Why Educators Should Teach “The Epic of Sundiata Keita” in High School English/Language Arts

As a Black educator, or as educators in general, it is imperative that we intentionally incorporate Black mythos into the same units and on the same level as classics like The Odyssey. Here is why…

The Odyssey is Overrated

Tell Me, Oh Muse, of an Overrated Hero. Many of you will recognize some portion of this as the famous first line of Homer’s The Odyssey. I am a high school English/Language Arts teacher. I am hesitant to reveal that I am an English/Language Arts teacher lest you choose to use that against my unformulaic writing, or my flagrant overuse of the ellipses….

As much as I’d like to keep that information for myself, this post would not make much sense without it.

I recall my ninth-grade experience with Odysseus and Penelope, and it was not one I recall fondly. Personally, I found the blatant double standards of loyalty and chastity as disgusting as I do today, and I could never understand why I was supposed to pedestalize a man with such poor planning skills. (Honestly, whoever told this man it was okay to just go into someone else’s cave, eat their cheese, and sit around their fire has no hometraining.)  I understand the importance of teaching many classic texts, especially as markers for so many of the allusions, structures, and mythos that makeup the Western world. We cannot escape the redemptive arc of the epic hero, nor should we want to. His-because most epic heroes are men-stories pervade so much of popular culture. DC and Marvel would not exist without him. And I find that even if The Odyssey’s text is not compelling, the mythology and the lore attached to it often are to my students. They express to me that they wish we could talk more about mythology from all over the world, and once again I’m reminded how so much of my curriculum leaves little room for their curiosity.

So, I teach The Odyssey, because my department chair requires it, parents expect it, and the state “suggests” it.

A depiction of Odysseus confronting the Sirens

If you read my previous essay, entitled "What HBCU Dancelines Can Teach Us About the Orishas and Power…Oh and Beyonce," then you’ll logically infer that once you start learning about African history, Pandesha’s box cannot then be closed.

When learning about the Orishas, I logically became curious because I know, as most ELA teachers and historians know, that you cannot have the mythology without the myth; if there’s a pantheon, there’s a good story somewhere in the mix. Thus began my love affair with Sundiata Keita.

A few years ago, I went to one of our annual professional development conferences (which for many teaches, doubles as the only vacation they can afford, but we move). Often, teachers are asked to share ideas and express what we are doing in our classrooms to further support learning and increase engagement. I generally never speak, as I’ve found that one thing teachers love to do is talk about teaching. (We have egos too, and we certainly can’t brag about our bank accounts). But in this course, the instructor called on me to give an idea on interdisciplinary teaching. So, I exhaled, stood up, and proceeded to explain how I incorporate history, diction, slant/bias, and language into one big pot of gumbo when teaching and comparing how religion changes the writing in both Beowulf and Sundiata Keita. As soon as I said Sundiata, the room visibly began to change. Heads popped up and murmurs began. My instructor, a pleasant peach of a woman said, “What was the last thing you said? I’ve never heard of that text before.” I was visibly shocked. I had only been teaching for two years at this point and so I naturally assumed that an epic so famous that it was easily Google-able was unknown to so many seasoned teachers, who were always so quick to assure me that any good  teacher can make The Great Gatsby enjoyable. (Ugh). I quickly offered a summation of the key points and sat down. I can’t express how I felt….it was some sort of swirling sadness, shock, and the overwhelming weight of once again, being one of the sole representatives and advocates for my history.

Summary of Sundiata Kieta

So, who is Sundiata? Well, perhaps you may not have heard of him, but I’m fairly certain the name Mansa Musa must have crossed your radar at some point. Mansa Musa is STILL regarded as the richest man or king to have ever lived or ruled. Most scholars agree that his magnificent showing of wealth during his pilgrimage to Mecca is largely responsible for the resulting interest in Africa by Europeans, well in the riches of Africa anyway. They didn’t give a damn about the people…

Mansa Musa comes from the direct lineage of kings connected to or related to Sundiata Keita. History remembers Sundiata, sometimes spelled Sunjata, as the King to resurrect the then collapsed ancient Empire of Ancient Ghana and expand/connect all neighboring regions in West Africa to form what was known as the Ancient Empire of Mali. (Note: Modern-day Mali and Ghana are named in honor of these fallen empires, and though some of their present-day territories overlap with their ancient counterparts, they are not the same.)

Mansa Musa depicted holding an Imperial Golden Globe in the 1375 Catalan Atlas.

His story is history…long and existing in many forms, but I’ve condensed it as best as I can for the purposes of this post. However, Sundiata’s story is so rich that I HIGHLY suggest you read it for yourself.

Sundiata’s father, Maghan Kon Fatta was the king of one of the many smaller kingdoms created when Ancient Ghana collapsed. Tall, handsome, athletic, and charismatic, he was generally loved by his people and ruled well. One day, while sitting in his court with his griot Gnankouman Doua, a divine hunter with the gift of prophecy visits him. He reveals this prophecy: "Mali is about to emerge from the night." He instructs the King to marry a woman so hideous and disfigured, that all will question his decision. And "she will be the mother of him that will make the kingdom of Mali immortal forever." Well, King Maghan thinks this is crazy. He is a King! Why would he marry an unattractive woman when 1) he can have whatever woman he chooses, and 2) he was already married with children. However, he thanks the diviner, keeps his prophecy in the back of his mind, and goes about his life.

One day, through a series of events, a woman so ugly (called the Buffalo woman for her appearance and her powers) comes into his court. He remembers the prophecy and marries her. Just as the diviner said, she does bear him a son and they name him Sundiata Keita, a name that means "The Lion Child." However, his joy quickly turns to despair as he realizes that Sundiata is born crippled, disabled, and seemingly mute. Sundiata and his mother Sogolon are subjected to endless jeering, taunts, and insults by the King’s first wife as well as the King’s subjects. But, at the age of seven, Sundiata pulls himself up, wills himself to walk, begins to speak, and shows his immense power by pulling up a Baobab tree and placing it at his mother's feet, all because she lamented the fact that her son could not bring her the leaves as other children could . Everyone is so shocked at his strength that the tides immediately turn from favoring Dankaran Touman, the king's first-born son, to Sundiata. On top of this, Sundiata turns out to be an extremely handsome and charismatic child that everyone loves. Sassouma Berete, King Maghan's first wife and mother of his first born son, watches with extreme envy and attempts many times to take Sundiata’s life using magic and sorcerers, but fate intervenes and her malicious plots always fail.

Nevertheless, Sogolon knows that the incessant attacks on her son’s life will continue, especially after the King dies leaving the Kingdom to Sundiata. So, she moves her family and they live in exile, seeking asylum, living as guests of other kings for a time, until eventually they end their quest in a city called Mema. Due to Sundiata’s strength, leadership skills, intelligence, and magical protection, the King of Mema continues to favor and promote Sundiata until he is promoted to the King’s viceroy, meaning he is second in command.

While Sundiata is increasing his political prowess, strength, and maturity, the Mandinka people are suffering under a Sorcerer King Soumaoro Kante and his son Sosso. He has ravaged the lands, killing all who oppose him and taking lands for himself. And so the Mandinka cry out for Sundiata to help him, who is still in the Kingdom of Mema. After much convincing, and with help from his family, he makes the decision to return to his homeland and take the throne from his weak half-brother, putting him in a position to challenge Soumaoro and Sosso. The King of Mema gives Sundiata an army, supplies, and his blessing. Sundiata goes back to the Mandinka people and defeats King Soumaoro  in the Battle of Karina by forging a coalition of smaller nations to defeat the evil sorcerer.

The region of the Ancient Empire of Mali

Sunidata Keita: The True Lion King

Personally, I don’t understand why I was never exposed to this myth of an ancient Malian empire before the age of twenty-five. He’s a perfect counterpart of Gilgamesh and Beowulf, as well as the moral counter to our fancy-free friend and morally ambiguous "hero" Odysseus. And many argue it is HIS story that is the inspiration for my childhood favorite, “The Lion King,” and not Hamlet as so many would claim. As far as themes go, unlike many other epics, Sundiata relies heavily on the counsel of friends and family. Shirking the obscene hubris of Odysseus, it is his humility and his willingness to stand up for his people that students can take away from this story. And I would be remiss if I didn’t also remark on the strong role that women play in strengthening men. (Penelope could never!)

Sundiata Keita leading his coalition of armies

I have two major complaints about this epic: 1) The text is not readily available and quite expensive as compared to other more well-know (ahem White) works. I have not been able to afford a class set to this day, finding that I have to go through too many legal loopholes to disperse the text to my students. (Fill in the blanks…I plead the fifth.) 2) We don’t have the magic of mythology to explore. To be fair, I also have this complaint about Beowulf, and here is why….

Because both Sundiata and Beowulf began in the oral tradition as stories passed down by griots and bards, respectively, the epics have become malleable to the time and to the religion. Muslim and Christian influence has replaced what would have been the traditional gods and pantheons of both the Malian people and the Anglo-Saxons. This is disappointing, as there is so much richness in studying the ancient or pagan religions. Show me your god and I’ll show you your values. Still, diminished shine and all, this beautiful story of overcoming obstacles, redemption, and kingship is an invaluable one that all high-school ELA teachers should consider adding into their repertoire.

Teaching Sundiata Keita puts Black Epics of Par to White Epics

I want my children to see themselves represented everywhere, and there is no reason that in 2021, or whenever you’re reading this, we should still be touting Odysseus as the father of epic heroes. (I mean, the man was hella problematic!). Sundiata was a bad ass. According to myth and confirmed by history, Sundiata was able to combine all tribes throughout the region of Ancient Mali, create a unique form of governance allowing tribes to keep their autonomy and customs while still answering to him, consolidate and streamline the lucrative resources of salt and gold, and create the Kingdom that would birth the richest man that has ever lived.

I also want to make very clear that I’m focusing on The Epic of Sundiata Keita because Black epics are NEVER discussed in high school English courses, but his is not the only one, nor is it the only diverse epic that should be taught. I also teach The Epic of Gilgamesh concurrently, a Sumerian/Mesopotamian myth. You can also look into the epic of the Nyanga people of the Congo, The Epic of Mwindo as another great example of the epic genre telling Black stories.

Heroes Come in All Shades of Brave

So, in conclusion, be brave enough to do some research and be bold enough to present these options to your department chairs/instructional coaches/administrators. Educators play a distinguished role in revolutionizing our world. We mold, more so than parents in some situations, not only what students know but how they think, and if they think all heroes look like Beowulf or King Arthur, then how can we expect Black and White children to accept that heroes come in all shades of brave?

While I am using the teaching of epics in this essay, the premise extends to all facets of education. It is extremely tempting, especially as a new teacher clueless about curriculum or an established teacher satisfied with pushing the wheelbarrow down the same trench every year to never stray from the “suggested” reading advocated by “experts,” when it’s obvious that these “experts” only desire to master one lane of expertise: White and European. We have to do better. And diversifying our texts is a good place to start.

Sources used and/or referenced:

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Lol…

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