Page 94 - Empires of Medieval West Africa

Cha P ter 5

thE mandE pEoplE

of thE mali EmpirE

THE MANDE PEOPLE DESCENDED FROM THE INHABITANTS op p os it e
of the Mali Empire. Since there are no written records from that time, Professional speakers
it is difficult for modern historians to understand the social system and musicians known as
that existed then. There is, however, an extensive oral history and a jeliw remain a key part
tradition in stories that has been gathered from modern Mande people. of Mande society today.
As they did in medieval
From these stories, certain assumptions can be made about what the times, they tell stories that
oral historians thought life was like. But historians cannot be sure preserve memories of the
exactly when particular details became part of the oral history. ancestors and their deeds.
This is a topic of ongoing debate. For example, there is a good deal Sanassy Kouyaté (d. 1995)
of evidence that the bards (poets who recite a story associated with a is seen here with his staff
particular oral tradition) were active at the royal court of Mali, just as of office.
they were elsewhere in Africa in the 19th century. The same can be said
of the blacksmiths. But in the cases of other occupational groups, the
evidence is scarcer.
There is also a chronicle from the Arab historian Ibn Battuta, who
visited the Mali Empire in 1352–1353 and described Mansa Sulayman’s
court. His description is perhaps the only eyewitness account of society
in the 14th century. But his record is incomplete. For example, Ibn Bat-
tuta mentions hearing the music of “stringed instruments,” but he does
not say which ones.

Mande Social organizaTion
Today’s Mande people have an extremely rich history and tradition.
The high point of that history was the Mali Empire. The social status of
the most ancient families is based on their identification with ancestors

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