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Soumaoro Kanté
Soumaoro Kanté (also known as Sumaworo Kanté or Sumanguru Kanté) was a 13th-century king of the Sosso people. Seizing Koumbi Saleh, the capital of the recently defunct Ghana Empire, Soumaoro Kanté proceeded to conquer several neighboring states, including the Mandinka people in what is now Mali. However, the Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita built a coalition of smaller kingdoms to oppose him at the Battle of Kirina (c. 1235.), defeating the Sosso and leaving Sundiata's new Mali Empire dominant in the region. Biography Soumaoro Kanté is portrayed as a villainous sorcerer-king in the national epic of Mali, the Epic of Sundiata. After his defeat at Kirina, he flees into the mountains of Koulikoro, where he "disappears" after being shot with only weapon to which he is vulnerable - an arrow with a white rooster spur arrowhead. In the Epic of Sundiata, Soumaoro Kanté is described as owning a balafon with magical powers, which is stolen by Sundiata Keita's djeli, Balafasseke K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghana Successor Map 1200
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east.Jackson, John G. (2001) ''Introduction to African Civilizations'', Citadel Press, p. 201, . Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 31 million inhabitants (according to 2021 census), Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. The first permanent state in present-day Ghana was the Bono state of the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kouyate Family
The Kouyate family is a dynasty of griots that is native to West Africa. It has been prominent since the 13th century, when its founder took part in the founding of the Mali Empire. History According to the Epic of Sundiata, Balla Fasséké was assigned to serve as a griot by King Nare Maghann Konate to his son Prince Sundiata Keita in the latter's youth. He then went on to aid the prince in his subsequent quest to liberate his homeland from the despotic rule of the Sosso monarch King Soumaoro Kantè. He advised him during the war, telling him tales of the glory of his ancestors, and aided him in establishing a powerful state after the war's conclusion. Balla Fasséké then became the founder of the Kouyate family thereafter. Griots were the "present" each king gave his successor; they were the aristocratic oral historians that attended kings, recording and recalling the legacies of kings and kingdoms. Griots are said to have existed "since time immemorial". Kouyates in part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |