Sonassa D Kaba

The Manden World Sonassa D Kaba

This second edition is an update of the first. It book traces the long journey of the ancestors of the KABA of Batè, from the ancient Empire of Ghana to Batè (Guinea) through Diafounou (Mali). This research was based on the work of the djeli ("griot" in French) and the Karamo who largely contributed to the passage of Manden society from the oral tradition to the writing culture. The djeli are the "Masters of Speech," storytellers, memoirists, historians, verbal archivists, genealogists, and musicians who maintain the traditions and pass their knowledge on to future generations. The Karamo, on the other hand, belong to the class of Teachers and Grandmasters of Quranic schools. Although their first manuscripts were limited to religious matters, secular texts that attempted to translate oral into written texts also began to appear after the twelfth century.