Why Is Sundiata In The Epic Of Abina And The Important?

Historically, individuals in primarily Western and European societies have learned about important historical events and figures through textbooks and formal education. This form of recollecting the past has made it harder for alternative forms of historical education, like oral storytelling in African societies, to be taken seriously in Western and European academic history circles given the reluctance of many historians to change the established notion that Africa’s has no significant history to be noted. In order to repudiate this, many novels, like Sundiata: The Epic of the Sundiata transcribed by Djibril Tamsir Niane, a descendant of griots, and Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History written by Trevor Getz, an American historian,
The narratives of Sundiata in The Epic of Mali and Abina in Abina and the Important Men are given large significance importance given each author’s choice to present the detailed struggles each character endured in trying to achieve their individual goals in order to emphasize the importance of their stories in understanding the history of West African societies. Since there are very few concrete details about the lives and experiences of Sundiata and Abina, the storytellers of both narratives rely heavily on the message that they want to communicate to their audience and use imagination, such as improvising dialogue to deliver unique narratives about one man’s rise to power and one woman’s fight to reclaim power. In these stories, the intended audience somewhat influences what is historically significant. While the storyteller has total control over details of the story they want to share, the audience determines what elements of the narrative are emphasized given varying societal values and historical
In Sundiata, the griot emphasizes the importance of Sundiata’s difficult, but ultimately extremely successful battle to claim power and establish the powerful Empire of Mali by recounting various interactions that Sundiata had over the course of his lifetime. For example, in the section “The Return,” Sundiata and his personal griot Djata encounter a blockage on their trek to Mali by Sosso Balla, the main antagonist in the story, Upon seeing Balla’s army blocking his way to Tabon, Sundiata laughs and when his griot inquires about what is funny, Sundiata replies, “No mere infantry man can halt my course to Mali,” before he proceeds to battle and defeat Sosso Balla. Sundiata’s epic is meant to showcase the future Mailian ruler’s road to the throne and his experiences that made him a great leader. What is also important about Sundiata’s conversation with Djata is that it documents the world in which Sundiata lived in and showcased the cultural values in Western Africa. Sundiata believed that he was the rightful heir to the Mali Empire and fought to ensure that he claimed what was his, his