The Epic of Askia Mohammed, Part One

This video is a line-by-line close-reading of Thomas Hale and Nouhou Malio's "The Epic of Askia Mohammed." Part One covers the first third of the epic, dealing with the rise of the Songhay Dynasty of the Askiyas from the Songhay (Zarma) griot's perspective. It is followed by two other videos (Part Two and Part Three) addressing the remaining portion of the narrative. The lecturer is Christopher Wise, a Professor at Western Washington University (WWU) in the English Department's 2020 Senegal Program, filmed in Dakar, Senegal, Jan 26, 2020.

The texts in question are as follows:

Thomas A. Hale and Nouhou Malio's "The Epic of Askia Mohammed" (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1996).
Christopher Wise (ed), "The Timbuktu Chronicles: The Tarikh al fattest, 1493-1599. (Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press, 2011)
Jean-Michel Djian, "The Manuscripts of Timbuktu: Secrets, Myths, and Realities (Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press, 2020).

[blochhead]

Great information here! Thank you for posting. I just finished the Epic of Askia Mohammed and thoroughly enjoyed it. Can you tell me more about why the downfall of the empire is so ambiguous at the end? We get the fate of Yefarma and Mali Bero’s involvement in the war, but no details on what happens to Soumayla Kassa and Amar Zoumbani. Why did Nouhou Malio leave this aspect of the tale untold? Thanks so much for any insights.