Part history, part legend, this is the story of Sundiata: a heroic figure at once 'great among kings' and 'peerless among men' who founded the empire of Mali. Relayed in oral form for many years by Mamoudou Kouyate, a traditional African griot, Sundiata sees D.T. Niane capture the full-length tale in print for the first time.
'Since time immemorial the Kouyates have been in the service of the Keita princes of Mali; we are vessels of speech, we are the repositories which harbour secrets many centuries old...'
This is Sundiata, the epic tale of a heroic figure who, through legendary deeds and exploits, came to father an empire. Through spoken word, this story has been passed down to generations of listeners, in an oral tradition which extends back to the thirteenth century.
D.T. Niane's novelisation of this epic story captures all the mystery and majesty of medieval African kingship. It is an ambitious story, one which ranks alongside the Ancient Greek and Roman classics as one of the world's great adventure stories.
