Sunjata Keita

Sunjata Keita, honoured as Sogolon Jata, 'the lion of Sogolon', is the founder-hero of the medieval Mali empire and the central figure of the great epic that the jeliw, or griots, have sung for some seven centuries. Born to King Naré Maghann Konaté and the hunchbacked Sogolon, he spends his childhood unable to walk, mocked at court by the rival queen Sassouma; then, in the epic's decisive miracle, he grasps an iron rod, bends it, and rises to his feet. Driven into long exile with his mother after his father's death, he grows into a mighty hunter and warrior, and at last returns to lead a coalition of Manding clans against the sorcerer-king Soumaoro Kanté of Sosso. His victory at Kirina, won by an arrow charged against Soumaoro's magic, makes him mansa of a united Manden. Around Sunjata the tradition organises its charters of clan, caste, and kingship, and though a historical ruler of the thirteenth century stands behind the tale, the epic renders him a hero of prophecy, occult power, and destiny.

Parentage

• paternal: Naré Maghann Konaté
• maternal: Sogolon Condé

Domains

• kingship
• warfare
• hunting

Powers

• rises from lifelong paralysis to walk and rule
• unites the chieftaincies of the Manden into an empire

Epithets

• Sogolon Jata — the lion of SogolonNiane, D. T. (1965). Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. London: Longman. (primary)
• Nare Maghan Jata — the lion, son of Nare MaghanJohnson, John William (2003). The Epic of Son-Jara. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. (primary)

Relations

• enemy: Soumaoro KantéThe war between them culminates at the battle of Kirina.Niane, D. T. (1965). Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. London: Longman, pp. 40-68. (primary)
• companion: Balla FassékéThe griot assigned to Sunjata in childhood and his voice and counsellor.Niane, D. T. (1965). Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. London: Longman. (primary)
• ally: FakoliThe war-leader who deserts Soumaoro to join Sunjata's coalition.Conrad, David C. (2004). Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples. Indianapolis: Hackett. (primary)
• ally: Tiramakhan TraoréChief general who carries Sunjata's conquests west into Senegambia.Conrad, David C. (2004). Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples. Indianapolis: Hackett. (primary)

Sources

• Sunjata Keita is the founder-hero of the Mali empire and protagonist of the Mande epic sung by the jeliw.: Niane, D. T. (1965). Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, trans. G. D. Pickett. London: Longman. (primary); Johnson, John William (2003). The Epic of Son-Jara: A West African Tradition. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. (primary); Austen, Ralph A., ed. (1999). In Search of Sunjata: The Mande Oral Epic as History, Literature, and Performance. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. (secondary)