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West African Oral Epic Tradition

Type Object Region West Africa Time 1200

The West African oral epic tradition is a narrative cultural system transmitted by the professional griot bards and sung in ethnic languages like Man…

Timeline

  1. 1200–1400Niani and Djenné · Mali EmpireThe Sundiata epic and other Mandinka heroic narratives were orally transmitted and consolidated within griot families, deeply bound to the founding memory of the Mali Empire.
  2. c. 1501–1510Gao · Songhai EmpireDuring the reign of Askia Muhammad, griots sang dynastic epics and memories of trading city-states at the Gao court; the oral tradition spread along trans-Saharan trade routes.
  3. 1900Multiple West African countries · West AfricaEthnographic collection since the colonial period and contemporary music festivals have given oral epics written and audiovisual records; the griot profession continues in community rituals.

Sources