Topic 2: Oral Traditions, Myths, and Legends in West Africa and Iberia

In the entry for Topic 1 we explored how historians investigate a people whose written records are non-existent or have been destroyed.  In this topic, we will discuss how to utilize oral records from a region with a strong oral tradition and then look at myths and legends.

The Griots of West Africa

"GriotsSambala" by Jeanniot (grav.) - Bibliothèque nationale de France. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GriotsSambala.jpg#/media/File:GriotsSambala.jpg

 The West African Sahel region has a long tradition of oral history, passed down through generations of griots.  Read this piece on griots from Penn State and contemplate the accuracy of the history provided by the griot songs (compared to older written materials).

Keepers of History by Joanna Lott

Sundiata of Mali

THINKING HISTORICALLY:  The legendary Sundiata, who saw himself as a "world conqueror" like Alexander the Great (according to the epic of his rise to power).  One of the most famous of the histories told by the Griots is that of Sundiata, the founder of the Mali Empire. You read an excerpt of the griot tale of Sundiata in Topic 2: West Africa.  How reliable do you think this account was, now that you have read the Penn State piece.  Do you have more confidence in the Sundiata epic as a source of history? 



This is the cover of an exquisitely illustrated children's picture book (which my son loved when he was in first grade) based upon the griots' epic. The Lion King story in the Disney movie is also loosely based upon the life of Sundiata. How do we separate legend from fact?

Mansa Musa of Mali

Musa I was the tenth ruler (or Mansa) of Mali and of the dynasty founded by Sundiata.  Here, the historically known actions of Musa with rise to mythic proportions and influence how the world sees Mali and the Sahel region. You have also read documents concerning Mali.  The piece linked below (you will need to use your UTA netID and password to open) discusses the impact Musa's Hajj had on the world (hint, he spent so much gold he devalued the currency in the eastern Med).

Mansa Musa Makes His Hajj, Displaying Mali's Wealth in Gold and Becoming the First Sub-Saharan African Widely Known among Europeans

Musa and his golden orb are prominently shown on the Catalan Atlas of 1375.  How do Europeans view the Sahel from the evidence in this map?  Why does the name "Timbuktu" still resonate with us today? Later in this class, you will learn about the Spaniards search for the city of gold, El Dorado, in the Americas.  Do you think there are any connections between the stories of the mythic wealth of Mali and the European search for El Dorados and golden kings in the Americas?  If one golden king was fact, is it easier to believe in the existence of another?

Mansa Musa in the lower left.  Section of the Catalan Atlas

THINK ABOUT IT:  I know that many of  you are interested in becoming history teachers, many K-12 teachers utilize Crash Course videos.  Please view the following video about Mansa Musa from Crash Course. Compare what you learn from this video with what you have learned about Muslim Iberia.  Are there similarities in how the Malian kings and the Iberian kings ruled non-Muslim populations?  How did Islam blend with local traditions in both places?  Finally, what do you think about the way this video teaches about West Africa? Do you think it is effective?  What are the drawbacks of teaching history in this manner?

El Cid

 Another figure you have already discovered is Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, who has gone down in history as El Cid, the ultimate Iberian warrior. The documentary you watched provided the historically known details of his life, which was definitely heroic and legendary.  Here we want to look at how Spain later viewed El Cid.  The 12th century epic poem, the Lay of the Cid, made the warrior into the national hero of Castile while rewriting the story of his life.  Twelfth Century Christian Iberia needed a mythic hero with no ambiguities, therefore El Cid became the champion of the Christians, conveniently leaving out his service to the Muslim lord of Valencia.

Click here to link to an English translation of the Lay of the Cid


The national hero and the national saint, Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moorslayer) become merged over time as part of the identity of Christian Spain.  Both images, of saintly warrior and warrior saint, will influence the lives and actions of the conquistadors in the New World as they confront new non-Christian peoples. Here is an interesting article about the creation of Spanish Christian identity:

Forging a Unique Spanish Christian Identity: Santiago and El Cid in the Reconquista

 THINKING HISTORICALLY: In the future, how will you view oral traditions and myth in historical research.  Should we use them? Should we not use them?  If we use these sources, how should we use them?  Is there historical fact in myth?  What other types of evidence would you search for to prove or disprove oral traditions and myths?