niane, the compiler, adopted this approach to make the story of Sundiata more accessible to non-Mande speakers. Niane's translation retains the general chronology of events as well as the main themes and ideas contained in the original.

In this book The poet begins with the prophecy of the future king's birth and the meeting and marriage between Sogolon ...