Mali “Epic of Son Jara”
Mali ‘Epic of Son Jara is a story based on historical event that took place many years back in West Africa regions. The protagonist in the story shares the same name with a heroic figure that managed to conquer his enemies and form the Mali Empire. The story is a culture defining myth in how it relates to the people of Mande. The story illustrates the origin of the Mande people thus acts as a myth that defines how activities are conducted within the community. From the myth, role of women is mostly related to magic, superstition, and sorcery. Mande women do not have equal rights as their male counterparts in the community. They always apply their magic power, psychological strength, and sexual influence to achieve their goals in the community. The role Son-Jara’s mother in ensuring that her son gets to the throne illustrates this. Even though Son-Jara is born several hours after the birth of his half brother, he is presented to the king before his brother’s presentation (Johnson & Fa-Digi, pg 91).
The myth also shows transfusion of two religious practices in the Mande community. Son-Jara uses his fused religion (Islam and Traditional practices) to overcome his obstacles in rising to the throne. The extent of magic power in the society is expressed in the case of Son-Jara case nine years after his birth. Because of power of magic practiced against him as a show of rivalry between him and his half brother, Son- Jara is unable to walk for his first nine years as a member of the Manding community. He uses magic power and Islam religion to overcome this situation. This shows that magic is used to cause suffering and attain freedom under different circumstances.
Property ownership among the Manding people determines success of an individual within the community. Male persons mainly owned property. To show the strength and capabilities of a good king, one had to conquer his enemies within a given region. This expanded the size and wealth endowment of the community. As a belief, the king had to marry many wives to a show of wealth and strength. From this myth, the Manding people learn that rivalry is fought through all means. The important factor in rivalry is the result or outcome. From the Mali “Epic of Son Jara” story, the myth stress on the importance of magic, religion, and rivalry as important values treasured within this culture. Using bards (counselors and tutors) among the Manding people, traditions and the history of the community is kept alive among individual members of the society. The community subscribes to this myth as a sense of belonging to the society (Nelson, pg 84).
Works Cited
Duiker, William J, and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World History: To 1500. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage, 2009. Print.
Johnson, John W, and Fa-Digi Sisòkò. The Epic of Son-Jara: A West African Tradition. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986. Print.
Nelson, Angela M. S. This Is How We Flow: Rhythm in Black Cultures. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999. Print
