Afterword: Whither Orality? Echoes of an Event in World Literature

Julien reports that she first encountered Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue, a renowned West African oral epic recounting the rise of the 13th-century Mali Empire, in the early 1970s. Originally performed in Mandinka by griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté, it was transcribed and translated by Guinean his...

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Published in:Research in African literatures Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 104 - 108
Main Author: Julien, Eileen
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bloomington Indiana University Press 22.09.2025
Subjects:
13th century
African literature
Authorship
Centuries
Decolonization
Epic literature
French language
Genre
Mande languages
Mandinka
Oral literature
Oral tradition
Social aspects
Transformation
World literature
United States
Mali
Africa
ISSN:0034-5210, 1527-2044, 1527-2044
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Abstract Julien reports that she first encountered Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue, a renowned West African oral epic recounting the rise of the 13th-century Mali Empire, in the early 1970s. Originally performed in Mandinka by griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté, it was transcribed and translated by Guinean historian Djibril Tamsir Niane, then published in French in 1960 and later in English in 1965. This publication challenged European claims that Africa lacked epic traditions, marking a turning point in the recognition of African literature. Beyond its political and cultural significance--linked to decolonization, négritude, and the First World Festival of Black Arts--the epic highlights themes of destiny and transformation. Given the particular creative mode of the Soundiata epic--ongoing addition, alteration, and erasure--it is easy to see why the concept of a singular, stable "author" is limited and can be problematic, for "meaning" is not a one-way street. The dynamic of literary creation involves at the very least an author or speaker and a reader or interacting audience whose diverse voices and viewpoints join in, contest, challenge, add new perspectives, signal different contexts, express doubt, approve, or encourage the narrator.
AbstractList Julien reports that she first encountered Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue, a renowned West African oral epic recounting the rise of the 13th-century Mali Empire, in the early 1970s. Originally performed in Mandinka by griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté, it was transcribed and translated by Guinean historian Djibril Tamsir Niane, then published in French in 1960 and later in English in 1965. This publication challenged European claims that Africa lacked epic traditions, marking a turning point in the recognition of African literature. Beyond its political and cultural significance--linked to decolonization, négritude, and the First World Festival of Black Arts--the epic highlights themes of destiny and transformation. Given the particular creative mode of the Soundiata epic--ongoing addition, alteration, and erasure--it is easy to see why the concept of a singular, stable "author" is limited and can be problematic, for "meaning" is not a one-way street. The dynamic of literary creation involves at the very least an author or speaker and a reader or interacting audience whose diverse voices and viewpoints join in, contest, challenge, add new perspectives, signal different contexts, express doubt, approve, or encourage the narrator.
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Author Julien, Eileen
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Snippet Julien reports that she first encountered Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue, a renowned West African oral epic recounting the rise of the 13th-century Mali...
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StartPage 104
SubjectTerms 13th century
African literature
Authorship
Centuries
Decolonization
Epic literature
French language
Genre
Mande languages
Mandinka
Oral literature
Oral tradition
Social aspects
Transformation
World literature
Title Afterword: Whither Orality? Echoes of an Event in World Literature
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