Sumanguru

Intro

This audio excerpt comes from a 1997 recording of an epic tale told by griot Abdulaye Sako in Koulikoro, Mali. The story focuses on Sumanguru Kantɛ (also known as Soumaoro Kanté), a legendary figure in Manding oral traditions.

Sumanguru ruled Soso, a powerful state that rose after the fall of the Ghana Empire and before the rise of Mali. In epic tradition, he is the rival defeated by Sunjata Keyita in the founding of the Mali Empire.

The original recording was collected by Stephen Bulman, who transcribed and translated it with linguist Valentin Vydrine. Their work was published in 2017 as The Epic of Sumanguru Kante. Sako is credited as the narrator; Bulman and Vydrine are listed as editors.

This excerpt corresponds to lines 50–133 in the book and comes from Episode 1, which tells of Sumanguru’s birth. However, I’ve chosen to skip the earlier lines about the origins of Soso and begin directly with the dramatic story of Sumanguru’s in utero growth between two women.

It’s a great entry point for learners: the recording is clear, the rhythm is compelling, and while some praise-names appear, it’s a manageable introduction to epic style. There’s also background music that adds to the atmosphere.

The transcription has been lightly edited to follow standard Bambara orthography, as the book’s original used a more phonetic style that can be harder to read. (See this blog post of mine for more detail and commentary on that.) The translation is my own, though often close to the version by Bulman and Vydrine.

The full original recording is available open-access online.

Listen

Watch the video without the subtitles. If they are on, click on the little "CC" symbol and turn them off.

Listen and Read

Now turn on the subtitles in Bambara/Jula (click on the little "CC" button) and read along.

If you are lost, you can also switch it into English and then re-watch in Bambara/Jula.

And remember, you can also slow down the video to make it easier to follow along. I recommend 75%. Click on the little gear symbol.

List of Selected Grammar Points

Coming later

Grammar Points Explained

Coming later