Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali

Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali is D. T. Niane's rendering, translated into English by G. D. Pickett, of the West African oral epic of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, as recounted by the griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate. As a published translation of a genuine oral epic tradition it is the correct source for how the Sundiata narrative is actually told within that griot tradition. Its limit is that oral epics vary by performer and occasion, so this text represents one griot's particular telling as Niane recorded it, not a single fixed canonical version, and a claim resting on a specific narrative detail should note this text is one attested telling among others.