It begins here.  The greatest story you may never have heard begins in the Land of the Condes by the Sankarani River, and just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

Original script by Arouna Kouyate, adapted from interviews with Al Hajj Jeli Mamady Kouyate, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane, translated by G.D. Pickett, and Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples by Djanka Tassey Conde, translated by David Conrad.  

Music in this episode: 

"Sunjata", Mande traditional, performed on the kora by Arouna Kouyate.

"Konden", Mande traditional, performed by Mangue Sylla and orchestra, Kon Koura, Copyright 2007 Mangue Sylla https://music.apple.com/us/album/kon-koura/215302966

To learn more about Mande culture, jeliya, and The Tariku Project, visit https://tariku.net/