Sunjata: Part Two

Link to a recording of Tassey’s telling of the tale.
Here is a great set of links to learn more about the griot and storytelling and Sunjata.
Etiology (n.) Assignment of a cause, an origin, or a reason for something.

Sunjata in the telling.
We have the obvious influence of the Koran and the tradition of Islam. There is also the reciting of descendants, which is reminiscent of the Old Testament and the validation of the chosen nature of the tribes. Here it is a family ancestor to whom the listeners desire to be linked. Why does the griot pay homage to the people from America? Could it be the presence of Conrad?
5-6. The three daughters of Do are given prime importance in this telling. Because Condé, the griot, is also from Do?
The quest to find the right wife to give birth to Sunjata. Went through pretty many women in this quest!
14. Note the importance of food in the narrative. It is the reason Manjan Bereté brought his sister to Manden, and later, it becomes the means by which the besieged people of Mande find Sunjata and his mother.
Note that Manjan Bereté was against interracial marriage (17). But the sister eventually becomes the rival wife to Sogolon (calling into question her own devoutness).
In this version, there is some rationale behind Do Kamissa’s transformation into the vengeful Buffalo—the notion of legacy (and the deal given to women.)
The one-thousand sons lost at the battle of Kaibara. The reason for honoring those Conde. (In other version it is Sogolon who had given many sons to the cause of the prophet).
42-3. The reasons for Sogolon’s disfigurement are explained in this version. Also, that there will be some profit to the hunters, even though they must choose sogolon (the tail). The distaff in this version is the weapon, not something that is thrown, but there is bamboo, and the egg, and in this version a hot coal.
50. The older brother becomes a griot by singing the younger’s praise. We also get the etiology of the cutting off of the prey’s tail.
The sorcery of Sogolon is impressive. Look at how she fends off the hunters. Dalilu. She also has the dalilu to get to the other side of the river before the boys.
(63). The etiology of “carrying the bride.”
The horrible insult of “heron-head.”
65-6. The sorcerer’s contest between Sogolon and Maghan Konfara. Ultimately, he wins!
70-1. The magic that allows her to see the dancing.
Is it the miscarriage medicine that keeps Sogolon pregnant for 7 years? In other words, not to come to full term for 7 years? Maybe that also results in the lameness?
The deal made with the sorcerer women that they should kill Sunjata. His response to counter-offer 3 antelopes (more meat than one buffalo).
87. Note that Dankaran Tuman peed in his pants. The sad case of mistaken murder (in which the playing of music has a part.
From 95, the story of Fakoli is central. The deal with Sumamoru.
Note that Kosiya Kante leaves Fakoli alone only after she knows he can eat porridge (he is weaned).
The three magic things which Jamori will not relinquish his share of.
On 153 we come back to Fakoli—his power to expand to fill a room, for instance. His reluctance to fight against his kinsman—what does it get him-his wife is stolen from him.
161. The miracle of the 333 dishes from one pot!

For views of women.
Are they conniving and treacherous in their ways. See Do Kamissa, Sansun Berete (and the delight she takes in the death of S.), the women who deride Sogolon as “heron-head”).
Or are they symbols of conquest. The king taking 9 of each kind of wife to sire the next king. The hunters taking the trophy from Do Kamissa. Etc.
Then there is the strength of a Kosiya Kante, who, for the sake of Fakoli, sacrifices her life (knowing that her son is well taken care of by adoptive mother.
I think that for the African audience, the fact that the women stayed within certain bounds as mothers and helpmates to their men would make their actions all the more admirable, since the order of society is part of the message of the story.
It is part of what I mean to ask when I ask about Afro-Centrism. Part of the movement wants to take values and traditions present in ancient African Society, including those which define the role of women. I'm not sure which text I would point you to directly, but I remember reading quite a few texts from back-to-Africa people in the 60s and 70s who prescribe very strict roles for women, even in the struggle for freedom from oppression. Including that the role of women is to bear the children and please the man and keep the house. One might even see a rationale for some of this division of labor and roles in the pre-colonial African bush, but to transpose it to the 20th century in America serves only the macho male interests. In my humble opinion.
The limits on the powers of magic, yet their practical applications.
He wisely advises "Do not be too concerned with blackness, / Do not be too concerned with whiteness, / Be more concerned with humanity. / We are all equal." (152).
In the fantastic way that Sogolon gives birth there is another mention of the extreme gestation period of Sunjata. Is there implied the fact that it wasn’t a continuous pregnancy, but that she in miscarrying because of the substance given to her by all the other sorcerer women.
Fakoli’s hat. And his power to be large.
One very interesting similarity between Sunjata and the Roman story, The Aeneid. Both of these epics tell of the origin of great empires (Sunjata with Mali and Aeneid with Rome) and both were created and told to instill national and family pride in the listeners.
In the Ramayana, the jealous mother of the hero's half-brother demands his exile in order for her son to hold the throne. While in the Mahabharata, the protagonists are also ordered into exile, and along the way face a series of tests and interact with other kings that in some way aid the heroes in their struggle against the evil-doers. Finally, the assembly of Sunjata's forces on the great plain of Sibi is virtually identical to the final war of the Mahabharata. In both stories, the battle rages evenly, until the deciding factor takes place, in Sunjata's case, it is the arrival of Mema's cavalry.