The epic of Sundiata was an oral tradition that follows the life of the prince of the Mali Empire. It remained spoken only until scholars began publishing African oral tradition as stories in the mid-1900s. Crippled from birth, the "lion prince" (Bentley, 285) Sundiata must overcome his deformity while battling external forces that pose a threat to his kingdom. While overcoming his birth defect, Sundiata gains the admiration of the audience in an epic that reflects many of the worldwide developments learned in World History I. Throughout the epic, difficulties in the form of political and social challenges are presented before and during the development of the Kingdom of Mali.
The epic's oral tradition kept many customs from Mali alive long enough to be written down my scholars. Sundiata's father, the king, was a polygamist. Before he died, he conceived a child with a woman who was thought to have extraordinary powers. It was prophesized that King Maghan would marry a disfigured woman and have a child that would be king. This prophecy brought jealousy from the king's other wife, who wanted her son to be king. Though the newborn was partially crippled, the king still granted Sundiata a griot, one who would learn Sundiata culturally so that he could one day be king. Sundiata's life was in danger when, after the king died, invaders to the throne seized control. Sundiata's life was spared because it was thought that, with his deformity, he would not pose a threat to the new king. After King Maghan's first wife helped her son take hold of the throne, Sundiata went into exile and travelled throughout the different kingdoms of Africa.
The epic's oral tradition kept many customs from Mali alive long enough to be written down my scholars. Sundiata's father, the king, was a polygamist. Before he died, he conceived a child with a woman who was thought to have extraordinary powers. It was prophesized that King Maghan would marry a disfigured woman and have a child that would be king. This prophecy brought jealousy from the king's other wife, who wanted her son to be king. Though the newborn was partially crippled, the king still granted Sundiata a griot, one who would learn Sundiata culturally so that he could one day be king. Sundiata's life was in danger when, after the king died, invaders to the throne seized control. Sundiata's life was spared because it was thought that, with his deformity, he would not pose a threat to the new king. After King Maghan's first wife helped her son take hold of the throne, Sundiata went into exile and travelled throughout the different kingdoms of Africa.
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