Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Son-Jara: The Mande Epic: Mandekan/English Edition with Notes and Commentary

Son-Jara: The Mande Epic: Mandekan/English Edition with Notes and Commentary

Johnson, John William

Hardcover

Series: African Epic

African HistoryMythology & FolkloreFiction Anthologies

ISBN10: 0253343372
ISBN13: 9780253343376
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: Oct 30 2003
Pages: 331
Weight: 1.39
Height: 1.13 Width: 6.28 Depth: 9.68
Language: English

The epic of Son-Jara (also known as Sunjata or Sundiata) celebrates the exploits of the legendary founder of the Empire of Old Mali and is still widely recited among Mandekan-speaking peoples of West Africa today. As performed by griots, or professional bards, it embodies deeply rooted aspects of Mande cosmology and worldview. This edition of the epic presents the full, linear Mandekan text side by side with John William Johnson's important English translation. Fully annotated and explained, the text provides historical and contextual frameworks for understanding this African epic. A complete recitation of the epic by Jeli fa-Digi Sisòkò recorded in the town of Kita, Mali, is sold separately. This powerful text and inspiring performance show why the epic of Son-Jara has taken its place among the world's greatest epics.

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