Skip to Main Content

Corpus of Early Accounts of the Sunjata Epic, 1889-1959

Online ISBN:
9780198910398
Print ISBN:
9780197267387
Publisher:
British Academy
Book

Corpus of Early Accounts of the Sunjata Epic, 1889-1959

Stephen Bulman (ed.),
Stephen Bulman
(ed.)
Head of Academic Standards & Quality, Lancaster University
Find on
Stephen Belcher (ed.),
Stephen Belcher
(ed.)
Independent Scholar
Find on
Valentin Vydrin (ed.)
Valentin Vydrin
(ed.)
Professor of Manding, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales
Find on
Published online:
18 January 2024
Published in print:
3 August 2023
Online ISBN:
9780198910398
Print ISBN:
9780197267387
Publisher:
British Academy

Abstract

The Sunjata epic is a foundational oral narrative for Manding populations of West Africa that claims to describe the origins of the famed medieval empire of Mali. It is both an historical source and an artistic creation of West African oral specialists, the griots or jèliw. Despite its importance the epic is known to Anglophone non-specialists largely through a handful of accounts. This book presents twenty less familiar texts of the Sunjata epic recorded during the colonial period which together comprise the complete extant corpus for the period 1889-1959. Many of them were published in French or German in colonial periodicals or monographs; all are rarely consulted. The Corpus of Early Accounts of the Sunjata Epic translates these versions of the epic into English (where necessary), provides each with a scholarly introduction, allowing the reader to appreciate each version’s context and purpose, furnishes helpful aids to full appreciation of the griots' skills and creativity such as a glossary, maps, a table of episodes and several indexes, together with a general introduction which discusses key historical issues concerning the Sunjata epic, among them where and when to place its origins.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close