Myths are stories that are aimed at providing justification to things people lacked understanding about. Other theories argue that myths are simply distorted explanations of real historical events. One such myth is Sunjata. Sunjata, a hero who founded the Mali Kingdom, is an African King whose story is characterized by supernatural elements ranging from his birth to his possession of beyond the ordinary strength. He is a champion of South Saharan epic Africans.
The people in these cultures believe that Sunjata, the hero of an African epic of community existing around the southern Sahara. The king referred to as Sundiata or Sundjata, founded the Mali kingdom around A.D. 1240. His story is characterized with supernatural elements, ranging from the hero's mystifying birth to his possession of out of ordinary extraordinary strength. Sunjata’s epic begins with his childhood born under odd circumstances. His mother had been for eight years pregnant with him, when a supernatural spirit told his father Sunjata would turn out to be a great king someday. He had the ability to transform himself to a lion and thus his father feared him paralyzed him. Further, grew "as strong as a lion". The king would later on recognize Sunjata's wisdom to grant him his health. Sunjata's extraordinary deeds hence continued. He lived in the countryside, killing many lions and elephants. He got back to Manding on his father's death and defeated his brother to “fulfill his destiny" becoming king.
This community shared various qualities with other people: they had people with supernatural powers within the society; they had a political system organized into kingdoms headed by a king. We can see Sunjata made "king of kings" in Mali Empower. They were bullied or intimidated by beasts. Fairness and peace among themselves and their neighbors seemed to very important to them. They fought the beasts, and Kingdoms that interrupted their peace. The creator in these tales makes people with the intention to make explanations of nature using them as characters. These people are there so that values are imparted, and lessons are learnt in real life perspective. However, if people wanted to be like their creators, a good person pick the good values and attributes of a god while a bad person identify with his wickedness.
Similarities and differences between Sunjata and other myths
In conclusion, Sunjata is an interesting recitation with bravery and daring values. It does play an essential role in bringing together different groups of persons through giving a common story.
