Sundiata: Niani Summary & Analysis

Sundiata remains at Ka-ba for several days and oversees the festivities. When Sundiata and his army begin their journey to Niani, villages along the way shower them with generosity. The army crosses the Niger river on dug-out canoes, and Sundiata sacrifices 100 oxen and rams to thank God upon his return to Mali. All of Mali's residents line the sides of the road, and many lay down carpets in the roads so Sundiata's horse never has to get his feet dirty. Sosso Balla, who is untied, follows Sundiata and Balla Fasséké, and the crowd shouts abuse at him as he passes. The troops sing “Hymn to the Bow” as they march.

When the caravan reaches Niani, Sundiata looks down from a hill at the burnt city. The residents of Niani are silent except for young women and children, who shout and sing. Sundiata begins to rebuild the city in the ancient style his father preferred, and he destroys the original walls of the town so he can expand it.

Sundiata left Manding Bory at Bagadou-Djeliba as a viceroy. After Niani was rebuilt, Manding Bory went south with the army to win forested land, and the land of Sangaran allied itself with Mali. After a year, Sundiata holds an assembly at Niani of kings and dignitaries from across the empire. Fakoli proves himself to be too independent and leaves the empire. With this yearly assembly, Sundiata is able to maintain justice in the land, as none of the kings want to be denounced at Niani.

The narrator says that Sundiata's justice reached everyone in the empire, and with the peace, the villages became prosperous. Thieves were consistently punished, and traders had plenty of business. The narrator says that some kings are powerful during their lives because of their physical strength, but nobody has good things to say about them after their death. Other kings are simply forgotten, but others are both feared and loved because of their power and insistence on justice. Sundiata was one of these kings, and after him, the world saw no more conquerors.

Mamoudou Kouyaté says that griots used to say that you could find anything you desired in Mali, including a great king (Sundiata). He continues and lists the great cities of the Mali Empire, many of which have since disappeared. The silk-cotton and baobab trees exist as reminders of these dead cities.