Sundiata Keita
Sundiata Keita was the founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa, reigning in the thirteenth century.
According to oral tradition preserved by griots, he overcame childhood disability and exile to defeat the Sosso king Sumanguru at the Battle of Kirina around 1235.
The *Epic of Sundiata* remains a foundational text of West African literature and cultural identity.
- gold tradeExchange of precious metal
- griotAfrican oral tradition keeper
- oral storytellingTransmitting tales aloud
- motherFemale parent
- salt tradeCommerce in crystalline preservative
lion · epic · African folklore · exile · king · hunter · throne · proverbs · warrior · oral · Mali · conquest · Sahel · Niger · savanna · gold · Byzantine Empire · Mughal Empire
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