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The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa. The Manding languages were spoken in the empire. At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws and customs. Much of the recorded information about the Mali Empire comes from 14th-century Tunisian historian Ibn Khaldun, 14th-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta and 16th-century Andalusian traveller Leo Africanus. The other major source of information comes from Mandinka oral tradition, as recorded by storytellers known as griots.
The balafon is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now found across West Africa from Guinea to Mali. Its common name, balafon, is likely a European coinage combining its Mandinka name ߓߟߊ bala with the word ߝߐ߲ fôn 'to speak' or the Greek root phono.
"Liberté" is the national anthem of Guinea. Adopted upon independence in 1958, it was arranged by Fodéba Keïta and is based on the melody of a Maninka praise song by Korofo Moussa for 19th-century Fouta Djallon king Alpha Yayo Diallo.
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A griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
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Sunjata [] is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita, 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.
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Ken Bugul is the pen name of Senegalese Francophone novelist Mariètou Mbaye Biléoma. In the Wolof language, her pen name means "one who is unwanted".
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The Yalunka, or Dialonké, are a Mandé-speaking people who were one of the original inhabitants of the Futa Jallon, a mountainous region in Guinea, West Africa. The Yalunka people live primarily in Guinea, particularly in Faranah, while smaller communities are found in Kouroussa. Additional Yalunka are also located in northeastern Sierra Leone, southeastern Senegal, and southwestern Mali.
Fodéba Keïta was a Guinean dancer, musician, writer, playwright, composer and politician. Founder of the first professional African theatrical troupe, Theatre Africain, he also arranged Liberté, the national anthem of Guinea.
Mamadou Sidiki Diabaté is a prominent Mandé kora player and jeli from Bamako, Mali. He is the 71st generation of kora players in his family and a son to Sidiki Diabaté.
The African Child is an autobiographical French novel by Camara Laye published in 1953. It tells the story of a young African child, Baba, growing up in Guinea. The novel won the Prix Charles Veillon writing prize.
The Nyamakala, or Nyamakalaw, are the historic occupational castes among Islamic societies of West Africa, particularly among the Mandinka people. The Nyamakala are known as Nyaxamalo among the Soninke people, and Nyenyo among the Wolof people. They are found throughout the Sahel region, from Mali and Senegal to Chad and several other parts of the West African region historically known as the "Western Sudan".
Manding, Manden or even Mandé is a region located in West Africa, a space between southern Mali and eastern Guinea. It is the historic home of the Mandingo community.
References
- 1 2 Esonwanne, Uzo (1993). "The Nation as Contested Referent". Research in African Literatures . 24 (4): 49–62. See p. 52 and p. 56.
- 1 2 Azodo, Ada Uzoamaka (1994). "The Work in Gold as Spiritual Journey in Camara Layé's The African Child". Journal of Religion in Africa . 24 (1): 52–61. JSTOR 1581374. See p. 52 and p. 59.
- 1 2 Miller, Christopher L. (1990). Theories of Africans: Francophone Literature and Anthropology in Africa. University of Chicago Press. pp. 57, 166–67. ISBN 9780226528021.
- ↑ Frindéthié, K. Martial (2014). Francophone African Cinema: History, Culture, Politics and Theory. McFarland. pp. 37–38. ISBN 9780786453566.
- ↑ Counsel, Graeme (2018). "Sound archives in West Africa". In Baker, Sarah; Strong, Catherine; Istvandity, Lauren; Cantillon, Zelmarie (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Popular Music History and Heritage. Routledge. p. 891 n. 5. ISBN 9781315299297.
- ↑ Posthumus, Bram (2016). Guinea: Masks, Music and Minerals. Oxford UP. p. 183. ISBN 9781787381162.
- ↑ Knowles, Mark (2002). Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing. McFarland. pp. 44, 103. ISBN 9780786412679.
- ↑ Cartwright, Keith (2014). Reading Africa into American Literature: Epics, Fables, and Gothic Tales. UP of Kentucky. p. 40. ISBN 9780813158334.