The Cathedral Steps
Griot.net Home Early Life Exile Empire

The Story of Sundiata,
the Lion King of Mali

Come, my friends, and hear the story of Sundiata, the great Lion King of Mali, the most powerful empire in all of western Africa. I am the Malinke griot Sokana Feremu, and my role is to remember the tales of my people's past. None of our traditions is more glorious than the story of Sundiata, who in 1235 reclaimed his father's small kingdom and made it into a great empire.

Listen now to my words, for I speak the truth.

Sundiata’s early life

Sundiata’s exile

Sundiata's empire