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. . . here are the quiz AND group discussion questions, all of which are fair game for the final exam. As part of your class participation grade, enter the answer to your group's discussion question in the comment box below as directed in the class meeting.

Son-Jara Discussion Questions

 

1.      It was mentioned in the initial presentation that good leadership is proclaimed in Son-Jara. Give as many examples as you can from the text that clearly show or imply qualities of a good leader, or leadership characteristic.

2.      Find in the text as many examples as you can that may link the Epic of Son-Jara to fairy tales. Discuss in what way such links may be important.

3.      Define the role and significance of the griot in West African culture. What is a griot? What does the griot do? How is the performance of a griot different than reading the epic?

4.       After reading the Epic of Son-Jara and hearing the initial presentation, what theme or main idea is most enlightening to you? What is one thing that you will remember about the work? Give at least one example from the text that supports your opinion.

5.      Discuss how going into exile and moving from place to place is significant for Son-Jara. Does he get enlightened in any way during the course of his exile? Give examples from the text.

6.      How is African spiritualism expressed in the epic? Give examples from the text that outline or imply cultural traits.

7.      How does Son-Jara fit within Campbell’s monomyth guide? Give examples from the epic and define to what stage of the monomyth they correspond.

8.      A central problem in the epic is the conflict between Son-Jara and his half brother Dankaran Tuman. What episodes or symbols can you find in the text that mimic or imply this conflict?

9.      How is oral tradition important and in the same time problematic in relationship to the Epic of Son-Jara? Support your answer with examples from the text.

10.   As we discussed in the initial presentation, Son-Jara was “the best of both worlds.” What does that mean and what evidence can you provide from the text to support your answer?

 

Reading Check Quiz Questions for The Epic of Son-Jara

 

1.      Where did Son-Jara rule?

2.      Magan Jata Konde's sister becomes a ______, and every night murders one man from the seven quarters in Du to vindicate herself.

a)wild boar  b)wild buffalo  c)lioness  d)snake

 

3.      The wild buffalo can be slain provided that the brothers sacrifice seven portions of goat and offer ________ to an old woman west of Du.

a)gold  b)nuts  c)lambskin  d)rice

 

4.      With what animal is Son-Jara associated?

5.      True/False: Saman Berete is the first wife of Fata Magan the Handsome

6.      The "Prologue in Paradise," which opens the epic, refers to which important biblical figure?

a)Jesus  b)Muhammad  c)Aunt Jemima d)Adam

 

7.      Why did Fata Magan marry the ugly Buffalo Woman?

8.      True/False: Sugulun Kòndè and Son-Jara’s mother, the Buffalo Woman are rivals

9.      The emergence of literacy and education in Mali corresponded to the spread of ________ in West Africa.

a)feminism  b)Buddhism   c)Islam  d)colonialism  

 

10.   Who is Fata Magan the handsome?

11.   Son-Jara is also known as____.  
a)Siddhartha  b)Sundiata  c)Sumerian  d)Senegal

12.   When The-Leader-of-the-People's son is born, his aunt protests at being excluded from the naming ceremony, and as a result ____.

a)her children lose their wealth and inheritance and become common slaves
b)she is executed for disrespecting the clan leader
c)she makes peace with her brother, and receives the highest honor in the ceremony
d)her breasts are removed with a knife

13.   The Epic of Son-Jara is the national epic of the Manding people who were part of the pre-colonial empire of ________ at the time the epic was written.

a)Great Britain b)Nigeria  c)Mali  d)Cameroon

14.   The "Prologue in Paradise," which opens the epic, refers to which important biblical figure?

a)Jesus  b)Muhammad  c)Aunt Jemima d)Adam

15.   Why was Son-Jara nicknamed the Lion-Born-of-the-Cat upon his birth?

 

16.   To which figure from the Koran, as well as the Jewish and Christian Bibles, is Son-Jara assimilated in some versions of the invocation of the epic?

a)Adam  b)Noah  c)Abraham  d)Abel  e)Joseph f)George W.

 

17.   What is it about Son-Jara that causes his mother so much grief?

a)He refuses to collect a baobab leaf for her couscous sauce.  
b)He doesn't walk for nine years.
c)His sacrificial ram is defeated by his brothers.  
d)His actions alienate her jinn.  
e)He refuses to make his hajj.

 

18.   What animal points to which of the six young maidens is to be taken by the Tarawere brothers?

 

19.   Why does Fata Magan offer the Tarawere brothers a token inherited from his ancestor Bilal and his sister Nakana Tiliba?

a)to obtain Sugulun from them  
b)to thank them for slaying the buffalo  
c)to demonstrate his hospitality  
d)to pacify his wife, who is envious of his sister's beauty
e)to emphasize his wealth

 

20.   Son-Jara competes with ____ for succession to the throne.

a)his father  b)his brother  c)first cousins 
d)illegitimate children from his father's other wives

 

21.   What foreign presence is closely associated with the rise of the ancient empire of Mali?

a)the Christian crusades b)the spread of Islam   c)the European slave trade  
d)Greek colonial rule   e)Roman imperial rule

 

22.   Magan Jata Kòndè of Du drags off his sister Du Kamisa and slashes off her breasts to emphasize her bareness. In response, she rips off the lid to her calabash and displays the contents, and then transforms into what creature?

a)a great snake  b)a mosquito  c)a red bull d)a wild buffalo e)a dangerous monkey

 

23.   According to the prologue, the main difference between men and women can be summed up as ____.

a)truth versus pretty words  b)hunting versus gathering 
c)combat versus domestication  d) submission versus dominance

 

24.   What is a griot?

25.   What is it about Son-Jara that causes his mother so much grief?

a)He refuses to collect a baobab leaf for her couscous sauce.  
b)He doesn't walk for nine years.
c)His sacrificial ram is defeated by his brothers.  
d)His actions alienate her jinn.   e)He refuses to make his hajj.

26.   True/False: Son-Jara demonstrated his physical power shortly after his birth

 

27.   How was Sugulun Kòndè, the mother of Son-Jara , also known as in the epic?

28.   In order to stunt Son-Jara's development and prevent him from walking, ____.

a)a toothless dog is sacrificed 
b)a black and white ram are set to battle each other, and the white ram is defeated 
c)a genie is conjured from a nutshell to curse the infant 
d)the infant is fed soup made of the baobab leaf

29.   True/False: According to the story, the Tarawere brothers were to take the maiden between whose legs a black cat will passes several times.

 

30.   True/False: Jeli, bard, and griot describe the same thing.

31.   Magan Jata Kòndè of Du drags off his sister Du Kamisa and slashes off her breasts to emphasize her bareness. In response, she rips off the lid to her calabash and displays the contents, and then transforms into what creature?

32.   Son-Jara competes with ____ for succession to the throne.

a)his father  b)his brother  c)first cousins 
d)illegitimate children from his father's other wives

33.   True/False: The "Prologue in Paradise," which opens the epic, refers to Muhammad.

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*FROM*: 9 November 2008

ENG 225 Students:

As you know, listed on our itinerary is our next common text is The Epic of Son-Jara (see the TOC in Volume C for the page numbers). Although a student group will be presenting on this topic over the next two class meetings, you are still expected to read the text and be prepared for discussion and reading-checks. As usual, you are always expected to enter your typed responses to the discussion questions on the English-Blog--our commonplace online journal for reading responses--and on www.turnitin.com (if specifically directed by me) whether it counts as a quiz score or as a part of your class participation score (again, refer to our syllabus).

Each group will be giving their own quizzes but I reserve the right to give my own (even to the presenters) if I suspect that more incentive is needed to get you to do your homework assignments, i.e. your readings.

The Epic of Son-Jara is very different from anything we have read thus far for this course and some of you may find it more difficult than Shakespeare. With that in mind, please examine the following outline of the introduction and text of the entire epic as provided online by West Texas A&M University's Dr. Doug Werden in his course, "ENGL 2371: Masterpieces of the World" HERE. Below the outline, find a character analysis for each character in the epic and some questions that I would consider to be fair game for the final exam (in addition to whatever discussion questions and quiz questions the group comes up with).

An interesting film of a performance of the epic's first six minutes can be found HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQP4gM5Na54. (YouTube would not let me embed this particular video on the page--sorry.) Here, the epic's title goes by the name of "Sundiata," and alternate rendition of the name "Son-Jara."

Here's a short two-minute video synopsis of Sundiata (an alternate spelling/pronunciation of Son-Jara), the Lion King of Mali as presented by a second-grade teacher to her second-grade class. So, for those of you in college who think this is difficult . . . (NOTE: Crank the volume for this one)

Here's yet another summary of Sundiata reduced to a stick-figure minimalist rendition:

I. Introduction

1. History:

* First king/hero of the Mande people, West Africa (akin to David or Abraham in the Israelite history)
* founded Manding empire around 1235
* An important historical figure: No written records from the period.
* Earliest reference: 15th century account of an Arab historian.

2. Epic: A National narrative

* long narrative poem in elevated style
* characters of high position
* Central heroic figure of national regard
* a collection of stories to create a national hero and national identities.
* Vast setting. (international).
* deeds of valor
* poet is "objective"

3. An epic of the Manding Peoples

* Celebration of person and exploits of Son-Jara
* Factual Recollection of the beginning of the Manding people
* Source of societal values
* Even today, bards still honor Son-Jara for his heroic deeds and for his wisdom in governing.

4. Oral Tradition

* griot (French) : Mande bards storytellers and historians.
* Incorporates three genre
o Narrative framework. Establish tradition of Son-Jara's life.
o Praise poetry
o Songs.
o Call and response

5. Theme

1449-50
1582-8

II. Characters

a) Son-Jara (or Sundiata or Sun-jata): The hero of the epic.
Also called Magan Konate, king or lord of the Konate tribe.

b) Fata Magan the Handsome: father of Son-Jara, settles Kamalen (the center of the future Manding Kingdom created by Son-Jara).

c) Ishmael: Father of the Arabic peoples.

d) Bilal:

* Said to be a companion of Mohammed.
* Said to be Mohammed's second convert.
* Father of the Manding People.
* Son-Jara is a descendant of Bilal.

e) Sugulun Konde (called "the Konde woman" and Sugulun-of-the-Warts): the ugly maid, mother of Son-Jara.

f) Saman Berete ("the Berete woman"): gives birth to Dankaran Tuman just before Sugulun Konde births Son-Jara. However, announces the birth to the father AFTER Son-Jara's birth is announced.

g) Dankaran Tuman: Older than Son-Jara. Cheated out of the family birthright.

III. Summary: The origin and rise to power of the national hero Son-Jara.

Episode 1

* Invocation states the purpose of the poem: Sing the praises of "Adam Ben Adam". For the Mande people, this was Son-Jara.
* Account of creation using Genesis. (Remember, this came from Islamic influences.)
* Origins of Manding Peoples are tied to Genesis.

Episode 2

* Introduction to Fata Magan, Son-Jara's father. A descendant of Bilal.

Episode 3

* Origins of Son-Jara's mother

Episode 4

* Son-Jara's father marries his mother: Fata Magan marries Sugulun Kòndè.
* Son-Jara born with a hairy body. Named "lion thief" or "Lion-Born-of-the-Cat".
* Although not the firstborn, his mother is first to deliver the news to his father. Son-Jara is declared the firstborn and heir.
* Berete (mother of rightful heir) Tries to Get Power for Her Son:
- Son-Jara crawls for his first nine years because his is cursed by holy man of Berete.
- Two rams battle. Black one representing Son-Jara and white one representing Dankaran Tuman. Black one wins. Rams killed to hide the omen.
- Holy man says that a Toothless dog must be sacrificed so "Son-Jara should not rise" (1216).
* Son-Jara's dog rips Danakran Tuman's dog to pieces.
* Sugulun Konde threatens Son-Jara with death

Episode 5

* Son-Jara and his family are exiled.
* Not accepted anywhere.
* Finally, Son-Jara joins the 9 Queens of Darkness
* Son-Jara's half brother (Dankaran Tuman) loses the kingdom.
* Son-Jara's mother dies.

Episode 6

* Son-Jara comes out of exile.
* Son-Jara recaptures his father's kingdom.
* Son-Jara is repulsed three times and founds three cities.
* Son-Jara's sisters learns of the secret sacrifices.

Episode 7

* Son-Jara establishes his rule.
* Son-Jara begins to expand his empire.

SOURCE: http://homedirs.wtamu.edu/~dwerden/ENGL2371/Son-JaraSum&Chara.html