This week’s episode honors the late historian of Mande people and culture, Djibril Tamsir Niane, whose 1960 publication The Epic of Sundiata introduced the West to the legend of 13th-century Mali’s heroic king, Sundiata Keita. AFROFILES' Charlotte Bednarski interviews Dr. David Conrad, Emeritus Professor of History at State University of New York at Oswego and an expert in Mande oral tradition and history. They discuss episodes from the epic, as well as its historical and social significance.

Music is this episode from Sillaba and Maher Cissoko, Bassidi and Khalifa Koné, and Mory Kanté. Our theme is from RYYZN.

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