Sundiata

Alexis Sabatelle

HIS 321

Bekeh

20 October 2019

Sundiata was considered to be one of the best rulers of the Mail Empire. He was a great king and ruler because he listened to his people and he never went back on his word. However, Sundiata was not always a strong and powerful individual. Sundiata faced struggles and challenges while he was a child, as well as when he was older, that he overcame to become the great ruler he was known for being.

Sundiata was the son of Sogolon Kedjou who was the wife of the King, Maghan Kon Fatta. Sogolon’s son had a slow and difficult childhood. When he had reached the age of three, he was still crawling around on all fours, whereas children of the same age were already walking around. He had an abnormally large head which he seemed unable to support, and large eyes. He also never really spoke a word and never relaxed his faced in order to form a smile. People would talk about how Sundiata was still unable to walk. However, the Kings first wife was joyful with Sundiata’s failure to walk, her own son was eleven at this point and able to do everything boys his age could. Sassouma would mock both Sundiata and Sogolon for her son’s failure to walk, making him unfit to not be a potential ruler, but a man as well. (pg15-16) Sogolon tried her best to help her son, she resorted all her talents as a sorceress to give him strength to his legs for him to walk, but nothing was enough and Sundiata remained without the ability to walk (pg 16). Even his father, the King, had lost hope in him. At age seven, Sundiata was still without use of his legs, the King was becoming ill, and now the son of Sassouma was becoming a more suitable option to take over the empire. Sundiata not being able to walk was one of his biggest challenges in his life. When he was born, it was told that he was going to be great and a success, but without the ability to walk there is not much that he would be able to do. When the King died, and Sundiata being in his condition, the kings first wife’s son Dankaran Touman took Sundiatas spot and became King. (pg 18)

Soggolon’s son was spoken of with nothing but irony and scorn. People had heard of one-eyed kings or one-armed kings, but a king without the ability to walk had never been heard of. Sundiatas inability to walk made him unfit to fight in wars to protect his empire, which in turn made him unfit to be the ruler of an empire. Because of the talk going around about Sundiata’s legs, him and his mother were banished to the back yard of the palace, away from everyone’s sight (pg 18). Sundiata’s inability to walk brought great sadness to his mother, she too had begun to give up on him. Then finally one day when Sundiata was eleven, he stood up and began to walk. His mother was upset that he could not bring her things like the other children did. That day Sundiata decided that he was going to walk to make his mother happy, and he did. (pg 20-21) Sundiata had then started to become more and more popular with the people of Mali. At this point Sundiata’s biggest challenge was overcome, but he would still face more later in his life.

The next challenges that Sundiata had faced were that people wanted him dead, and other people wanted him as far away from the empire as possible. With Sundiata’s growing popularity, it scared the queen mother who then wanted to kill him. Sassouma tried to get to witches to kill him, but when they saw the kind of person Sundiata was, they refused and retreated. (pg 26) Sundiata and his family were later exiled from Mali and left the empire. (pg 27) Seven years passed and Sundiata found himself in Djedeba. Here is where Sundiata faced another challenge, the King wanted to play a game with him, but if the King was to win, he got to kill Sundiata. Sundiata ended up winning, however, was not given the sword that was promised to him if he won. ( pg 30) Another big challenge that Sundiata had to face was defeating Soumaoro Kanté, King of Sosso. This brought deadly battles and attacks, but Sundiata had faced many other challenges, and he was fit to have taken on this, and succeed.

Through his childhood and adult life Sundiata had individuals who wanted to keep him from his full potential as King of Mali, Sundiata overcame these challenges and became a great king to the Kingdom of Mali. D. T. Niane says “his body became sturdy and his misfortunes made his mind wise” (pg 28). With Sundiata finally coming to power new villages and towns sprang up in Mali, traders became numerous. During the reign of Sundiata the world knew happiness. (pg 82).