THE LEGEND OF SUNDIATA.

Sundiata Keita was the legendary leader who built the great empire of Mali in the thirteenth century. The traditional musicians and story-teller of the region, called griots, tell many stories about the life and achievement of Sundiata.

Sundiata was the son of Maghan, King of the Mandingo, and Sogolon. A prophecy foretold that they would have a son who would be a great king. However, Sundiata was an ugly, unhealthy child who rarely spoke and crawled around on all four because his legs were so weak. Nobody believed he could become King.

Sassouma, Maghan's first wife, was jealous because of the Prophecy and plotted against Sogolon. When Maghan died she made sure that her son, Dankaran Touman, become the next king.
Dankaran treated Sogolon badly but one day when she was crying Sundiata said, "Mother, I am going to walk today." He took an iron rod which he used to push himself to his feet, bending the rod into a bow in the process. A griot immediately wrote a song called 'The hymn to the bow' which griots eight hundred years later still sing.

Now that Sundiata was stronger, Sogolon took him into exile to escape from Sassouma. Sundiata grew up and came into manhood travelling through kingdoms hundreds of miles away.
He learnt to ride, hunt and fight and made many friends. One day he met a Mandingo trader who told him that the evil Sasso King, Sumanguru, had conquered the Mandingo and sent Dankaran into exile. He was treating the Mandingo people cruelly.

Sundiata decided to return home to free his people.

On the way he gathered fighters, archers 🎯 and horsemen from the twelve Kingdom of the savannah. Finally, he defeated Sumanguru at the battle of Kirina in 1235.

He then invited all his allies from the kingdom to an assembly, there he told them they could keep their kingdom but they would join him in a great empire. He become Mansa or king, of the new empire of Mali, which means 'where the king reside'.