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Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples
A pillar of the West African oral tradition for centuries, this epic traces the adventures and achievements of the Mande hero, Sunjata, as he liberates his people from Sumaworo Kante, the sorcerer king of Soso, and establishes the great medieval empire of Mali.
David Conrad conveys the strong narrative thrust of the Sunjata epic in his presentation of substantial excerpts from his translation of a performance by Djanka Tassey Conde. Readers approaching the epic for the first time will appreciate the translation's highly readable, poetic English as well as Conrad's informative Introduction and notes. Scholars will find the familiar heroes and heroines taking on new dimensions, secondary characters gaining increased prominence, and previously unknown figures emerging from obscurity.
David Conrad conveys the strong narrative thrust of the Sunjata epic in his presentation of substantial excerpts from his translation of a performance by Djanka Tassey Conde. Readers approaching the epic for the first time will appreciate the translation's highly readable, poetic English as well as Conrad's informative Introduction and notes. Scholars will find the familiar heroes and heroines taking on new dimensions, secondary characters gaining increased prominence, and previously unknown figures emerging from obscurity.
206 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 4, 2015
This African epic follows the rise of the Mande people and their leader Sunjata. The narrative itself is extremely repetitious, and the lack of any background in West African traditions complicates my understanding of the plot.
February 4, 2015
Bamba Susa and Banna Kanute, Sunjata: Gambian versions of the Mande Epic (translated by Gordon Innes and Bakari Sidibe, ed. by Lucy Dur��n and Graham Furniss) {1999] 117 pages
David C. Conrad, tr., Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples (narrated by Djanka Tassey Cond��) [2004] 206 pages
Between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, three major empires rose and fell in the West African savannah, approximately in what are now the countries of Senegal, Guinea and Mali: the Empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The Mande Epic of Sunjata is the story of the thirteenth century founder of the second empire, the Empire of Mali, who is variously known as Sonjara, Sunjata, Sundiata, etc. depending on dialect and system of transcription. While the better known European epics were fixed by memorization and later in writing at an early period and exist in standard editions with minimal variations, the African epics are still part of a living oral composition tradition, and so are told quite differently with each performance. I read two books which between them contain three different versions by three different poets. The first book, collected and translated by Gordon Innes, contains two versions from Gambia; the second, collected and translated by David C. Conrad, contains one much longer version from Guinea. All three versions have been considerably abridged for publication. While this and the other African epics reflect what must have been the original form of the European epics, there are also interesting differences; there is much more emphasis on magic and women play a much greater role.
David C. Conrad, tr., Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples (narrated by Djanka Tassey Cond��) [2004] 206 pages
Between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, three major empires rose and fell in the West African savannah, approximately in what are now the countries of Senegal, Guinea and Mali: the Empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. The Mande Epic of Sunjata is the story of the thirteenth century founder of the second empire, the Empire of Mali, who is variously known as Sonjara, Sunjata, Sundiata, etc. depending on dialect and system of transcription. While the better known European epics were fixed by memorization and later in writing at an early period and exist in standard editions with minimal variations, the African epics are still part of a living oral composition tradition, and so are told quite differently with each performance. I read two books which between them contain three different versions by three different poets. The first book, collected and translated by Gordon Innes, contains two versions from Gambia; the second, collected and translated by David C. Conrad, contains one much longer version from Guinea. All three versions have been considerably abridged for publication. While this and the other African epics reflect what must have been the original form of the European epics, there are also interesting differences; there is much more emphasis on magic and women play a much greater role.
June 30, 2008
Read it for class; probably would have enjoyed it more if we hadn't picked it apart so much--and if we hadn't been forced to eagerly engage in the call and response.
July 26, 2008
A West-African epic told in the oral tradition. Once you get used to the tone and style it opens up an amazing world. The mythology is intertwined with all aspects of life the region, and has been passed down through oral tradition since before the days of this massive West African empire.
March 24, 2023
lit professors stop assigning me epics challenge
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews