Sundiata

The story of Sundiata, at first glance, is a charming story about a how young crippled boy overcomes his weaknesses to become a accomplished and wise adult. From the begining with the acceptance of the slightly abnormal maiden, to the crisis of the prince being born with issues, to the King never losing faith that the Prince would come into his own, the story brings a breath of normality and hope to the princess-prince love story fairy tales.However, a few things did stand out.

Firstly, the story seems to be not be an African style hierarchy. Rather, with the kings and the emphasis for a ‘male heir,’ it suggests a European influence. It makes me wonder if the story was translated into written text by a someone of European descent or teaching, or if this was how it truly was told orally. If the story was put in written form after England and France’s domination of a majority of African countries, then this could very well be possible.

Secondly, there is strange similarities between the story and portions of the bible. For example, at the end of the book Sundiata returns to his throne and there are twelve kings that had supposedly previously helped him (even though they only talk about one) reminiscent of the twelve disciples. There are other examples as well, such as the two sons, the jealous first queen of the second’s son, the pureness of the prince’s heart, etc. All of these bring an eerily biblical tone to the story that seems slightly out of place in a tale that originates from tribal folklore.

Lastly, the mentions of the lion and the buffalo seems very much like they were just thrown in there at a whim. There is not really any basis to why the king is called the lion king, or why they say the woman had the spirit of the buffalo, or what that has to do with children. It almost seems like someone was trying to make a story seem more like a tribal tale. It, again, brings up the question of was the story translated wrong.

This story though does not seem like Disney’s the Lion King to me like some claim. Other than the title itself and the broad scope of the story, the story details seems much different. The Disney version has one King and one Queen, with a perfectly capable singular son that eventually accidentally leads his father into a trap, which is completely at odds with Sundiata’s one King, two Queens, and two Sons (one normal, one crippled). Though both have a prince that goes to exile for a while before coming back to save the land from the terror of the horrific family member of the prince.

However, regardless of the strangeness around this tale, it was an enjoyable tale for even a college age person. It contains many life lessons that most stories do not focus upon nowadays, and brings hope that one can rise above what others think he is capable of based on a person’s challenges.