Soumaoro Kanté
Encyclopedia
Sosso
The Sosso Empire was a twelfth-century Kaniaga kingdom of West Africa.-Medieval Sosso:The modern Sosso people trace their history to a 12th- and 13th-century Kaniaga kingdom known as the "Sosso." With the fall of the Ghana Empire, the Sosso expanded into a number of its former holdings, including...
people. Seizing Koumbi Saleh
Koumbi Saleh
Koumbi Saleh, sometimes Kumbi Saleh is the site of a ruined mediaeval town in south east Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire....
, the capital of the recently-defunct Ghana Empire
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE...
, Soumaoro Kanté proceeded to conquer several neighboring states, including the Mandinka people
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
in what is now Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. However, the Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita
Sundiata Keita
Sundiata Keita, Sundjata Keyita, Mari Djata I or just Sundiata was the founder of the Mali Empire and celebrated as a hero of the Malinke people of West Africa in the semi-historical Epic of Sundiata....
built a coalition of smaller kingdoms to oppose him at the Battle of Kirina
Battle of Kirina
The Battle of Kirina, also known as the Battle of Krina , was a confrontation between the Sosso king Sumanguru Kanté and the Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita...
(c. 1240), defeating the Sosso and leaving Sundiata's new Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
dominant in the region.
Soumaoro Kanté is portrayed as a villainous sorcerer-king in the national epic of Mali, the Epic of Sundiata
Epic of Sundiata
The Sundiata Keita or Epic of Sundiata is an epic poem of the Malinke people and tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire...
. After his defeat at Kirina, he flees into the mountains of Koulikoro, where he disappears after being shot with only weapon to which he is vulnerable - an arrow with a white rooster crest on it. In the Epic of Sundiata
Epic of Sundiata
The Sundiata Keita or Epic of Sundiata is an epic poem of the Malinke people and tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire...
, Soumaoro Kanté is described as owning a balafon
Balafon
The balafon is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone...
with magical powers, which is stolen by Sundiata Keita's djeli
Griot
A griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
, Balafasseke Kouyate, and brought to Manden. This is the origin of the Manden djeli tradition of balafon
Balafon
The balafon is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone...
playing. The balafon of Soumaoro Kanté is said to be kept by the Kouyate family to this day in the village of Niagassola in Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
.
External links
- Sundiata and Mansa Musa on the Web web directory