Analysis and Commentary on The Epic of Sundiata

Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali Vs. The Odyssey The definition of an epic hero can be defined as one who is triumphant in some manner that reflects the idea of his/her culture. “Heroes have always dominated mythology, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, history, and literature. No culture seems to lack tales of human, superhuman, or god-like heroes who save the innocent from the wicked, conquer evil, and deliver the threatened and oppressed” (Shunnaq). Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali and The Odyssey can be…

African history, Sundiata, in D.T. Niane's book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. This book has become an entertaining, yet scrutinized, source about the history of Mali and it's surrounding areas. Much scrutiny of this tale comes from those who question the validity of the griots, though Mamadou Kouyate is quick to point out that "[His] word is pure and free of all untruth; it is the word of [his] father...griots do not know what lying is" (Niane 1). If the context of the epic is true, then there…

Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh The epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest primary document discovered in human history dating back to approximately 2,000 B.C.E. This document tells a story of an ancient King Gilgamesh, ruler of Sumer in 2,700 B.C.E. who is created gloriously by gods as one third man and two third god. In this epic, Gilgamesh begins his kingship as an audacious and immature ruler. Exhausted from complaints, the gods send a wild man named Enkidu to become civilized and assist Gilgamesh…

Source Analysis An Epic of Old Mali Sundiata: an Epic of Old Mali was written by D.T. Niane and translated by G.C. Pickett. D.T. Niane was a historian who received this version of Sundiata’s epic from Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté, a griot. In fact, there is not a true author for this epic due to the fact that it has been transmitted orally for many years. This epic justly showed the type of culture Africa had at the time taken place and has defined the type of people who use to reside there. Sundiata: an…

“Sundiata: an Epic of Old Mali”: A Character Analysis of Sundiata. Sundiata is an oral epic passed from griot to griot. D.T. Niane’s Sundiata contains many powerful characters. Throughout the story Niane uses the strength and weaknesses of his characters to show the importance of destiny and fate. The character that holds his name to the story, Sundiata, is the son of King Maghan Kon Katta and the “buffalo” woman. Sundiata was prophesized to be a great leader and to save the people of Mali. Sundiata…

Comparison Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh has been read and reviewed/ critiqued by numerous authors. I took the articles’ ‘Angiology in the Epic of Gilgamesh’ by Th. Jacobson, and compared it to Benjamin Fosters ‘A New edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh’ These two articles both critique the writings of The Epic of Gilgamesh but in different ways. Foster’s article is a critique on a critique that has been written about The Epic of Gilgamesh, where as Jacobson critiques the epic itself, so we are shown…

So in this book we are presented with an epic about a great King named Sundiata. We see that in those times griots were for the kings and for them to now were their ancestors came form so they know what it means to continue being a king. This book was brought from the words of a griot, so even in today’s society in Africa there are still griots around telling us stories and the epic such as the one we read in class this past week. Almost right into the book we see that a griot helps a king make discussions…

The Epic of Gilgamesh –Summary and analysis Introduction The Epic of Gilgamesh is an excerpt of the original text of the Epic listed in the "Sources of the Western Tradition", 5th edition, by Perry, Peden and Von Laue (2003). The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of King Gilgamesh who is the powerful king of Uruk, the incidents in his life, the associations he makes, the encounters he has, and the transition that occurs in his life in relation to his gaining…

The epic of Sundiata pertains to the ancient kingdom of Mali in Africa. The king there has two sons and multiple wives. Sundiata was set to have taken the throne being the first born son but suffered from an severely impairing illness that would prevent him to walk yet rule a kingdom. When their father, the king, died his second son took over the kingdom as king. He turned out to be an awful leader and treated his people and Sundiata terribly. Sundiata struggled immensely but was able to eventually…

Kedjou and Sassouma Bérété both had an impact on there son's life, their character traits were at different ends of the maternal spectrum. Despite minuscule similarities Sogolon Kedjou and Sassouma Bérété were depicted in direct contrast in the epic Sundiata. When comparing the two Sogolon Kedjou and Sassouma Berete both did what they thought would help to get their son's to become king. Sogolon knew everything that Sassouma was capable of doing to hurt her family, so she came up with the idea…