Sundiata Book Report

“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 must go through a series of tests and trials, before fulfilling his destiny and taking throne of Mali. Though Sundiata road to greatness he had to deal with overcoming many different obstacles. Such as him being disable until the age of seven.

Traditions are passed down from generation to generation. A family’s past, present, and future is told to each member of a family with the idea that it will be passed down. Our traditions teach us about the way we live; including why we eat certain food, why we talk a certain way, and why we tell the stories we tell. In the MalianAfrican culture, a Griot is the person responsible for teaching the younger children and citizens of Mali Africa the stories of their ancestors. Through oral traditions, they are responsible for making sure their community is well versed in the culture of their people and understand why they act the way they do; and therefore, the Griot could be considered one of the most important roles people in the community due

Intro: This book is about a Jewish boy named Yanek. This gives an inside look of what happened to Jewish people in the 1940s. He had a very hard life in the 6 year time duration he spent in the ghetto and concentration camps.

After reading 80 pages of, “Skud,” by Dennis Foon, I felt motivated by the actions and determination shown by the main characters of the story, especially Andy. In the book, all the characters had a goal or objective and worked hard to reach that goal. Although most people would not advise someone to center their life around one certain thing, I think that when one finds a purpose or objective in life they should always do their best to reach this goal regardless of what others say or thinks of it. In the book, Andy dream was to become a popular actor.Although the possibility of getting cast is low and although he was hurt and unwell, Andy still went to the audition because of that small possibility. After reading about this, I felt determined and motivated by actions like this.

Accompanied by Fakoli, Soumaoro's nephew who revolted after being betrayed by his uncle, Sundiata pursues Soumaoro for several days. They finally trap him in a cave with nowhere to go; they have won. After his victory, Sundiata defeats the kings who stayed loyal to the sorcerer king. He then returns to Niani and founds the Mali Empire, splitting it up to show respect for all the rulers who promise to serve him.

The most challenging aspect from Arloa Sutter’s book for me personally would be the breakthrough of racial understanding. Since I grew up in the homogeneous culture of post-Soviet Ukraine, I was not aware about world wide racial tensions until moving to America. Eventually, we settled in the predominately white suburbs of Charlotte, NC and started attending a white American church. Over the years I simply remained unaware of my "own bias toward people who are not like us" (Sutter 2010, 200). Then I started noticing the existence of segregation between suburban and inner city communities, white and black churches, Latinos and black neighborhoods, and various immigrant groups. Even the fact that we joined the American church instead of a Russian-speaking one segregated my family from the Ukrainian immigrants community. On a contrary, I keep noticing that the European immigrants (like myself) have been treated with less bias than people of African or Middle East descent. Several years ago my wife and I decided to challenge myself by moving to California and learn how to live among people of various descents and cultural backgrounds. Even though living in the Greater Los Angeles

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.

The world of ancient Africa is a foreign one to many who do not live on the continent. The concept that Africa was once rather like Europe in its many medieval kingdoms, and their upheavals and struggles to be the greatest power, is not widely considered by the general population. Ancient Africa was a place of great tales, heroes, and conquests however. The memories of these still linger even today. The storytellers of Africa are griots. They are a mysterious group, who hold the legends and history of Africa, and orally pass them down father to son through the generations. One of these great stories is the Epic of Sundiata. Maghan Mari Djata, commonly known as Sundiata or Sundiata Keita, was a prince of the state Mail, who created the empire of

The alliances he built with neighboring princes proved to be vital in the military aspect of conquering, which was another conventional method Sundiata used to gain power. Sundiata's own cavalry, the horsemen of Mema, were gained from an alliance with the king of Mema. Sundiata also gained many other military weapons from his alliances including the "archers of Bobo" who, as Mamadou Kouyate explains, were said to be "the best archers in the world (Niane 68). Once Sundiata was in power no one would dare try and overthrow him because of his military mite. Sundiata had at his disposal the armies of twelve different empires, all of which were extremely loyal to Sundiata because he had given them their kingdoms back at Ka-ba. For these reasons, Sundiata's military was vital to his gaining and remaining in power (Niane 1-84).

Mothers play a very influential role in a young mans life. Even though Sogolon 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.

The story of Sundiata depicts the story of the foundation of the Mali Empire in West Africa. This story takes place during a transitional time period, when the trade network that linked towns and villages across western Africa attracted north African merchants who brought increasing Muslim influence. The Mali Empire was one of the great

One of the first versions of Sleeping Beauty was published by Charles Perrault in 1697. However, he based his story on a tale by Giambattista Basile in 1634, called Sun, Moon and Talia. A lord got a beautiful daughter, named Talia. He asked many astrologers and wise men to tell him her fate and after a while they concluded that she would be put in great danger by a splinter of flax. The lord ensured that no flax, hemp or anything of that kind was brought into the house to keep his daughter safe.

Sundiata was not a self-absorbed person, when even at an early age, “malicious tongues began to blab. What three-year-old has not yet taken his first steps (p.15)?” Early on in his life Sundiata showed his since of concern for others when he sees his mother distraught other being slight by Sassouma, Sundiata says, “mother, what’s the matter (p.19)?” When Sundiata makes up his mind to overcome his problem of not walking, and should feel triumphant and celebrator by focusing on what everyone will say about him, he immediately thinks of his mother, “Mother, do you want just the leaves of the baobab or would you rather I brought you the whole tree, (p.19).” When Sassouma tries to set Sundiata up by having the old witches steal from his

The epic of Sundiata is uniquely characterized by the griots and the use of orality in the performance of the story and within the story itself. The epic of Sundiata is meant to be performed by a griot in front of an audience with music. The three griots within the story transcend time as Gnankouman Doua connects Maghan Kon Fatta with the future, Balla

The Epic of Sundiata is a tale about the ancient kingdom of Mali in Africa and the legendary king and founder of the Mali Empire told by Djeli Mamadou Kouyate a griot, which is equivalent to storyteller. Before the griot begins the story he introduces himself as a “master in the art of eloquence.” He explains how his family had played an important role in preserving the history of the Mali Empire. By serving the princes of the Mali Empire. He says a griots job is to protect secrets, memorize the names and accomplishments of the great kings and preserving “the memory of mankind.” It is the griot that teaches kings their history so they can use lessons of their ancestors to guide their decisions. There is an obvious tone of importance in his introduction as well as a theme of power that resonates throughout the epic. The griot presents himself in the introduction to the audience in a way that gives him prestige. He is persuading his audience to believe that he has the credentials to tell a valid story.