Islam is presented in the Epic of Sundiata in a way that encourages listeners to embrace Islam over their indigenous belief systems. The epic accomplishes this by incorporating elements and practices of the indigenous beliefs into Islamic tradition; and by adapting certain Islamic mythology — such as the Jinn — to the existing West African culture. It also asserts the superior power and strength of those who derive their power from Allah and the Jinn, to those whose power is based in ancestral worship and fetishes. Through conflict, adaptation, and tolerance, the Epic of Sundiata presents an accessible version of Islam to the people of the Mali Empire; and promotes the acceptance of this new faith over the indigenous beliefs of the area.
Sundiata is also called the Son of the Buffalo. This references his mother, Sogolon, who was powerful sorceress and the wraith of the water buffalo, a powerful symbol in the indigenous belief system. She had fantastic powers (QUOTE). Sogolon’s power within the indigenous faith established Sundiata as a authoritative figure in the eyes of practitioners of the indigenous belief in the same way that alleging(QUOTE) established him as a prominent figure to Muslims. These legendary pedigrees gave Sundiata authority on matters of both belief systems.
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Sundiata’s birth was predicted by a soothsaying hunter from the kingdom of Do.
The prophecy of soothsayers, or seers, was greatly respected and taken for truth by both the Muslims of Western Africa and followers of the indigenous beliefs. Sundiata himself consulted with them on important matters(QUOTE). Soothsaying is an important part of the West African belief system and the epic incorporates it into the version of Islam it puts forth, even though the Quran expressly forbids listening to soothsayers, (QUOTE FROM THE QURAN). In this way The Epic of Sundiata incorporated an indigenous belief with Islam which helped to create a more accessible
faith. When Sundiata relied only on the indigenous belief system he was ignorant and like an animal. Until the age of seven he was unable to walk. He stole food and crawled around on all fours, he was an embarrassment to his mother, (QUOTE). Despite her ability as a great sorceress, Sogolon was unable to get her son to walk (QUOTE). However; when Sogolon desperately cried out to Allah, Sundiata instantly became determined, and than able, to walk, (QUOTE). Following this sight Sogolon sang the praises of Allah (QUOTE). Sundiata evolved from an ignorant, animal-like, creature to a strong man in a few paragraphs after the introduction of Islam to his life. In his childhood Sundiata was threatened by Sassouma Bérété, his fathers first wife. She recruited the most powerful witches in the land, lead by Soumosso Konkomba, to kill Sundiata. (QUOTE). The witches were unable to harm Sundiata, his adherence to Islamic values protected him from the magic of the witches(QUOTE). Islam is established as a protection against the magic of the indigenous belief system, and this theme continues through the epic. Sundiata and his family were forced into exile when his half brother Dankaran Touman ascended to the throne upon his fathers death. In exile the family first sought refuge in Djedeba with the powerful sorcerer king Mansa Konkon.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
“There is no god but Allah…” (41). This is what was taught to many African people during the emergence of the Islamic culture. Although many diverse religions existed before this emergence, Islam and its teachings spread quicker than people imagined. Its teachings were very formal and education-oriented. This was certainly evident through the emergence of Tiekoro, the son of Dousika Traore, who was the king’s most trusted advisor, but not a well-respected man. As Conde stated on page 41, Segu seemed like it became smaller everyday, as if it were an island surrounded by other countries, which have unfortunately lost the battle to Islam. Tiekoro, being a young man, realized these rapid changes in his society. He, unlike many other Bambaras, decided to convert to the majority, leaving the minority (his Bambara people) behind to ponder what their next choice will be.
Historically, the major religions of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism began to spread across Eurasia and Africa from the 5th century through trade routes and conquest. As these ideas and practices traveled to new and distance places, local populations adapted and transformed many of them in ways that reflected traditional beliefs and customs, also known as syncretism. The rise of rulers, such as Sundiata in Mali helps illustrate this process of partial adaptation, or syncretism, in order to get a boost of support from the subjects of the kingdom. The actions concerning syncretism, can be explanation of the rise of kings such as Sundiata. These examples can be seen through the texts “Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali”, “Worlds together, Worlds Apart”, and “Account of a Journey to the West”.
The Epic of Sundiata presents the Islamic faith in a way that encourages listeners to embrace it over their indigenous belief systems. The epic accomplishes this by incorporating elements and practices of the indigenous beliefs into Islamic tradition; and by adapting certain Islamic mythology — such as the Jinn — to the existing West African culture. It also asserts the superior power, morality, and strength of those who derive their power from Allah and the Jinn, to those who base their powers in ancestral worship and fetishes. Through conflict, adaptation, and tolerance, the Epic of Sundiata presents an accessible version of Islam to the people of the Mali Empire; and it promotes the acceptance of this new faith over the indigenous beliefs
The epic of Sundiata pertains to the ancient kingdom of Mali in Africa. The king there has two sons and multiple wives. Sundiata was set to have taken the throne being the first born son but suffered from an severely impairing illness that would prevent him to walk yet rule a kingdom. When their father, the king, died his second son took over the kingdom as king. He turned out to be an awful leader and treated his people and Sundiata terribly. Sundiata struggled immensely but was able to eventually beat his illness which was preventing him to walk. When the current king observed this, he felt very threatened and in retaliation stated that Sundiata and his mother were to be banished from the kingdom. Shortly after leaving they were accepted as family at a new kingdom far far away. Much time passes and several years later, Mali is under attack and Sundiata wins a battle. He then banishes his brother from the kingdom and takes the throne as it rightfully should have been hos to begin with.
By following and analyzing some of the key moments of faith in his life, this paper seeks to expose the extent to which the series of controversial dialectical incidents that happened throughout his early life, i.e., his cultural African religious traditions (thesis), and Christianity as taught by his slave masters (antithesis), had a direct influence in developing his own understanding of religion (synthesis). Furthermore, this paper will demonstrate that Olaudah Equiano's decision was based on the impact of both the influences of culture and slavery, and a personal experience based on his perspective of divine intervention. To begin, most Africans have come from societies with traditional African religious backgrounds unrelated to Islam or Christianity. As a whole, African religious traditions combine belief in a Supreme Being with the worship of other gods and ancestors and use ritual and magic to mediate between human beings, nature, and the gods. In many African languages, there is no word for God, because in their tradition, everything and place embodies God.
The great Machiavelli once said, "Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times." Indeed, the study of history is important as history does seem to repeat itself. Many people in today's society learn about the past from textbooks and other books, as these are of easy access. Is this really the best way to learn about the past? The people of ancient Africa did not think so, as they had special people called "griots"who passed the people's traditions and history down orally from generation to generation. One such griot, Mamadou Kouyate, recalls the story of the most famous ruler in African history, Sundiata, in D.T. Niane's book Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. This book has become an entertaining, yet scrutinized, source about the history of Mali and it's surrounding areas. Much scrutiny of this tale comes from those who question the validity of the griots, though Mamadou Kouyate is quick to point out that "[His] word is pure and free of all untruth; it is the word of [his] father...griots do not know what lying is" (Niane 1). If the context of the epic is true, then there are many valuable things to be learned from it including the traditions and customs of ancient Africa, and how Sundiata came to rule over such a large area. Based upon a reading of the text, it is easy to see that Sundiata's political power was not based soley on religion, as he used many conventional methods to gain and remain in power.
Believers in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are found on every continent, but tend to be concentrated in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Western Asia and North Africa. Christianity and Islam are growing influences in sub-Saharan Africa, often replacing indigenous faiths. By studying the teachings of the western religions, we can comprehend the respectable position of women in the society and the urgent need to remove all social and gender barriers
Islam has a deep history, beginning with ideas originating before Muhammad and spanning to the present day. Before Islam, the Bedouin people’s faith contained a belief in supreme beings alongside animism. They also put a large emphasis on ancestor worship (Swartz 15). Some groups...
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad proved to be exceptionally adept at uniting diverse groups, negotiating a series of alliances and loyalty arrangements that spanned religious, tribal, ethnic, and familial lines (Berggren 2009). Among other things, this ability enabled Muhammad to forge a shared identity and found a nascent Islamic state from a diverse and even heterogeneous community (Rahman 1982; Ernst 2003, pp. 87-93). This diversity proved to be both a source of strength and conflict for Islam, and following the death of Muhammad early Islamic communities engaged in extensive debates not only about the nature of his teachings or how to carry his legacy forward, but also about the terms that should be used to define his authority. Although this debate produced a colorful array of movements within the tapestry of early Islamic civilization, this essay offers a critical examination of two particularly distinct perspectives on the nature of prophetic authority: namely, those articulated
For the layman, familiarity with the major religions stems from the stories that are associated with them. Using the narratives that are derived from the sacred texts is the most prominent way in which our society identifies the Western religions. The Jewish tradition is best correlated to stories like the Exodus and the parting of the Red Seas, for example, as are the many tales of the miracles of Jesus connected to Christianity. This essay will present narratives as an easy method of providing the basic groundwork for the Western religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because of their simplicity and easily transmittable nature. Furthermore, narratives impart many of the rules, laws, and moral fundamentals for these faiths, and are used by religious writers as a novel method of initiating discussion or providing a parallel for other narratives.
Although Islam is probably the least understood religion, Islam is the second largest religion in the world with more than one billion followers, which is one-fifth of the world’s population today. Islam was first stated publicly in the seventh century and now has advanced into a variety of different forms ( Major Religions). The central theme of this paper revolves around the religion of Islam and how it is practice in two Latin American countries, Peru and Panama.
This essay concerns the Kharijites movement in the North Africa. I will not attempt here to analyze in detail the Kharijites movement rather than focus upon its influence to the North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, my intention is to demonstrate a preliminary overview of Kharijites movement that has a greater impact in Africa. This essay will first briefly discuss the spread of Islam in Maghrib; second, an attempt will be made on the emergence of Kharijites Berbers; finally, the wrap up views on this subject of discussion.
Kenneth Jost. 2005. “Understanding Islam.” Annual Editions: Anthropology 11/12, 34th Edition. Elvio Angeloni. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.