Ecoutez-donc, fils du Manding, enfants du Peuple Noir, écoutez ma parole, je vais vous entretenir de Soundyata, le Père du Clair-Pays, du Pays de la Savane, l’Ancêtre de ceux qui tendent les arcs, le Maitre de cent Rois vaincus’…’Soundyata, le Fils du Buffle, le fils du Lion, l’homme au noms multiples contre qui les sortilèges n’ont rien pu..’

‘Listen, then, sons of Manding, children of the Black People,listen to my words: I will speak of Soundyata, the Father of the Bright Land, the land of the Savannah; the Ancestor of the Archers; the Master of a hundred vanquished Kings,….Soundyata, the Son of the Buffalo, the Son of the Lion, the man of many names against whom all spells were powerless..’

So begins the tale of Soundyata in the words of the griot Mamadou Koyoute.We wanted to listen , we had 5 days to spend, and so we went in search of old Manding: Keita, I , Levy and Lassina.
Keita is a Keita from Kayes, and had never been to Manding.