40 pages • 1 hour read
Djibril Tamsir Niane (D.T. Niane), Transl. G. D. PickettSundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Sunjata)
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1200A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Silk-Cotton Tree
The silk-cotton tree (ceiba pentandra), also known as the Kapok Tree, is a tropical tree native to South America and the Caribbean. According to the notes of this edition of the text, this tree was transported to West Africa by the Portuguese in the 14th and 15th centuries (87). As such, mention of the silk-cotton tree in Sundiata is anachronistic, or belonging to a different time than is suggested, since the epic is set in the 13th century.
The silk-cotton tree is a large and impressive tree that produces valuable downy, cotton-like fibers in its seedpods, as well as bark that was used in several traditional remedies. The tree is associated with Sundiata’s destiny to become great and powerful (like the tree), especially through connection to his kingly genealogy (the roots of the tree). The first time the tree is mentioned, Naré Maghan is sitting “in his usual position under the silk-cotton tree surrounded by his kinsmen” (4). This is where Naré Maghan hears the Sangaran hunter’s prophecy, and his position with his kinsmen at the base of the tree represents the base from which the powerful Sundiata will blossom. The tree’s slow growth also represents the time it will take Sundiata to become king; as Doua reminds Naré Maghan in his moment of doubt, “the silk-cotton tree emerges from a tiny seed” (16). Sundiata will have humble beginnings, but he will grow to overshadow even his own father and all his ancestors.
Baobab Leaves
Leaves of the baobab tree (Adansonia) are a condiment in Mandinka cuisine. In Sundiata they represent Mali and symbolize Sundiata’s innate connection to Mali and his right to Mandinka kingship. In Chapter 6 the disenfranchised Sogolon begs her rival Sassouma Bérété for baobab leaves to season her family’s food. Sassouma gives the leaves to Sogolon but humiliates her by reminding her that while Sundiata is lame, her own son Dankaran Touman brings this abundantly available garnish to her each day. The grief this causes Sogolon inspires Sundiata’s resolve to stand using an iron rod, and to uproot a complete baobab tree to give to his mother (21-22). This demonstration of strength immediately precedes Sundiata’s exile, as it deepens Sassouma’s hatred of Sundiata’s family, causing Sogolon to decide to flee with her family. As such, this uprooting of the baobab also represents Sundiata’s own uprooting, connecting this symbol of Mali to Sundiata’s own fate and suggesting Sundiata’s innate right to Mandinka kingship. Later in the text, these humble baobab leaves lead Sundiata home. When the party searching for Sundiata comes to Mema disguised as merchants selling baobab leaves, Kolonkan recognizes this Mandinka condiment, which is scarce in Mema, and leads the party to Sundiata’s home (44). As such, baobab leaves are connected to both Sundiata’s exile and his return to Mali.
The Lion and the Buffalo
Near the middle of Chapter 14, Balla Fasséké delivers a rousing speech to Sundiata, inspiring him toward greatness in the battle at Krina. He tells Sundiata, “you are the son of Naré Maghan, but you are also the son of your mother Sogolon, the buffalo-woman, before whom powerless sorcerers shrank in fear. You have the strength and majesty of the lion, you have the might of the buffalo” (65). The lion and the buffalo are Sundiata’s two totem animals, and they represent the different rights and qualities that he has inherited from his parents.
Like the lion, which symbolizes his father, Sundiata is majestic, regal, and powerful. Early on in his life, he is called the “lion-child,” which represents both the power bequeathed to him by his father and his physical state, as he crawls on all fours like a lion. Like the buffalo and his mother, who has bulging eyes and a humpback (7), Sundiata is born deformed, unable to use his legs. However, he is also gifted the supernatural essence passed through Sogolon as the wraith of the buffalo monster of Do, and he demonstrates supernatural abilities like the superhuman strength to uproot the baobab tree and the clairvoyance in his game of wori with the king of Djedeba. Like Sundiata’s parents, these two animals are opposites, but it is their fusion in Sundiata that makes him so uniquely powerful.
