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Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in African History
In Search Of Askia Mohammed: The Epic Of Askia Mohammed As Cultural History And Songhay Foundational Myth, Joe Wilson
In Search Of Askia Mohammed: The Epic Of Askia Mohammed As Cultural History And Songhay Foundational Myth, Joe Wilson
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
This thesis offers a detailed historical analysis of The Epic of Askia Mohammed, a foundational myth that ranks among the more well-known global tales of cultural heroes and state formation. The sudden regime change that resulted in the collapse of the Songhay Sunni dynasty and the ascent of the Songhay Askia dynasty in 1492-93 is one of the most important events in West African history. This swift rebellion reversed decades of destructive economic and religious policies. As such, the memory of these dynamic and transformative times was captured by the griots, the oral historians of the Sudan. Nouhou Malio, …
In Search Of Askia Mohammed, Joe Wilson
In Search Of Askia Mohammed, Joe Wilson
Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities
This is my MA thesis. I contextualized the Songhay oral history concerning king Askia Mohammed. I placed the folk lore in cultural and historical context to illustrate that the Epic of Askia Mohammed is a complex work of mythology that communicates difficult and complicated information in easily understandable "picture stories." These stories are not at all factual and often distort the historical narrative, but they do so in order that the audience is entertained, cultural norms are reinforced, and the historical account is preserved in a culturally approved framework.