The African Heroic Epic

THE AFRICAN HEROIC EPIC: INTERNAL BALANCE
Author(s): Isidore Okpewho

Source: Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dellIstituto italiano per lAfrica
e lOriente, Anno 36, No. 2 (GIUGNO 1981), pp. 209-225
Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)
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THE AFRICAN HEROIC EPIC:

INTERNAL BALANCE
by Isidore Okpewho(*)
Introduction
The traditionof epic or heroicnarrativein Africansocietieshas
becomea subjectof growinginterest. But of all the questionwhich
scholarsof this branch of oral literatureponder,perhaps none has
receivedquite as little attentionas that of the sheer implicationsof
scope. Some of the more notablescholarshipon this genrehas, with
varyingdegrees of sensitivity,
recognizedprosody as a determining
factorin the classification
and
(');
thoughthereseems to be a certain
concessionto the fact that for a tale to be classifiedas epic there
mustbe some elementof largenessor scope to it (2), the questionhas
seldombeen raised what this scope consistsin or how the narrator,
beforea sensitive
given the veryimmediatepressuresof performance
audience,manages to sustain the sheer weight of the materialand
sustain plausibilityor interest.
A close look at the internaldynamicsof the Africanheroic
epic soon reveals that it is sustainedby an intriguingcounterpoise
(*) Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
(1) See Adam Parry (ed.), The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers
of Milman Parry (Oxford: Clarendon, 1971); Albert B. Lord, The Singer of Tales
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1960); Ruth Finnegan, Oral Literature in
Africa (Oxford: Clarendon, 1970), for a denial on prosodie grounds; and David E.
Bynum, The Generic Nature of Oral Epic Poetry, in Folklore Genres, ed. Dan
Ben-Amos (Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 1976).
(2) See Daniel Biebuyck, Hero and Chief: Epic Literature from the Banyanga
(Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1978), pp. 34-74; Isidore Okpewho, The Epic
in Africa: Toward a Poetics of the Oral Performance (New York: Columbia Univ.
Press, 1979), pp. 66-79, 119-134; Lilyan Kesteloot, Les popes de l'ouest afri
cain, Prsence Africaine, 58 (1966), 204-9.

210
ISIDORE OKPEWHO
on
and complementary;
betweenelementsthat are both contradictory
the whole this counterpoisehelps to ensure for the tale a certain
both in terms of culturaloutlook and of struccomprehensiveness
tural design. We shall see how this comprehensiveness
is achieved
in the narrativeby a carefulexaminationof a collectionof three
versionsof the Sunjata legend recentlymade by Gordon Innes(3).
But firstwe mayneed to have a fairlyclearpictureof the legend
beforewe can discuss the various elementsof its compositionthat
numeroustraditionalpoets have elaboratedor manipulatedin different
ways. For thereis evidentlya large numberof versionsof this tale
circulatingamong bards across the Western Sudan who trace their
relationshipto the fabled hero-leaderin a varietyof ways and for
a varietyof reasons. In spite of thispluralityof versions,the kernel
of the tale seems to be essentiallyas follows.
(?) king, Maghan
Sunjata was the son of a thirteenth-century
Kung Fatta, of a nucleus of the Mandinka ethnic group in Mali.
His motherSukulungwas also of royal blood and was one of a
numberof wives of the Maghan. One of the firstsons to be born
in this polygamoushousehold,Sunjata sufferedsome setbacksearly
enough in his life and career. For some reason or other he seems
to have been cheatedout of his rightto successionto the kingship.
First,therewas the intriguecarriedout by the othersectionsof the
familyagainsthis own. Then therewas the deathof his father,which
seems to have encouragedthe territorialhungerof te Susu (Sosso)
chieftainSumanguru,a formidablesorcerer,who now usurped the
throneof Mali; thus dispossessed,Sunjata's motherand her children
(includingone or two girls) were driveninto povertyand, in view
of the menaceof Sumanguru'styranny,
into exile. Anotherearlysetback experiencedby Sunjata was his being crippled (for whatever
reason) frombirth for manyyears; when he does rise on his feet
he is on the thresholdof a heroic careerwhich will lock him in a
fierceconflictwith Sumanguru.
For Sumanguru,apparentlyrecognizing
the dangersto his unlawful positionand on the strength
of warningfroma numberof soothsayers,has begun to plot the eliminationof the boy whom destiny
(3) Gordon Innes, Sunjata: Three MandinkaVersions(London: School of Oriental and AfricanStudies,1974). The textswere collectedfromthreeGambianbards,
Bamba Suso, Banna Kanute,and his older brotherDembo Kanute. Referencesto the
textswill bear the bard's firstname and verse number,e.g. Bamba 75.

INTERNAL BALANCE
211
has chosen as king of the Mandinka. But his plans can avail him
nothing. Sunjata moves fromone portentto anotherin his path to
heroicsupremacy:fromuprootinga giantbaobab tree simplyin order
to providehis forlornmothercondimentfor couscous he goes on to
subdue, like the Pindaric Achilles, the most formidablebeasts in
hunt. In numerousways he shows himselfto be a personalityaided
both by the forceof destinyor God and by the power of sorcery.
He makes a tremendousimpressionon monarchof different
neighbouringcommunitieswho accomodatehis familyduring their exile.
When thereforethe time comes for him to take up arms against
Sumanguruto reclaimthe throneof Mali, and he is indeed invited
to do so by emissariesfromthe citizenryof Mali labouringunder
Sumanguru'styranny,it is from these friendlymonarchsthat he
receivesthe essential militaryaid that he needs for the expedition.
When Sunjata and Sumangurufinallyjoin battle- fightingwith
- Sunjata
a fearsomecombinationof physical strengthand sorcery
suffersa few reversesearly in the campaigns. But two significant
eventsoccurto ensurevictoryforhim. The firstis the defectionfrom
Sumanguru'sside of the powerfulgeneralFaa Koli; the greedytyrant
does not stop at appropriating
the wife of his nephewFaa Koli, who
in retaliationwithdrawsa considerablesegmentof the smithcaste
(who constitutethe backbone of supportfor the king) to team up
with Sunjata. The second event is a Delilah-typetrick played on
Sumanguru,whose mysticalpowers seem to present a continuing
obstacleto the victoryof Sunjata's heavilyaugmentedarmy. Appar brother,
entlyon the pretextof a quarrel with her headstrong
sister
defects
to
whose
undefeated
Sunjata's
yet
Sumanguru
leadership
may be seen to have exerciseda certainattractionon the woman.
Sumanguruis overcomeby her seductionand in an unguardedmoment,in the prospectof makinglove to her, yieldsto her on request
the secret of his mysticalpower. Thus armed with this priceless
- escapes back to her
taboo, the woman- no mean sorcererherself
brotherSunjataforthe finalonslaughton the now essentiallydisarmed
Sumanguru. The latteris destroyedbut, with the little that is left
of his sorcery,undergoesmetamorphosis
into some other object like
a bird or a stone.
Now establishedas king of Mali, Sunjata neverthelessthirsts
for more action. The latter part of his career is taken up with
rulersand againsthis own subcampaignsboth againstneighbouring

212
ISIDORE
OKPEWHO
jects who are apparentlydissatisfiedwith a restless(and no doubt

overbearing)monarch. Though there is a touch of anticlimaxto
this portionof the legend, none of the publishedversionspresents
ut with an ignoble end to the life of the hero; the sum of his
shows us a figurewho is thoroughly
masterof a world
portraiture
that is somewhatabove the level of everydaymortality
(4).
The storyof Sunjata would be hardlyworth the reputationit
has achieved over so many generationif it was being told in so
little space. Dependingon the typeof audiencehe has beforehim,
on the kind of responsehe gets, and on various other factors,the
narratormakes all mannerof adjustmentsand elaborationsto the
detailsof his story. He can even choose as the subjectof his elaborative act one particularsegmentof the overall legend that appeals
to him: the third version of Innes' collectionconcentrateson the
careerof Faa Koli in the Sunjata cycleof tales. The essentialthing
is that the bard is free in his performance
to exercisesuch a proprietorshipover a storythat is intendednot so much as a fossilized
of the courageous
packageof objectivedata as an act of glorification
life and an inspirationto the men of his day. Yet the two imperatives- the exaggeratedideals of the active life and the soberingrealities of life as it actuallyis- are kept in clear focus, and it is in
the process of seekinga balance betweenthem that the tale reveals
some kind of tussle- or reciprocity,
dependingon how one looks at
it- between what may be called the elements of enlargementand
control. Let us see some of the areas in which this balancingact is
revealed in the three versionsof the Sunjata storyas collectedby
Innes(5).
(4) For other synopses see Jan Knappert, The Epic in Africa, Journal of the
Folklore Institute, 4 (1971), 171-90; Daniel Biebuyck, The African Heroic Epic,
in Heroic Epic and Saga, ed. Felix J. Oinas (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1978),
pp. 341-2. In 1978 one of my oral literature students, Miss Marie HafTner(a Sierra
Leonean), reported from her fieldwork on hearing versions of the Sunjata story by
some Susu bards that made Sunjata into something of a treacherousvillain. Perhaps
what Banna Kanute tells us in his version (Banna 908-66) of an early dependence by
Sunjata's mother on Sumanguru (called Defender of orphans, 935) for aid suggests
some infiltrationof Susu prejudice into the griot's material. Se also M. Sibide,
Soundiata Keita: hros historique et lgendaire, empereur du Manding , Notes Africains, 81 (1959), 41-51 for furtherevidence of Sunjata's reckless end.
5) Iwo other versions available in iinglish are JJ. 1. XMiane,undiata: An tpic
of Old Mali {London: Longmans, 1965) and John W. Johnson, The Epic of Sun-]ata
According to Magan Sisoko, 2 vols. (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Folklore Monograph
Series, 1978).

INTERNAL BALANC
213
The heroic image

By far the most strikingelementof the heroic narrativeis the
personalitywho is glorifiedin the tale. He is generallyconceived
of him
as a humanbeing but it is clear fromthe overallportraiture
thathe is ratherunlike ordinaryhumanbeings. We are expectedto
admireand no doubt emulate the courage with which he faces the
most extraordinary
challenges;but it is clear that he is equipped for
the confrontation
with resourcesthat ordinarymen do not usually
possess. And rightfromthe beginningto the consumationof his
career he is shown in a light that places him above the level not
onlyof naturalmenbut indeedof the otherfiguresin his extraordinary
world; thereis usuallyan extra resourcethat ensureshe will always
triumpheitherphysicallyor spiritually.
The extraordinariness
of the hero in these versionscan be seen
frommanyangles. For instance,Sunjata is not simplyborn into the
both to the delightof his own
world; his birthis firstpre-announced
to
the
dismay of the tyrantSumanguru
group (Bamba 31-32) and
(Banna 233-4). Having been born,he does all sortsof extraordinary
things. For instance, For sevenyearshe crawledon all fours,/ And
refusedto get up simplybecause his birthwas announcedto his
fatherlater than that of another(wife's) son, thus robbinghim of
the primogeniture
(Bamba 82-84). As a child he performstasks in
which adults fail woefully,like donninga massive pair of trousers
(Bamba 107-121), or effortlessly
bendinghuge iron rods (Bamba 89or
Banna
97,
943-966), uprootinga whole baobab treejust to present
the leaves as seasoningto his mother(Banna 1039-1050). As a fullgrownman the hero's unique potentialdoes not lessen: thus Sunjata
causes a tree to fall just by bellowingat it (Bamba 333-335); in the
fiercefighting
betweenthemthe swordsand spearswhichSumanguru
strikeat Sunjata'sbody simplyshatterand fall to pieces (Banna 18951908); and Sunjatais able to win allies to his cause by doingamazing
thingslike liftingpieces of iron fromhot moltenore and shooting
an arrowthroughfivehoe-bladestill it emerges at nine exit holes
fromthe other side of a tree (Dembo 536-67).
All this is possible, of course, because our hero does not rely
on ordinaryhuman,mortalstrength
alone. In Dembo Kanute'sversion
is
called
man
and wizard (32), and the implication
Sunjata
great
is that he combinesphysicalmightwith supernatural
powers whether

2 14
ISIDORE
OKPEWH
of a magical order or as divine benediction. Thus he is able to

anticipatethe sorcerythatis plottedagainsthimby his jealous brothers
(Bamba 182-208); he is shown to enjoy the protectionand assistance
of his sister's spirit-loverManga Yura in his preparationsagainst
Sumanguru(Banna 1210-90); in all threeversions,Sunjata is able to
destroySumanguruby using the knowledge,fetchedfor him by his
's spiritualpower in fashioningoffensiveweapsister,of Sumanguru
ons; and in Banna Kanute's versionwe have an instanceof divine
benedictionin the fact that, followinga prayer from the Prophet
Mohammed,Allah blesses Sunjata's parents with unusual good
fortune in the birthof Sunjata by a rejuvenatedmotheras compensation for the loss of all previousfortysons in the prophet'swar
againstinfidelsat Haibara (Banna 84-185).
These featuresclearlyput the hero beyondthe level of ordinary
mortality. Yet it seems inevitablethat, if he has been conceived
primarilyin an anthropomorphic
light and the message of his greatness is meantfor a humansociety,he will harbourin his personality
some of the limitationattendanton mortallife. It is true of course
that in nearlyevery case the limitationsimplyserves to make the
eventualtriumphmore impressive;but its presenceat least brings
some elementof balance to the portraiture.Somethingof these limitationsmay be seen in the factthat Sunjata and his motherfall into
penuryat the death of his fatherand the crisis that ensues (Banna
880-93; cf. Bamba 125-73). A more strikinginstanceof this diminutionis seen in the fighting
betweenSunjata and Sumanguru,
during
whichSunjata suffersconsiderablereverses(at least at the outset)and
even demonstratesa certaincowardice before Sumanguru
's attacks
(Bamba 667-91, Banna 1403-5, Dembo 771-80). But perhapsnothing
in all the versionsis as significants
as a commentmade by Bamba
in one of his non-narrative
interludes: The world does not belong
to any man (310). In these tales the heroes invariablyemergeas
absolutemastersof theirsociety,with powers of life and death over
those under theircontrol. When thereforethe narratortakes such
an extenuatingview within the context of his portraitureof an
worldit can onlybe because he, as a humanbeingwith
extraordinary
naturalhuman concernsand fears,feels moved to warn his human
audienceof the dangersof absolutefigureslike Sunjataand Sumanguru
about whom he sings; or at least he is sayingthateven theseheroes,
in spite of theiroutstanding
qualities,cannotescape the ultimatefate

INTERNAL BALANCE
2 15
of all mortality. In these ways the narratorsof the Sunjata story

seek to containwithinhumantermsthe extraordinary
largenesswhich
the portraitsof theirheroesinevitablyattain.
The heroic ideal

In these portraitsthe stakes are piled so high that we often
wonderif thereis any messagemeantfor us ordinarymortals. The
risks the heroes take are sometimesso unreal,and the resourceson
which they rely so out of the ordinarythat we accomodatetheir
experiencesonly because we could never be expectedto go through
themourselves. Any modernwriterwho createssituationssuch as
we findin theseheroictales can onlybe dubbed a romanticor mythic
writer;we acceptthe fictionof Fagunwalargelybecauseit is a nostalgic
echo of our mythicaltraditions.
the extraordiThe narratorsof these tales, no doubt recognizing
narinessof the world which theyare paintingbeforetheiraudiences,
do not hesitateto acknowledgethat they are discuorsinga higher
order of realityand that the presentsocietysurelyfalls below the
level of grandeurand dignitywhich these fabled heroes set in their
in
days. There is of course an elementof professionalself-interest
this claim about the grandeurof the olden days. The griotswho
tell the storyof the heroicdays of Sunjata and his generalsdo so for
and like most public performersthey expect
public entertainment,
to be tippedhandsomelyby theiraudiences;what betterway to earn
the respectand appreciationof theirpatronsthan by claimingthat
in thosegloriousdays theyenjoyedgreateresteemthan theydo nowgriotsare sayngin essenceis thattheir
adays? What thesepresent-day
a
role in the attainment
of high excellpredecessorsplayed significant
ence by Sunjata and his company. The griotcharactersin these tales
are consequentlytreatedwith a certainpartialityand dignity. Thus
Bamba Suso tells us that of the two messengerssent to announceto
Sunjata's fatherthe birthof his firsttwo sons, the griot showed a
more urgentsense of duty; and afterhis fatherdied, Sunjata declared
he wanted nothingof his extensivepatrimonyother than the griots,
therebyunitinghimselfwith them in a lastingbond of loyaltyand
friendship(Bamba 64-180). Banna Kanute lamentsrepeatedlythat

216
ISIDORE OKPEWH
In Sunjata's day a griot did not have to fetchwater,
To say nothingof farmingand collectingfirewood.
FatherWorld has changed,changed.
(Banna, 320-22, 735-8, 1463-5,2006-7) (6).
And Dembo Kanute, tracingthe originof all griotsback to the

griot of Sunjata's father(NyankumaDookha), informsus that the
's
real cause of the war betweenSunjata and Sumanguruwas the latter
Dookha and coercinghim into his service
crueltyin hamstringing
(Dembo 270-331) (7).
If, as thesegriotsrepeatedlytell us, the day of theirheroes is
past , in what has thatworldchanged;what are the ideals of heroism
which are no more? There seems little doubt that in these griots*
estimationthe highestregardwas shown for the active life,and this
meant nothingless than warfare. Some anthropologists
have drawn
a line betweenwhat theycall the guilt cultureand the shame

culture,with the implicationthat in the lattera man is considered
a man to the extentthat he seeks the path of honour even at the
cost of his life. These textsof the Sunjata storycertainlylend some
credibilityto the argument:in the eyes of the griots heroismis
seen as the highestgoal- the summumbonum,as it were- and the
of the olden days as the epitomeof the heroicideal.
war-mongering
Thus Bamba Suso lamentsthe passingof men like Sunjata and Sheikh
Umar who commandedlarge armies and claimed human lives in a
flash (Bamba 497-501, 591-3). Both Banna and Dembo Kanute
applaud the successof Sunjatain repeatedlydestroyingand rebuilding
Mali withhis army(Banna 1997-8,Dembo 266-7), and both celebrate
the factthatforthe men of thosebygonedays Death is betterthan
disgrace (Banna 1396, 1936; Dembo 779, 1000) (8).
But the war-mongering
of the past has no place in the conif
and
the
ideal
of heroismwhichthese griotsceletemporary
polity;
brate should mean anythingfor theiraudiencestheyshould again be
(6) CompareBamba 293-307on Sunjata's prophecyof a sad futureawaitingthe
griots.
(7) See also Niane, Sundiata,p. 40. For a critiqueof griots'claimsand positions
and the Actual
see especiallyAustin Shelton, The Problemof Griot Interpretation
Causes of War in Soundjata, PrsenceAfricaine,66 (1968), 145-52and Inns, Sunjata, pp. 3-7.
(8) For a discussionof the pre-eminence
given in pre-IslamicWesternSudanese
life and the ideal of tmritattachedto it, see Cheikh Anta
societyto the military
Diop, Nations Negrs et Culture (Paris: PrsenceAfricaine,1954), p. 357.

INTERNAL BALANCE
217
containedwithin the termsof life as it is lived today. It is in

Dembo Kanute's version that we find an unequivocal reassurance
that the men of today can still achieve heroic proportionsand be
worthyof celebrationin heroicsong. For the griotheroismcontinues
to consistin a life of action,all the more laudable if it is not weakened by prevaricating
thought( A single act of thinkingwill not
last as long as the world, Dembo 25). But there is room for
contemporary
figuresin the heroicsocietyof the griot's song as long
as theycan exert themselvessuccessfully;thus Dembo tells the host
of his performance:
Seni Daabo, do somethingsir;
Life consistsof doing something,
Not of doing everything,
For thereis no end to that,and failurewins no support.
(Dembo 67-70)
Despite the ventilativeor digressivecharacterof Banna's chant

exhortingthe people of Gambia to exert themselvesgainfully( Let
the whole of the Gambia take up work... For thatis what profitsa
man, Banna 386-9). it is arguablethat his mind here is guided by
a beliefin the activelife as the sure path to glory. In this way the
narratoris able to adjust the loftydemandsof the heroic ideal in
line with the new socio-politicalconditionsfor the benefitof his
patrons(9).
The temporalscheme
And yet the effortto bring the heroic ideal within the reach
of contemporary
societydoes raise some problemsfor the sense of
on
which
the heroic narrativesong tends to lean for its
pastness
as a recordof the heroicdeeds of bygonedays.
authenticity
on adjustmentto changein the griots'narratives,
see Gordon
(9) For perspectives
Innes, Stabilityand Change in Griots*Narration
, AfricanLanguage Studies, 14
(1973), 11048; Donald R. Wright, Koli Tengela in Sonko Traditionsof Origin:
An Example of the Process of Change in MandinkaOral Traditions
, Historyin
Africa,5 (1978), 257-72; Isabelle Leymarie-Ortiz,The Griots of Senegal and
Change, Africa(Rome), 34 (1979), 183-97. CompareRobert Cornevin, Les pomes quipes africainset la notiond'pope vivante, PrsenceAfricaine,60 (1966),
140-45.

218
ISIDORE
OKPEWHO
Let us brieflyexaminethose instancesin which the narratorhas

tendedto spreadhis temporalcanvas ratherwidely. Perhapsthe least
'culpable' of these can be seen in that tendencywherebyvarious
scenes,events and attitudesin contemporary
societyare tracedback
to the days of Sunjata. Bamba Suso tracesthe phenomenonof the
silk-cottontree's rottingfromthe top to an incidentin his version
when Sunjata fells one such tree merelyby bellowingat it (Bamba
the thinnessof wristamongthe Darbos to Sunjata's
333-8); attributes
fiercegrip on the wrist of the founderof their line (342-8); and
dates the unique bond betweenthe Keitas (Sunjata's lineage) and the
Kuyates (the ancestralline of all griots)to Sunjata's act of love in
givinga piece of his flesh as meat for his starvinggriots(467-75).
Banna Kanute traces the Kante family'staboo againstthe eating of
white chickento the fact That when Sunjata and Susu Sumanguru
met (in war), / It was a white chickenwhich killed the latter
(Banna 371-4). Dembo Kanute relates the love of tomatoes,okra
and maize among the Mandinkaback to the incidentin his version
when emissariesfromMali are able to discoverthe exiled Sunjata and
his familysimplyby vendingthose vegetablesin the marketof their
host town (Dembo 345-58); and he puts the originof the custom
of buyingburial plots in the entireregion fromSierra Leone to
Liberia to the bad faithof Mansa Farang Tunkara in makinghis
exile -guestSunjata purchasethe piece of land on which to buryhis
dead mother(487-98).
The implicationof such aetiologicaltendenciesis that the traditionsof the societyhave defiedthe passage of time,that the outlook
is timeless. This may not be such a seriousthreatto the 'pastness'
of Sunjata's career; but it does mean that details withinthe canon
of the legendmaybe alterednot onlyin tunewithsuccessivehistorical
circumstances
but indeed in accordancewith peculiarinterests. The
for
this
potential
maybe seen in Banna Kanute's versionwhichmakes
fire
at
Sunjata
Sumanguruwith a gun loaded with cockspurstuffed
with gold and silverdust (Banna 1659-67 et passim): it is obviously
arguablethat if the narratorwas obliged to respectquite rigidlythe
'antiquity'of these events (the earliestArabic sourcesdate the reign
of Sunjata to the thirteenth
century),there could be no question
of a gun being used then; but it seems compatiblewith the professional interestsof the performerto use a more 'fashionable'(if not
more formidable)weapon for his hero.

INTERNAL BALANCE
219
But perhapsa moresignificant

corruptionof interestmay be seen
in the identification
of leaders within the Sunjata circle. We may
recall the well-knownargumentthat the sixth-century
tyrantPeisistratos had passages in Homer altered to reflectthe interestsof his
family(10), and we are also familiarwith Virgil's politic assignment,
in the Aeneid, of a remote ancestryto membersof the Augustan
circle. Somewhatsimilarpersonal and political prejudices may be
seen in Dembo Kanute's version. The antiquityof the Darbo lineage
in the Gambia may not be in doubt; as we have seen above, Bamba
Suso himselfrefersto it in his version,thoughthis may again depend
on the influenceson the griot's trainingin the art of telling the
Sunjata story. But Seni Darbo happens to be the patronof Dembo
Kanute forthisparticularperformance;
and when Dembo makes the
ancestorof the Darbos the leader- even ahead of Sunjata himself
of the finalrout of Sumanguru(Dembo 956-74), the factmaybe due
far less to the authenticity
of the Darbos' claims to such a remote
than
to
the
's
suit
for a generouspatronage. Considerancestry
griot
what
Gordon
Innes
tells
us
of Dembo's hobnobbingwith proing
minentleadersin the Gambia and variousotherWest Africancountries, the same may be said for his making Sitafa Jawara- no
doubt an ancestor of the then PrimeMinisterof the Gambia, Sir
- anotherone of the leaders of the rout (976) (n).
Dauda Jawara
The performer
cherishessuch a patronagefor his livelihoodas
well as for the contemporary
appeal of his art. But there is an
inherentrisk that the circumstances
of the presentwill detractfrom
that sense of the past, if not exactlythe basis in real history,to
whichthe storypretends. It mayindeedbe true,as we have pointed
out above, that timelessnessis a principalvirtueof the heroic epic.
But when Bamba Suso makes the joyous receptionby Sunjata's sister
of theirenvoyhalf-brother
an all too naturalreaction(Bamba 372-3),
or when Dembo takes the same view of the immediateattractionof
Sunjata'sfamilyto familiarMandinkavegetablesvended in the market
at their place of exile (Dembo 360-62), we have some reason to
suspect that the actual events which these griotscelebratemay not
afterall be so remoteas theyseem to expectus to believe.
(10) See L. R. Palmer, The Languageof Homer (p. 106) and J.A. Davison,
The Transmission
of the Text (pp. 219-20)in A Companionto Homer,eds. A. J.B.
Wace and F.H. Stubbings(London: Macmillan,1962).
(11) See also Innes* note ad loc. (Sunjata,p. 322).

220
ISIDORE
OKPEWHO
It is perhapsin recognitionof such scepticaltendencieson the

audiencethat the bards once in a while seek
part of the present-day
some kind of authoritative
supportin traditionor the past. Bamba
Suso does thisby citingas the sourceof his knowledgeof the Sunjata
storyhis grandfather
KoriyangMusa, who he claims spent a week
with the spirits{jinns) in theiruninhabitedisland sanctuaryat Sanimenterengand broughtback fromthema kora (harp-lute),the prinused in performingthe Sunjata story
cipal instrumenttraditionally
(Bamba 7-15). Banna Kanute also wishes to impressit upon his
audience(12) that he narrateshis story as I have heard it fromthe
(Banna 42) and fromhis parentsand teachers
traditionalnarrators
(2065-6). And Dembo Kanute stressesthe differencebetween the
traditionaljanjungotune that he plays in his performance
(in honour
of Faa Koli) and its later corruptionby moderngriots(Dembo 100101). By seekingsuch a sanctuaryin traditionor antiquity,the bard
is simplytryingto controlthe extravaganceof time and impressus
with the historicalauthenticity
of his record.
The mode of presentation
In discussingsuch aspectsof the heroicnarrativeperformance
as
structureand style,I do not thinkthereis any radicalneed for me
to reiteratepoints I have alreadymade in The Epic in Africa,so
I will only tryto distil the major pointswithinthe purviewof this
essay.
We have seen in the introduction
how lean the essentialstory
of Sunjata's life and careeris, and observedthat the reputation(as
well as size) of this storyas revealedin the availabletextsis a token
of the elaborativegeniusof the narratoras performer.Perhaps the
most noticeablephysicalmarkof the text of the performance
is the
of
it.
of
one
the
three
versions
here
repetitiveness
Every
sportsthis
characteristic
with varyingdegreesof dramaticor thematicplausibility, and we may just cite a few representative
examples.
- Fofana, Kamara,
Bamba Suso gives us a katalogos of generals
Madiba Konte,and Faa Koli- who in the preparations
forwar against
Sumangurupull theirforcesup beside Sunjata. In each of the four
(12) On a possible flagging of interest on the part of the host, Mr Sidibe, and
Banna Kanute's response to this, see Innes' note to Banna 1266.

INTERNAL BALANCE
221
cases the ally answersSunjata's call with 1444 troops; in everycase

Sunjata respondsthat they cannot be said to be ready for the war
until Tira Makhang has come; in two of the four cases the ally
of Tira Makhangover him,and Sunjata
objectsto Sunjata'spreference
this
on
the
explains
preference
groundsthat Tira Makhangis not so
muchbetterthan anyoneas he is a tirelessfighter(Bamba 515-613).
In portrayingSumanguru'sfrenziedattemptsto forestallSunjata's
threstto his throne,Banna Kanute devotesover a quarterof the text
of his performanceto the consultationswhich Sumangurumakes
with at least threemarabouts. The resultsof these consultationsare
essentiallythe same: two white objects (chickens,sheep, or stone
and paper) are markedfor the two rivals; thereis a contestbetween
each pair; and the one markedforSumangurugoes down,foreshadowing his destined destructionby Sunjata (Banna 265-794). For the
firsteighty-one(prefatory)verses of his performance
Dembo Kanute
works variationson a verylimitedset of phrases used for recalling
the heroesof bygonedays; and later he submitsSunjata to thematic- a test of his supernatural
ally the same trialby numbers
powers on
- by leaderswhose aid he solicits
an iron object multipliedfive times
for the war againstSumanguru(Dembo 530-67).
There is considerabledramaticappeal and potentialin the spectable whichthe bards conjureby theiruse of numbersand size played
many times over; but have we no grounds,given the 'historical'
claims of these chronicler-performers,
to wonder the coincidenceof
numbersin everycase? It is at such point thatwe have recourseto
the aestheticistlogic of symbolism.For instance,Bamba Suso multiplies the number1444 manytimesover as a way of sayingthat the
largesize of the allies' forcesis as nothingcomparedwith the dependable stamina of Tira Makhang; and Banna Kanute replicatesthe
frenziedeffortsof Sumanguruand theirdiscouraging
messageas a way
of stressingthat the doom of the tyrantis inexorable.
There is, as I have said, considerabledramaticor performance
value to this replicationof details which accountsfor the substantial
size of text that we get in these tales. And yet this replicationof
numbersand details is facilitatedby an in-builtmnemonicresource
whichensuresstabilizationin the oftendifficult
circumstances
of performance.This is the techniquethatoral literaryscholarshave called
formulaic.There is a certainparadoxinvolvedin this technique:the
mind of the bard is workingwith a limitedset of ideas (folklorists

222
ISIDORE OKPEWHO
have long used the termmotifsfor such ideas) whichfacilitatesboth

generationand conservation. In Bamba Suso's case we have the
single idea that an ally arriveswith a large army,but Sunjata still
expects Tira Makhang. In Banna Kanute's case we also have one
idea: the futureof the rivalrybetween Sunjata and Sumanguruis
between two white objects; the same
proven by the confrontation
trialby numbersis seen in Dembo Kanute's case (13).
What we have said about the mode of symbolization
has further
for
in
the
idiom
tales
are
told.
No doubt
these
which
implications
the narratorsof these tales, and their traditionalaudiences among
the indigenousfolk, take ratherseriouslythe supernaturaldesign of
the portraiture
of both heroes and events in the tales. There is a
double advantageto this supernaturaldesign: not only does it fill
the people with a high sense of spiritualsatisfactionwith the facts
of their heritage,but it infusesinto the tales a certain degree of
'high seriousness'whichis no mean boon to the narrator'sart. The
narratorexploitsthis advantageby indulgingthe poeticuncommonness
of his idioms. Manyof the phrasesoccurring
especiallyin the versions
by the Kanute brothers who are considerablyyoungerthan Bamba
Suso and so filledwith greaterdramaticzeal- are, as Gordon Innes
occasionallyinformsus, largelynonsense;an exampleis the 'Arabic'
containedin the prophecyof the firsttwo maraboutsconsultedby
Sumanguru(Banna 295-6, 459-61). In othercases- as in the praise
- the sheeralliterative
titlesof variouscharacters
in these two versions
or ideophonicforce of the phrases is so strongthat it is doubtful
thattheyare used foranything
otherthan theirvocal-dramatic
effects.
Otherwisethe bards once in a while use words and phraseswhich
theyclaim are intelligibleonly to the Eastern Mandinka (Bamba
518, Banna 1945-52, Dembo 674-5). No doubt the griot hopes to
make a highpoetic impressionby dabblingin languagethat the average man does not understand.
(13) For othermodes of control see Okpewko, The Epic in Africa,pp. 194201. For a criticism
of the Parry-Lord
oral-formulaic
theory,see B. A. Stolz and R. S.
Shannon (eds.), Oral Literatureand the Formula(Ann Arbor: Centerfor Coordination of Ancientand Modern Studies,1976); John D. Smith, The Singer or the
of Lord's Oral Theory, Man, 12 (1977), 141-53; Ruth FinSong? A Reassessment
negan, Oral Poetry(Cambridge:CambridgeUniv. Press, 1977), especiallychapter3.
For further
discussionon generationand conservation
see Michael N. Nagler, Spontaneityand Tradition(Berkeley: Univ. of CaliforniaPress, 1974) and Jack Goody,
The Domesticationof the Savage Mind (Cambridge:CambridgeUniv. Press, 1977),
especiallypp. 112-28.

INTERNAL BALANCE
223
And yet thereare dangershere too. Innes usefullyinformsus

thatDembo's host Mr Sidibe thinksthat... Dembo's greateruse of
(non-GambianMandinka) words would detractto some extentfrom
the enjoymentof a Gambianaudience (14). Of what use indeedis a
if the languageof it is lost to the audience? Whatever
performance
the reassurancethat the Mandinkaaudiencesmay find in the recreation of a heritageof superiormen and their deeds in idioms of
whateverprestigesuch a
considerablegrandeurand uncommonness,
recreationbringsto the art of the narrator,the needs of effective
communication
and rapportwith the audience dictate that the artist
stay safelyenough withinthe level of everydaydiscourse. Not only
are these tales told principallyin everydaydiction(15); but the narratorsare obliged every now and then to explain carefullythe unfamiliarusages in their texts (see especially Banna 1953-99). By
these means the narratormanagesto enjoy the double advantageof
poetic loftinessand rapportwith men such as himself.
Conclusion
Clearly,then, thereis some degree of balance between various
constituent
elementsin the heroicnarrative. This balance may be in
no small degreedue to the contendingbut complementary
claims of
and
in
is
the
hand
narrator
sense
that
on
the
one
the
history
myth,
consciousof his chargeto recordhuman experiencewhetherof the
presentor of the past, while on the other hand he realises that
much of the appeal of his craftlies in transporting
the imagination
of his hearersbeyondthe banalityof everydayexperienceand injecting
some taste into an otherwiseinsipid order of reality. Indeed the
premiumput on the aestheticelementin these tales can be so high
that the performerwill not hesitate to renouncesomewhatof his
role as chronicler:such is quite likelyto be the backgroundto Banna
Kanute's piqued rejoinderto his ratherunappreciativehost: Don't
you know / That an ordinarynarratorand an expertsingerare not
the same? (Banna 1265-6). There is no use, Banna would seem
to be saying,in tellingabout events if you don't dress the tale out
pleasantly.
(14) Innes, Sunjata, p. 261.
(15) See Innes, Sunjata, pp. 11-15.

224
ISIDORE
OKPEWHO
It will be observedthatby analysishas leaned somewhatheavily

on the elementof performance
which seems to me a quite essential
to
our
of
the
oral narrativeart. I am nevertheless
path
understanding
aware of othertechniquesthat have been used in the explorationof
contradictions
in traditionalnarrative. Not the least notable of
thesetechniquesis the structural
analysisof myth by Lvi-Strauss,
from his revolutionary

The
StructuralStudy of Myth 16)
essay
to the monumentalquartetthe Mythologiques
(17). Ingeniousthough
I considerthis mode of analysis,I have remainedsuspiciousof the
validityof its disregardof the creativepersonalityand the contextual
elementof performance,
a disregardwhich inevitablyyields the conviction that the organisationof elementswithin the tale is supraconscious. It may be arguedthat some of the constraints
of context
which I have pointed to in this essay are of an exodermicnature
in relationto the tale; but it can hardlybe denied that the stresses
- betweenfactand fancy
- with
betweenthe claimsof realityand myth
which the narratorhas to grappleconsciously(as amplydemonstrated
above) are intrinsicto the existenceof the tale. I feelquite convinced
that Lvi-Strauss'structuralist
theoryis overduefor a reconsideration
froman aestheticistpoint of view (18).
Because of his denial of a consciousbasis to the structureof
myth,Lvi-Straussis inclinedto see in it more of an isomorphism
with the contrapuntalflow of music- a themethat he belaboursin
- thanwith the guidedbalance
the fourvolumesof the Mythologiques
of modernpoetry,thoughan earlyjoint analysiswith Roman Jakobsimilarto his own efforts
son of a poem by Baudelaireis strikingly
on traditionaltales(19). Lvi-Straussis of course not alone in this
(16) See Claude Lvi-Strauss, Structural Anthropology (London: Allen Lane,
1968), pp. 206-31. The essay first appeared in a special number on myth published
by the Journal of American Folklore (1955) and later republished as Myth: A Symposium, ed. Thomas A. Sebeok (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1958).
(17) Paris: Libraire Pion, 1964-71. The first two volumes have been published
in English translationsas The Raw and the Cooked (1969) and From Honey to Ashes
(1971), both by Harper and Row, New York.
(18) ror two efiorts in this direction see Ierence Iurner, Uedipus: lime and
Structure in Narrative Form, in Forms of Symbolic Action, ed. Robert F. Spencer
(Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, 1969) and Isidore Okpewho, Poetry and Pattern: StructuralAnalysis of an I jo Creation Myth, Journal of American Folklore, 92
(1979), 302-25.
(19) See Roman Jakobson and Claude Lvi-Strauss, Charles Baudelaire s Les
Chats' in Structuralism:An Introduction,ed. Michael Lane (London: Jonathan Cape,
1970). For a critique of the isomorphism between myth and music, see Pandora

INTERNAL BALANCE
225
of the oral technicalskill. At about the same time

underestimation
thathe published The StructuralStudyof Myth, Cedric Whitman
came out with a ratherstimulatingstudy of the Homeric epic dethat the structuralbalance of episodes in Homer is a
monstrating
child not so much of the oral traditionas of the literateor sophisticated skills of late-GeometricGreek art(20). Perhaps an episodic
analysisof one or more of our Africanheroic epics somewhatalong
the lines adoptedby Whitmanwill lead us towarda moredependable
of the relationshipbetweenoral and literatecreativity.
understanding
Isidore Okpewho
SOMMARIO
La leggenda di Sunjata, sovrano del Mali medievale (forse del sec. XIII) ricordata ancor oggi nelle tradizioni orali con molte varianti che danno origine a vari cicli.
In questo studio si fa un accurato esame critico di tre versioni della leggenda, allo
scopo di meglio spiegare i criteri e i metodi seguiti dai griots nel comporre i loro
canti epici.
RESUME
La lgende de Sunjata, roi du Mali mdival (du sicle XlIIme dit-on) est voque encore aujourd'hui dans les traditions orales trs varies entre elles donnant lieu
plusieurs cycles. Dans cette tude on effectueun soigneux examen critique des trois
versions de la lgende afin de mieux expliquer les critres et les mthodes suivis par
les griots dans la composition de leurs chants piques.
Hopkins, The Homology of Music and Myth: Views of Lvi-Strauss on Musical

Structure, Ethnomusicology, 21 (1977), 247-61.
(20) 5ee Cedric H. Whitman, Homer and the Heroic Tradition (Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1958).


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THE AFRICAN HEROIC EPIC: INTERNAL BALANCE

Author(s): Isidore Okpewho

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