Mansa Haruna

Intro

The following is a roughly 10-minute excerpt from Mansa Haruna ka maana (“The Story of King Haruna”), an audio story performed by the griot (jeli) Daouda Dembélé. Originally recorded in a studio and released on cassette in Mali in the 1990s, the tale follows a poor Bambara man named Haruna who rises to become a wealthy merchant, eventually earning the nickname Mansa Haruna—“King Haruna.”

In this excerpt, while traveling to a distant village, Haruna accidentally kills the child of a genie with a date pit. The furious genie confronts him and threatens to take his life—setting the stage for the rest of the tale.

The audio was sourced from a bootleg copy of the full 40-minute story, which is available on YouTube. I discovered it through an academic article in French by Holger Tröbs, which includes a full transcription and translation. To support listening comprehension, I've prepared the excerpt as a video file with optional subtitles. I've made a few edits to the original transcript where my interpretation differed from Tröbs’s, and the English translation is my own.

This excerpt offers an excellent introduction to the storytelling and oral literature tradition of Manding-speaking griots. Unlike traditional epics about historical figures like Sunjata Keita—which often rely on dense praise-names and historical references—Mansa Haruna ka maana is more accessible to new listeners. The story is engaging and easy to follow, yet still rich in cultural depth. Jeli Daouda Dembélé enhances the experience by accompanying himself on the nkɔni, a traditional three- or four-string lute, and delivering a clear, expressive performance. His skillful weaving of narration, dialogue, commentary, music, and poetic language creates a captivating rhythm and dramatic tension throughout. Originally released on cassette and widely popular in Mali, the story continues to resonate today—as seen in its YouTube presence and the many comments and views it still receives.

Summary

Spoiler alert: The paragraph below further summarizes the full excerpt. If you feel you already have enough information to jump into the excerpt, skip this section for now.

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