The epic of Son-Jara (also known as Sunjata or Sundiata) celebrates the exploits of the legendary founder of the Empire of Old Mali and is still widely recited among Mandekan-speaking peoples of West Africa today. As performed by griots, or professional bards, it embodies deeply rooted aspects of Mande cosmology and worldview. This edition of the epic presents the full, linear Mandekan text side by side with John William Johnson s important English translation. Fully annotated and explained, the text provides historical and contextual frameworks for understanding this African epic. A...

Explorations in African Systems of Thought examines the problems currently faced by researchers in the analysis of systems of belief in African societies. In contrast to the prevailing emphasis on the analysis of partial systems of thought, such as witchcraft beliefs or spirit possesion, the present collection of thirteen original essays stresses a more broadly analytic approach that relates the study of African systems of thought to other aspects of culture and social organization in African societies.