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The Expansion of the Islamic World - African Connections - The Empire of Mali

Q: Where are the origins of the Empire of Mali recounted?

The origins are recounted in the oral epic Sunjata , sung for centuries by Mande bards. Sunjata was first written down in the seventeenth century and is still recited today, taking its details from the particular traditions of each Mande poet who tells it.

Q: What story emerges from Sunjata ? What does the epic reveal?

From Sunjata emerges the story of two powerful antagonists, the tyrannical Sumaworo Kanté of Soso and, to his south, the hero Sunjata Keita of Konfara. What the epic reveals beyond that includes the progressive gendering of political power as male; the creation of a complex society of clans, castes, and status groups; and the new prestige of hunters - men who knew how to use weapons, provided their communities with meat, and were in close touch with forest spirits. Spirits, magical powers, and other indigenous beliefs melded easily with West African forms of Islam.

4 important questions on The Expansion of the Islamic World - African Connections - The Empire of Mali

Where are the origins of the Empire of Mali recounted?

The origins are recounted in the oral epic Sunjata, sung for centuries by Mande bards.
Sunjata was first written down in the seventeenth century and is still recited today, taking its details from the particular traditions of each Mande poet who tells it.

What story emerges from Sunjata? What does the epic reveal?

From Sunjata emerges the story of two powerful antagonists, the tyrannical Sumaworo Kanté of Soso and, to his south, the hero Sunjata Keita of Konfara.
What the epic reveals beyond that includes the progressive gendering of political power as male; the creation of a complex society of clans, castes, and status groups; and the new prestige of hunters - men who knew how to use weapons, provided their communities with meat, and were in close touch with forest spirits.
Spirits, magical powers, and other indigenous beliefs melded easily with West African forms of Islam.

Who is Mansa? What did he do?

Many pilgrims from Mali passed through Cairo in order to perform the hajj to Mecca, paying their way with slaves, whom they sold, and with gold dust, with which they made outright purchases.
The most famous such pilgrim was Mansa (King) Musa, who arrived in 1324 with camels loaded with perhaps 15 tons of gold. His lavish purchases, gifts, and alms depressed the price of gold in Egypt for years to come.

To whom was the diplomacy of Mansa directed?

His diplomacy was oriented towards the Maghreb as well, to which Malians continued to ply the lucrative trans-Saharan trade routes that we have seen in earlier chapters, and where Malian scholars flocked in search of theological instruction.
They returned afterward to centers in Mali such as Timbuktu, which also attracted scholars from the Maghreb and Egypt.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

A Short History of the Middle Ages, Sixth Edition | 9781487541019 | Barbara H Rosenwein

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