The Epic of Kelefaa Saane

Introduction

INTRODUCTION The Mandinka griot, known locally as jali, sees himself as the keeper of values that are deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the Senegambian peoples, including the Fulani, the Soninke, and the Wolof. These peoples share a vast region and many cultural traditions with other societies . The bards convey those values in the epics of the ancient Soninke kingdom of Ghana (800–1100) in what is today southern Mauritania and western Mali; the Mande kingdom of Mali (1250–1450) in western Mali and northeastern Guinea; and the Mandinka kingdom of Kaabu (1650–1867) in eastern Gambia and the surrounding area of southeastern Senegal. The Mandinka were for many centuries under the influence of both Ghana and Mali, when these two powerful kingdoms were at the height of their power in the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. The gradual westward demographic expansion of the Soninke and Mande immigrants was critical in the consolidation of the cultural unity of the Senegambian peoples. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that the Mandinka jali learns not only local epics but also those of neighboring peoples. The epic of Sun-Jata (also spelled Sunjata and Sundiata) from the Mali kingdom is one of the most widely known and narrated stories in the region. It conveys the story of the man who is reported to have founded the Mali Empire, most likely in the thirteenth century, although we have no firsthand documentation for him from that period. But thanks to the epic, his impact as a legendary hero is still felt throughout West Africa. The epic is narrated orally and on the radio, sold on recordings in the marketplace, and read in schools. Both Arab and African historians, chroniclers, and travelers such as Al Bakri, Al Umari, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Khaldun, Es Saadi, and Kati have described in varying detail the rise and fall of the kingdoms of the Sahel. In the case of Mali, although there is no reference to the founder of the empire in these accounts, one finds eyewitness descriptions of the rulers who brought it to its apogee after him, notably in the fourteenth century with Ibn Battuta’s detailed description of life at the court of the ruler, and descriptions of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca. In spite of the variation in documentation, one can conclude that the rise of the kingdom and the unification of peoples on both sides Jali Sirifo Camara (left) Jalóol Ibraahima Sisoho and Solo Kutujo Introduction / xv of the Niger River’s bend are due to the leadership skills of the Keita family descended from the founder, Sun-Jata Keita. Just as the Mande celebrate Sun-Jata, the Senegambian Mandinka maintain the memory of the kingdom of Kaabu, which rose to power after Mali was invaded and dismembered by the armed forces of Koli Tengela in 1490 (Barry 1988, p. 7). However, the cultural unity of the region had been dominated by the intermingling of peoples of Senegambia and the Mande immigrants, who are said to have set out to conquer Kaabu in eastern Gambia under the leadership of Tiramagan Tarawere, one of Sun-Jata’s lieutenants, in the thirteenth century. By the eighteenth century, Kaabu was organized as a confederation of over thirty provinces after it was no longer within the political orbit of Mali (Barry 1988, p. 21; Niane 1989, p. 54). Its major rulers were military aristocrats called ñancóol (Nyanchol), who shared the family names of Saane and Maane. They claimed kinship with Tiramagan Tarawere and a female aristocrat named Balaba (Niane 1989, p. 40). In spite of their indiscriminate celebration of the Kaabu rulers who might be of foreign or local origin, the Mandinka jalóol, or griots, revere more than any other warrior Kelefaa Saane, the ñancóo hero whose draJali Morikeba Kouyate Jali Laalo Keebaa Daraame Map 1. The World of Kelefaa, Northern Region Map 2. The World of Kelefaa, Southern Region xviii / Introduction matic representation is the most significant in the historic traditions of the Mandinka people. Gordon Innes, a pioneering scholar in Mandinka oral literature, first introduced these epics narrated by Gambian bards with his publication of about eight bilingual versions. His first volume contains three versions of Sunjata (1974). His second volume, Kaabu and Fuladu: Historical Narratives of the Gambian Mandinka (1976), contains one version each of Janke...