Sundiat An Epic Of Old Mali

The part of women in colonization and culture is often seen as insignificant, but they have always worked alongside the men with equal duty or more, even though the recognition was not equal. The role of women during western expansion was not purely domestic however as the women would often take over the roles typically performed by men. The life of Mary Bommeli

Our world has been a male dominated society from the beginning of time. In most cultures, especially in ancient times, women were thought of as secondary to their male counterparts. Women were considered a possession just as a house or piece of property is considered a possession. The role of women in these early societies did not receive an education but was to take care of the household and have children. The women of the Minoan and Mycenaean ancient Greece cultures held much more roles than homemakers and mothers; they were allowed more freedoms and rights also oracles, priestesses, and political advisors yet they are also seen by men as nothing more than a mere possession.

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

With Mali’s economics very different from ours in America, family size and gender ideas also are very different than ours. Family size in Mali is very important; it is not considered a burden like in the United States where a couple of children is common. In Mali, it is common for women to have six to eight children by the time they are considered “old”. In the United States, the more children you have, the more you have to provide for, but in Mali, the more children you have measures a man’s status and success, and that’s for each of his wives. The more children you have not only provide those two things, but increases the income of a family because children in Mali, at a young age, may start to work to provide for their mothers and younger siblings. Unlike in a western society, the wealth flows up in a third world country. In Mali, a man is prosperous when he has a house full of children, and grandchildren who honor him, work for him and support him in his old

As the Ghana kingdoms fell, their successor the Mali Empire, was built on the success of the dynasty’s founder, Sundiata, who is commonly referred to as Mali’s greatest king. Sundiata’s story can be read in “Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali”. Mali’s greatest king was born as the subject of a prophesy, to the king of Mali, Maghan Kon Fatta, and Sogolon Kedju, a very ugly woman who was the spirit of a buffalo. King Maghan's first wife, Sassouma, was jealous. She has always assumed that her son, Dankaran Touman, would claim the crown of Mali and now this child stood to threaten what she felt was her son's destiny. Sassouma plotted to kill Sogolon, but the buffalo woman's powers were too great, and the boy was born. He was named Mari Diata, but as the son of Sogolon, he was called Sogolon Diata, which led to Sundiata. Sassouma was relieved when the new child turned out to be lazy, gluttonous and ugly. At three years old, Sundiata could not walk and rarely spoke. Even at seven, the boy still crawled, spent all his time eating, and had no friends. The king was deeply disturbed, he wondered how this pathetic child become a great king. Honoring the hunter's prophecy, the dying king gave his seemingly crippled son a gift that signified his desire that the boy should become king after all. That gift was a griot named Balla Fasséké, the son of the king's own griot. After a spat with Sassouma, Sogolon’s grief made Sundiata walk. Sundiata was fit to claim the throne as his

Heroes are the people who demonstrate qualities of courage or outstanding achievements and are recognized for their influence in the society. Heroic characters are defined similarly in literatures as well. In the two literatures, Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali and The Odyssey, the main characters shape the plot the stories by their heroic abilities. The literatures also tend to illustrate how heroic qualities were perceived and portrayed in societies. Both characters come from different part of the world yet their plots are similar to each other. The protagonist from two literatures is on a quest to go home and to claim their ancestors’ throne, which is righteously theirs.

The great Machiavelli once said, "Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times." Indeed, the study of history is important as history does seem to repeat itself. Many people in today's society learn about the past from textbooks and other books, as these are of easy access. Is this really the best way to learn about the past? The people of ancient Africa did not think so, as they had special people called "griots"who passed the people's traditions and history down orally from generation to generation. One such griot, Mamadou Kouyate, recalls the story of the most famous ruler in African history, Sundiata, in D.T. Niane's book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. This

Sundiata himself is the most significant contributor to the formation of the Mali empire, however, various women hold a background role that is vital to the series of occurring events that allow Sundiata to become the king of Mali and form the Mali empire. The buffalo woman, Sogolon, and Nana Triban are all female characters who allow Sundiata the ability to fulfill his prophecy and become the king of Mali. Besides Sundiata himself, these women have some of the most important roles as compared to other secondary characters in their influence in the success of Sundiata in defeating his rival Soumaro. The buffalo woman was the catalyst for all events in the epic. If she hadn’t prophesied that Maghan Fatta would need to choose Sogolon to

Amongst many other things, the epic is implicitly an exploration of what qualities define Sundiata as a hero, and by extension, what virtues are heroic. The most glaring is his strength. Even when he is crippled as a child and cannot walk, the boy has strong arms. But when he finally stands, he surprises everyone, bending an enormous rod to a bow and pulling a tree up by its roots. Another quality is his bravery, most clearly illuminated by his skill and grit in battle. But Sundiata has more than animal strength – he shows patience, interest in other peoples and ways, and humility before the magic of the world. Because of these qualities, he is more than a great hunter or warrior: he is a great king.

People had seen one-eyed kings, one –armed kings, and lame kings, but a stiff –legged king had never been heard tell of. No matter how great the destiny promised for Mari Djata might be, the throne could not be given to someone who had no power in his legs; if the jinn loved him, let them begin by giving him the use of his legs.”(67). The harsh remarks to Sundiata’s mother broke her spirit, she had of her son becoming the next king of Mali despite the prophecy. At the age of seven Sundiata still crawled while the other kids his age flourished. However, all of these challenges Sundiata had to faced created his character. Sundiata’s vulnerability makes his accomplishments even more special because he was so difference from everyone else within the Mali town.

When it comes to the places and roles of women in Sundiata and in Malian society as depicted in the book Sundiata, women are held in a place very much unattached and unequal to men. Their roles, throughout the book, are defined only in relationship to men who hold higher positions of authority and often control the women with whom they are in relations with. Basically, the book takes place in a sort of patriarchal society while allowing women very few rights and powers. Like I had said before, they essentially view the women as their relations and not very much anything else. In this society women are also excluded from official positions of power.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the world’s oldest existing stories that were collected in Mesopotamia. It is a story about a heroic king named Gilgamesh, who treated his people in a nasty way. He was a domineering, and cruel leader, feared by many because of his unnatural strength. He forced his people into labor in order to expand his kingdom. The people cried unto the gods and they created Gilgamesh’s equal Enkidu, who they later became friends. Gilgamesh witnessed the death of his close friend Enkidu, and this made him to search for immortality because, he was afraid to die. However, he learnt that, no human was immortal, and that he was destined to die, just like his friend Enkidu.

  Women were once little more than slaves to their male "betters." Some women might have been respected, but their places were limited to roles as wives and mothers. They might rule a home, but were not believed intelligent enough for any other role. This chauvinistic attitude is well reflected in the novels Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.

For thousands of years there has been a strong distinction between the roles of men and women. Often times in stories there will be women that are only mentioned for their beauty and charisma. Hardly ever will you see pages upon pages being spent talking about the true character and accomplishments of women characters. Even though stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis were written thousands of year ago, (when stories were told mostly told from a males perspective) the light shined on women in the texts show them as wise, strong, and greatly influential beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of  Genesis, the writer shows the women as bringers of knowledge,  guidance, and care to the men in the texts that are lacking thereof.

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 Epic of Old Mali withholds many themes, but only some of importance: the transmission of the epic, politics, religion, and destiny.