<P> The Sundiata Keita or Epic of Sundiata ( also referred to as the Sundiata Epic or Sunjata Epic ) is an epic poem of the Malinke people and tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita ( died 1255 ) , the founder of the Mali Empire . The epic is an instance of oral tradition , going back to the 13th century and narrated by generations of griot poets or jeliw ( djeli ) . There is no single or authoritative version . Material pertaining to the epic first began to be collected during the early 20th century in French Sudan , notably by the French elite school École William Ponty , resulting in the `` modern '' version of the tale as considered standard today , as published in `` novelistic '' form in French translation by Djibril Tamsir Niane in 1960 ( English translation 1965 ) . </P>
<P> The Sundiata Keita or Epic of Sundiata ( also referred to as the Sundiata Epic or Sunjata Epic ) is an epic poem of the Malinke people and tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita ( died 1255 ) , the founder of the Mali Empire . The epic is an instance of oral tradition , going back to the 13th century and narrated by generations of griot poets or jeliw ( djeli ) . There is no single or authoritative version . Material pertaining to the epic first began to be collected during the early 20th century in French Sudan , notably by the French elite school École William Ponty , resulting in the `` modern '' version of the tale as considered standard today , as published in `` novelistic '' form in French translation by Djibril Tamsir Niane in 1960 ( English translation 1965 ) . </P>
the mali epic of son jara is the cultural history of
the mali epic of son jara is the cultural history of
the Malinke people
the Malinke people