The Epic
Recorded by Walter Nkwi Gam
Listen now to a recording of the story of Sundiata, the Na’Kamma, the man who had a mission to accomplish.
At the time when Sundiata was preparing to assert his claim over the Kingdom of his fathers, Soumaoro was the king of kings, the most powerful king in all the lands of the setting sun. The fortified town of Sosso was the bulwark of fetishism against the word of Allah. For a long time Soumaoro defied the whole world. Since his accession to the throne of Sosso he had defeated nine kings whose heads served him as fetishes in his macabre chamber. Their skins served as seats and he cut his footwear from human skin. Soumaoro was not like other men, for the jinn had revealed themselves to him and his power was beyond measure. So his countless sofas were very brave since they believed their king to be invincible. But Soumaoro was an evil demon and his reign had produced nothing but bloodshed.[…]
Soumaoro [had] proclaimed himself king of Mali by right of conquest, but he was not recognized by the populace and resistance was organised in the bush. Soothsayers were consulted as to the fate of the country. The soothsayers were unanimous in saying that it would be the rightful heir to the throne who would save Mali. This heir was ‘The Man with Two Names’. The elders of the court of Niani then remembered the son of Sogolon. The man with two names was no other than Maghan Sundiata”.[…]
– Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté