The Epic of Son-Jara: A West African Tradition

by Fa-Digi Sisòkò, John William Johnson (Translator)

..". a major addition to the literature on oral traditions." --Journal of Religion in Africa

This 750-year-old epic celebrates the exploits of the legendary founder of the Empire of Old Mali. It constitutes a virtual social, political, and cultural charter and embodies deep-rooted aspects of Mande cosmology. The fully annotated translation is accompanied by an introduction that provides a historical and contextual framework for understanding the recitation of this African epic.

Genres: Classics, Mythology, Africa, History, African Literature, Poetry

160 pages, Paperback

Published August 22, 1992

Reviews

[Robert Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting stuff. The tale is meant to be somewhat fluid and dynamic, with each recitation aloud having whatever changes or flourishes the griot (the bard, or teller of the tale) wishes to add. Just the act of writing this version of Son Jara down basically "locks it in place" and makes this version more authoritative than others by simply being the most accessible, since it's in print. I'm not sure how I feel about that, since no one spoken variation of the tale is meant to be more "official" than the other.

Still, it's likely many people (myself included) wouldn't have access to the rich mythological storytelling at work here unless one version WAS written down. The room for variation within this story gives it a resilience that I think may hold an example for how other works of literature can help try to stay afloat and relevant as the current technological tidal wave comes crashing down over most of us.

If you want to expose yourself to something very unique and diverse, I highly recommend giving this a shot. Keep in mind that it's meant to be read aloud in a "call-and-answer" manner and you should really get the most out of this text.

[Wawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A translation of a transcription of an oral performance of the epic of the ancient empire of Mali (how many more ofs can you put in one opening sentence naturally?), this book will give you a combination of works by various individuals. The oral performance is by Fa Digi Sissoko, a jeli (or a member of the oral artist "caste" in Mande society) in 1968. The recording was done by Prof. Charles S. Bird, a scholar of Folklore from Indiana. As for the transcription, translation, introduction and annotation, this all is done by John William Johnson, a professor of Folklore and African studies.

Read this book and enjoy the richness of oral literature captured in a time capsule. It has the local belief in occult power in Mali society while at the same time donning the dominant and constructive influence of Islam. It shows the repetitive as well as fluid as well as responsive tendencies of oral literature while at the same time giving us the opportunity to look back to the previous page or find references, which are the comforting feature of written literature.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why I keep reading epic poetry, I never understand a single thing that happens in it. Anyway this was cool, I'm sure it was better to hear it performed.

[Liam Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this story is by far the most complicated but meaningful book I have had the pleasure of reading. the first thing I noticed was the style of writing which is written down after being told orally. This created a whole new aspect to reading that was was hard but fun at the same time. As it continued I lost track of the story line because of a ll the complicated names and places but I was able to get back on track. to fully understand this book it may take two to three reads which is fine because this book is just 100 pages. Overall a very creative and unique book which will open all to a new type of writing.

[S.a. Konate]

This is a very good book here. If you want to know more about the Mandenka people, the story of the man, who these people look up to as the Founding Father of their kingdom and community, will be an immense help. Just read it and you will see that it complements the story collected by Djibril Tamsir Niane in 1960 known as Soundjata ou l'epopee mandingue. Most variants of the Soundjata story build more or less on this seminal work.
JW Johnson's work is a must read. "Read it! And Reread it!"

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a global awareness class. While most of the class hated it or didn't read it at all, I gave it a shot. It was extremely difficult to understand the story, but after finishing all of the footnotes, I thought the book was good. However, I'm not sure if it was worth the challenge of trying to understand it.

[Jeneé · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for my Lit. 2 class. I found it extremely difficult to read and not really that interesting, probably because I didn't really understand it. I find it interesting though that this story is what Disney based The Lion King off of.

[Lulu]

The first line-by-line transcription of the epic as told by a griot was made in 1967.