The Mali Empire's Griot Succession Crisis of 1362
The Mali Empire: The Richest Civilization in History — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
Show notes
In 1362, the Mali Empire faced a crisis that threatened the very foundation of its power: the death of the master griot of Niani without a named successor. Griots, or jeliw, were more than storytellers—they were the living archives of the empire, carrying genealogies, legal precedents, and the epic of Sundiata Keita in their memories. When Balla Fasséké's lineage was thrown into dispute, the Gbara council had to decide whether to appoint a new griot from a rival family or risk losing centuries of oral tradition. This episode dives into the succession struggle, the role of jeliw as power brokers between the mansa and the farari warrior caste, and how the resolution reshaped the empire's political landscape. Drawing on the Tarikh al-Sudan and the oral traditions preserved by modern jeliw, Lucas and Luna explore what happened when Mali had to write its unwritten history under pressure. #MaliEmpire #Griot #Jeliw #SundiataKeita #BallaFasseke #Niani #Gbara #TarikhAlSudan #WestAfrica #OralTradition #MansaMaghan #KouroukanFouga #Nyamakala #1362 #History #FexingoHistory #MedievalAfrica #Succession Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
