Sundiata: an Epic of Old Mali 2nd Edition

This is a revision of Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali,  a best seller for 30 years. 

Retold by griots, the guardians of African Culture, this oral tradition has been handed down from the thirteenth century and captures all the mystery and majesty of medieval African kingship. It is the epic tale, based on an actual figure, of Sundiata (Sunjata). Part history and part legend, it tells how Sundiata fulfilled the prophesies that he would unite the twelve kingdoms of Mali into a powerful empire.

This Revised Edition includes background information which provides a geographical, religious, social, and political context for the story. A ‘who’s who of characters’ and ‘a glossary of places’ will enhance the reader’s experience.

This highly accessible translation of the classic story of Sundiata, a real king who ruled the empire of Mali just south of the Sahara desert from 1235-55, engages readers while introducing African culture and oral tradition used in Africa.

Historian D. T. Niane received this version of the Sundiata epic from Djeli

(griot) Mamoudou Kouyate. It has been twice translated, from Malinke (or

Mandingo) into French, and then into English. The result is a prose novel, with explanatory endnotes.

This Revised Edition includes additional material that enhances the story and helps readers better understand the context in which this popular story is set: Background information (geography, religion, society and politics); Oral Tradition, Pronunciation, and Spelling; and a Who's Who of Characters / Glossary of Places.

Fascinating and accessible to all, this is an epic story which should rank with the Iliad and the Odyssey as one of the world's great adventure stories.