Kouroukan Fouga

According to the Epic of Sundiata,[1] Kouroukan Fouga or Kurukan Fuga was the constitution of the Mali Empire created after the Battle of Krina (1235) by an assembly of nobles to create a government for the newly established empire. According to oral tradition of the griot poets of Mali and Guinea, the Kouroukan Fouga established the federation of Mandinka clans under one government, outlined how it would operate and established the laws by which the people would live. The name Kurukan Fuga is a toponym, translating to "clearing on granite / lateritic rock",[2] referring to the plain near the town of Ka-ba (present day Kangaba) where the narrative has Sundiata Keita present the charter.

The "Manden Charter, proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga", was inscribed in 2009 (4.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity kept by UNESCO.[3]

Reconstruction

The earliest extant versions of the Epic of Sundiata were collected in the 1890s, and the first close transcription dates to 1967. As an instance of oral history, the epic does not exist in a fixed form.

An attempt to "reconstruct" the Kouroukan Fouga from oral tradition was made in 1998, in a regional workshop held in Kankan, Guinea, with the aim of publishing and preserving the oral history related to the area's djeli or griots. Assisted by modern communicators and Guinea linguists under the supervision of Siriman Kouyaté, the workshop transcribed and translated the laws and edicts preserved in different regions from the core of the Mali Empire.

Kouyaté judged his reconstruction as being "a relatively faithful reproduction of a charter created in the fourteenth century". Djibril Tamsir Niane in an interview went as far as claiming the reconstruction was a "declaration on the rights of man" drafted "in 1236".[4]

The English version of the charter was re-published by Mangoné Niang, Director of CELTHO/UA (Niamey), with a short commentary prepared by Siriman Kouyaté, as an annex to the "Working Documents" for the "Inter-generational Forum on Endogenous Governance in West Africa" organised by Sahel and West Africa Club / OECD, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), 26 to 28 June 2006.[5] According to Niang's introduction,

"The traditionists are those who [recited][6] the text; then it has been transcribed and translated, with the help of Guinea linguists and under the supervision of Mr. Siriman Kouyaté – Magistrate and traditionist (his family is guardian of the Sosobala, in Niagasole, Guinea). Afterwards S. Kouyaté structured The Charter, without falsifying the essential point, talking here about the modern juridical texts with a view to make it readable for contemporaries "

Niang lists ten "traditional communicators" on whose authority the text was reconstructed. Siriman Kouyaté, the author of the reconstruction, is listed as one of the ten authorities. Niang adds that "the original text in Malinke is available on the digital data bank ARTO". The ten sources are listed as follows: Siaka Kouyaté, Niagassola, Siguiri (Guinea), Lamine Kouyaté, Loïla, Mandiana (Guinea), Damissa Sékou Diabaté, Siguiri (Guinea), Koulako Touré, Faranah (Guinea), Mamady Kante dit Konkoba, Dinguiraye (Guinea), Old Koita, Kérouané (Guinea), Sekouba Condé, Dabola (Guinea), E. Oumar Camara, Kankan (Guinea), Abdoulaye Kanouté, Tambakounda (Senegal), Siriman Kouyaté, Niagassola, Siguiri (Guinea).

Contents

The reconstructed Kouroukan Fouga, as published by Kouyaté, contains 44 edicts. They are divided into four sections concerned with Social Organization (edicts 1-30), Property Rights (edicts 31-36), Environmental Protection (edicts 37-39) and Personal Responsibilities (edicts 40-44).

The Kouroukan Fouga divided the new empire into ruling clans (lineages) that were represented at a great assembly called the Gbara. There were 16 clans known as the Djon-Tan-Nor-Woro (quiver carriers) responsible for leading and defending the empire. There were also 4 clans known as the Mori-Kanda-Lolou (guardians of the faith) who guided the ruling clans in matters of Islamic law. There were 4 nyamakala clans (people of caste) who had the monopoly on certain trades, which included but was not limited to smelting, woodworking, and tanners. Lastly, there were 4 clans of djeli (masters of speech) who recorded the history of the empire through song. Combined these would make up the 29 seat Gbara at the plain of Kouroukan Fougan (named after the event where Sundiata "divided the world"). The 30th seat was likely occupied by the mansa's djeli called the belen-tigui (master of ceremonies), or may have been reserved for a female monitor since the constitution states women are to be represented at all levels of government (edict 16).

Article 7 institutes the sanankuya (a type of cousinage or joking relationship that is a longstanding West African social tradition) as a civic duty.

Kouyaté in his commentary draws attention to paragraph 20, dealing with the humane treatment of slaves.[7]

20. "Do not ill treat the slaves. You should allow them to rest one day per week and to end their working day at a reasonable time. You are the master of the slaves but not of the bag they carry."

Social Organization

Of Goods

Preservation of Nature

Final Disposals

Further reading

References

  1. Djibril Tamsir Niane, Soundjata ou l'Epoupée Mandingue (Paris, 1960). English translation by G. D. Pickett as Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (London, 1965) and subsequent reprinted editions. Youssef Cissé and W Kamisoko, eds.and transl, Soundiata, la gloire du Mali. La grande geste du Mali (2 vols., Paris, 1991).. Ralph Austin, ed. In search of Sunjata: the Mande oral epic as history, literature and performance (Bloomington, 1999).
  2. clairière au sol granitique: Diango Cissé, Structures des Malinké de Kita (contribution à une anthropologie sociale et politique du Mali), Collection "Hier", Éditions populaires, 1970, p. 19; clairière latérique sur roche: Projet Boucle du Niger, Actes du colloque: histoire et tradition orale : 1ère année, l'Empire du Mali : premier colloque international de Bamako, 27 janvier - 1er février 1975 Author, p. 100.
  3. Manden Charter, proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga, Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee (4.COM) – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 28 September to 2 October 2009, Decision 4.COM 13.59: "The Manden Charter, recognized by its community members as an essential part of their heritage, is customary law on the basis of which they regulate their social life while respecting nature and the changing environment; it is passed on orally from generation to generation and provides a sense of belonging, identity and continuity to its community"
  4. "Africa drafted its declaration on the rights of man in 1236", Les Afriques magazine 24 July 2008, interview conducted by Chérif Elvalide Sèye.
  5. SAH/D(2006)563 Annexes November 2006 pp. 71-82.
  6. Niang uses "declined"; the French original has ont declamé.
  7. "The statement 20 of the Charter pointed out the condition of the slaves by humanizing it. " (p. 79).
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