Identities: What sets you apart in the Mali Empire

The Mali Empire, located in western Africa, was a powerful empire established in 1230 surviving many centuries until its unfortunate decline in the 16th century. Mali was well known for its abundance of resources, trade networks, and formation history. Most importantly, it allowed for cultures, peoples, and religions to come together and become one. Empires are more than built environments consisting of structures, routes, and walls–empires are people. To understand empires, especially the Mali empire which survived for many centuries, one needs to understand people, and taking it a step further, we need to understand people’s identities. The book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali Book by Djibril Tamsir Niane is a great source that lets us identify what made up people’s identities in the Mali empire. We will look at how life experiences, kinship, and occupation made up and shaped a person’s identity. On the other hand, the Sundiata book does not indicate that factors like skin color, race, or even birthplace were necessarily part of people’s identity as we nowadays think about them. The question about identities as being more personal than cultural as it is race should give us an opportunity to better understand this African empire.

In the introduction to the book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali Book, the author states right away who Sundiata was. He was “a real king who, from 1235-55, ruled the empire of Mali [...] He founded the second major kingdom created by the local rulers to profit from the desert trade with North Africans”1 It is important to understand that Sundiata would not have been king if he had not gone through the life experiences he went through. To start off, Sundiata was born with a physical impediment that limited his ability to walk, and was unable to walk for years causing great disappointment and embarrassment to the family and the people who wanted him as king.

“Sogolon’s son [Sogolon being Sundiata’s mother] was spoken of with nothing by irony and scorn. People had seen one-eyed kings, one-armed kings, and lame kings, but stiff-legged king had never been heard tell of. No matter how great the destiny promised for Mari Djata [Sundiata] might be, the throne could not be give to someone who had no power in his legs”2

Thanks to his mother, Sogolon, Sundiata gained strength in his legs and learned how to walk years later. Sogolon never failed her son and was there for him until her last breath. The physical disability that Sundiata was confronted with was a huge part of his identity it shaped who he was and who he would become. Once Sundiata walked, he was stronger, more determined, unstoppable, and finally accepted. Sundiata would have never been Sundiata, Mali’s king, if he had not been disabled for years and if he had not been hurt emotionally because being physically impaired was a huge part of Sundiata’s identity. Later in life, he made good use of his strength and determination to overcome huge obstacles that were getting on the way to his path towards kingship.

A person’s kinship was considered a huge part of one's identity, even today, who you are related to says a lot about you as a person, about your connections, your life, etc. The book by Niane points out that back then during the times of the Mali empire kinship was a huge deal. Some people would be referred to as (their name) + (familial relation like son or daughter of) + (the relative’s name). For instance, in the book there is an encounter that exemplifies this statement about kinship “You [Sundiata] are the son of Naré Maghan, but you are also the son of your mother Sogolon, the buffalo-woman, before whom powerless sorcerers shrank in fear. You have the strength and majesty of the lion, you have the might of the buffalo”3 This quote is the perfect example of kinship as an identity component because Sundiata is being described and thought about based on his familial relationships. The quote states that Sundiata was the son of this feared women therefore Sundiata will be feared among the powerless sorcerers, moreover it implies that Sundiata was as strong as a lion because he was resilient, brave, and determined. Lastly, it is portraying Sundiata as a buffalo like his mother someone powerful and feared.

In the Mali empire, a person’s occupation was incredibly important and defining. A person’s job defined their position in society, their value, and especially their identity–it sets them apart. This assertion has not changed much since the times of the Mali empire because one’s occupation can say a lot about a person. For instance, in today’s day and age, being a lawyer is part of someone’s identity because it reflects your values, your economic status, your ideologies, and even your importance in society. Mali was no different; there were people called “griots” whose occupation gave them an identity. Griots were the “counselors of kings, they conserved the constitutions of kingdoms by memory work along [...] the griots appear as one of the most important of this society”4 because they recorded history in all aspects. Sudiata had a griot whose name was Bella Fasséké. Bella played an important role in Sundiata’s life because his job was to guide, impart knowledge and support Sundiata in all that he did. Griots were essential to the kings’ lives, their families, and in keeping alive all oral traditions to then be passed on from generation to generation.

This piece focused on the topic of identity, aiming to show that in the Mali empire people’s identity was made up of different aspects, in this case, life experiences, kinship, and occupation. The Sundiata epic does not point out that race and skin color were the key features that shaped a person’s identity contradicting what we think of when we think of a person’s identity nowadays. The question of identity is an important one to explore because people matter, and an empire decentralized from the people cannot be studied. Sundiata’s life, family, and a griot like Bella Fasséké demonstrate that history can be told and examined from different angles beyond the physical lens and more through a people’s lens.