Yemi Matthew
Professor Dr. Bruce G. Johnson
Non-western World: West Africa Sundaita: an epic of old Mali This Epic of Sundiata tells of Sundiata, the great thirteenth-century ruler of Mali. It was transcribed by D. T. Niane. The story was passed through centuries from a long line of griots. The story of Sundiata illustrates the importance of saving the words of the oral historians before the advent of literacy extinguishes their memories. The epic of Sundiata begin with detail of the ancestors, as the force of history in important in the tale of the man whose victory will create the Mali Empire. (pg. xxiv) “I teach king the history of their ancestor, so that the live of the ancients might serve them as an example, for the world is old, but the future spring from the past.” Groit Djeli mamadou kouyate, (pg. 1) The role of groit in Sundiata an epic of old Mali is to protect the king and griot are men of spoken word, and by the spoken word we give life to the gesture of king. First of all, griots are very important to African culture; they are the keepers of tradition and are responsible for making sure things are done according to the customs of their ancestors. This is a very painstaking task because these customs are not written down; they are passed down by word of mouth. Their father teaches each griot, the knowledge griots possess is remembered through song and story, and is passed on with amazing accuracy. This system would not work well if it was not for the griots being extremely honest and proud, the stories are not touched in any way in the transition from generation to generation, and something I find to be unbelievable. The griot Mamadou Kouyate explains it well when he says, "…royal griots do not know what lying is." This is a simple statement but is the essence of a groit, it is the