The oral traditions of the Soninke people encompass narrative traditions such as oral history, epics, and folktales, along with non-narrative traditions such as proverbs, riddles, and songs. The oral history tradition continues to be upheld by gesere and jaare, who today maintain an important role in Soninke society even as literacy rates increase. The best known Soninke oral tradition in English is Gassire's Lute, although some have questioned its authenticity.
Non-narrative oral traditions Proverbs Proverbs are an important part of the Soninke oral tradition, as in other oral traditions across the African continent.Finnegan, Ruth (2012). Oral Literature in Africa. Cambridge: OpenBook Publishers, World Oral Literature Series, Volume 1. pp. 379-405. Here are a few proverbs in Soninke with French translations, and English translations of the French: "Maxa an kittidun ñexen wara ti an taadun ñexe." Ne lâche pas le poisson que tu tiens dans la main pour celui que tu as sous le pied. / Don't let go of the fish in your hand for the one under your foot. "Fare ga na an' danpu, an'xa ga na a danpu: xa su ña faru." Si un âne te donne une ruade et que tu la lui rends, vous devenez tous deux des ânes. / If a donkey kicks you and you kick him back, you both become donkeys. "Baanantara gana ti i ke da Alla wori, koxan katta a kutaana?" Si un solitaire soutient qu’il a vu Dieu, qui peut le contre-dire? (Se dit lorsqu’une personne semble parler en connaissance de cause.) / If a solitary maintains that he has seen God, who can contradict him? (Said when a person seems to speak with knowledge of the facts.) "Maxa an kitte ro yitten do i koromen naxa." Entre l’arbre et l’écorce, il ne faut point mettre le doigt. (Autrement dit, il ne faut jamais intervenir entre proches.) / Between the tree and the bark, one should not put one's finger. (In other words, one should never intervene between relatives.) "Kine gana yinbe ro angha, an ni bakka a da minne?" Si le crocodile te met le feu, comment te vengeras-tu? (C’est-à-dire, lorsqu’une personne beaucoup plus puissante que toi t’offense, tu ne peux en aucun cas te venger.) / If the crocodile sets you on fire, how will you take revenge? (That is to say, when a person much more powerful than you offends you, you cannot take revenge under any circumstances.)
For additional Soninke proverbs, see Soninkan Burujunu masalanu do taalinu by Oudiary Makan Dantioko, which contains 200 proverbs in Soninke with French translations;Dantioko, O. M. (1977). Soninkan Burujunu masalanu do taalinu: Légendes causeries et proverbes sarakollés. Bamako: Direction nationale de l'alphabétisation fonctionnelle et de linguistique appliquée, Division de la recherche linguistique et pédagogique. the author has published extensively on Soninke oral traditions. The SIL series of books documenting Soninke oral traditions includes a book of proverbs (in Soninke only): Taalin Kitaabe: Proverbes en langue soninkée.Bonmu, Mahanmadu (1999). Taalin Kitaabe: Proverbes en langue soninkée. ’Abidjan: Association SIL.
Riddles In her survey of oral literature in Africa, Ruth Finnegan emphasized the importance of riddles: "Riddles, however simple, involve a play of images, visual and acoustic, through which insights and comment can be expressed. In this way, even this very minor form of art, with its own stylistic peculiarities in different cultures, has its part to play in the richness of oral literature in African societies."Finnegan, Ruth (2012). Oral Literature in Africa. Cambridge: OpenBook Publishers, World Oral Literature Series, Volume 1. p. 429. These are some riddles in Soninke with French translations, and English translations of the French:Daraame, Banjugu S. (2016). Gunnandeppu: Les devinettes soninké. Bamako: Association SIL. "Yittitin gabe wa jiilagen na, na dari baane ga na yere jin di, a su bure. Ken ni mani yi? Ken ni yaaxayintun ya yi." "Il y a beaucoup d’arbres au bord de l’eau mais si une seule feuille tombe dans l’eau, ça fait mal. Que sont-ils? Ce sont les sourcils de l’œil. / There are many trees along the water but if only one leaf falls into the water, it hurts. What are they? These are the eyebrows of the eye." (#5) "Gunbulen tuurinten da fanŋen kara. Ken wure ni mani yi? Ken ni marafan ya yi, baawo nan toxo fanŋen falle, an ga n’a katu, a wa dangini." "Un taureau fou a traversé le fleuve. Cela veut dire quoi? C’est un fusil car quand tu tires en étant sur la rive d’un fleuve, la balle peut atteindre l’autre rive rapidement. / A mad bull crossed the river. What does that mean? It's a gun because when you shoot while being on the bank of a river, the ball can reach the other bank quickly." (#8) "N d’in sin wurundi n’a wurundi, n ma a taabatten wari. Ken wure ni mani yi? Ken wure ni futten ya yi." "J’ai fait courir mon cheval, je n’ai pas vu sa trace. Qu’est-ce que c’est? C’est une sueur. / I made my horse run, I did not see its track. What is this? It's sweat." (#27)
Songs Songs also form part of the Soninke oral tradition. Moussa Diagana, a playwright and scholar born in 1946 in southern Mauritania, collected and studied the circumcision and marriage songs of the Soninke people in Kaédi, publishing the Soninke lyrics of the songs with French translations in Chants traditionnels du pays soninké.Dagana, Ousmane Moussa (1990). Chants Traditionnels du Pays Soninké. Paris: L'Harmattan. A reviewer praised the book for the fidelity of the French translations, concluding that "En sauvant de l'oubli un patrimoine menacé, il contribue à affirmer une identité culturelle pas toujours reconnue" ("By saving a threatened heritage from oblivion, it contributes to affirming a cultural identity not always recognized").Chastanet, Monique. 1991. "Ousmane Moussa DIAGANA, Chants traditionnels du pays soninké, préface de Claude Hagège, Paris, L’Harmattan, 1990." Journal des Africanistes. 61: 159-161.
Narrative oral traditions
Epics
History of recordation
In 1930, Leo Frobenius initiated his 12-volume series Atlantis: Folk Tales and Poetry of Africa, in which he published African Genesis (1936). The book contains the stories The Recovery of Wagadu and The Killing of the Bida Dragon, among others. A 1938 The Times review of the 1936 edition states that Frobenius's accounts of Gassire's lute and Samba Gana "can rank among the great folk tales of the world." At the same time, however, the reviewer cautions that the work was more for entertainment rather than rigorous anthropological study, mentioning that Frobenius never clarified whether the accounts were oral telling or translated manuscripts. Scholars continue to express doubts about the usefulness of Frobenius's contributions to the study of Soninke oral traditions: "He believed that he had uncovered a West African Heldenbuch, or book of heroes, but his sources, and indeed the language of his texts, are open to question."Johnson, John William; Hale, Thomas A.; Belcher, Stephen (1997). Oral Epics from Africa: Vibrant Voices from a Vast Continent. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 3. Belcher notes that Frobenius did not collect his Soninke stories in the Sahel but instead from a Soninke informant in Borgu, now northern Benin, and he recommends that Frobenius's materials are only of real value when they can be confirmed by independent sources such as modern recordings. When there is that confirmation, Frobenius can be regarded as providing evidence of an earlier version; without that corroboration, Frobenius's work is suspect. This is particularly true, Belcher observes, about Gassire's Lute, which Frobenius collected from an informant in Borgu and which, despite his best efforts, he was not able to find repeated in the Sahel.
In the 1930s, the Epic of Wagadu entered the European music scene via Wladimir Vogel's oratorio Wagadu Destroyed (1930), which is based on Frobenius's account. In 1935, it was translated into French by Hermann Scherchen and by May 1936 English by . A performance conducted by Albert Coates and featuring soprano Laelia Finneberg, contralto Muriel Brunskill, baritone William Parsons, and chorus master Leslie Woodgate played on BBC Radio in May 1936. During the bombing of Berlin the original work was destroyed, but Vogel rewrote it using his notes, with it being revitalized in Lucerne, Switzerland on 4 September 1966 under .
Origin myth
The tradition of Wagadu (the native name for the Ghana Empire) is split into two parts, its foundation and its fall. They are thought to have been part of a much longer epic. According to griots, the Soninke trace their ancestry to Igo Khassé Dingka (big old man). Coming from the 'Land of Islam', he journeyed to arrive in the modern-day territory of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, he conquered the Karos, an agricultural people. At this point, he and his soldiers had spears, swords, shields, and iron armor and were equestrians. To establish the Kingdom of Wagadu, Dingka negotiated with the seven-headed, black scaled, bat-winged, serpetine dragon Bida, who had ruled the area prior to his arrival. On the condition he submit the prettiest virgin to Bida every 7 years, he would receive gold and rain for agriculture. He then fathered children which would become the ancestors to the Soninke clans.
In some versions, Dinga arrives to region from the Middle East, and wins a battle of magic against a spirit-woman in order to gain access to a well. He bears three children who survive him: one half-human half-snake, and another two who contest over succession. The younger son, Djabe Cisse, is kind and of opposite character to his inconsiderate older brother but is exiled, however hears the message his father left with a vulture to go west to Koumbi. There he meets his half brother Bida living in a well, and they do a deal; every year Bida would receive a maiden and a horse, and in exchange Bida would rain gold over the land. In some versions Bida gave them four drums (copper, iron, silver, and gold). Only Djabe Cisse could lift the gold drum and so became king, establishing Wagadu.
By the founding of the Ghana Empire, the Soninke were a socio-politically and economically distinct ethnic group. By its collapse, which according to the oral history was caused by Bida's slaying, they were dispersed southwards throughout West Africa.
Rediscovery of Wagadu
Wagadu was lost for 7 years, but was found. However, she was then lost for 740 years. An old king named Mama Dinga stated she would return if war drum Tabele was beaten, but it had been tied to the sky by the djinns (devils). Mama Dinga still had a childhood bondsman, who was treated poorly by Mama Dinga's 6 eldest sons but kindly by the youngest, Lagarre. Mama Dinga was, due to age, blind to their treatment of the bondsman and could only distinguish his eldest son by his arm hair, arm ring, and the smell of his gown. One evening, he felt he was dying so he sent the bondsman to get his eldest son, but when he entered the son's house to speak with him he was kicked as he commonly was. Consequently, the bondsman sought Lagarre and asked if he could borrow the articles his father identified his eldest by. Lagarre then killed a goat to bear its rough and hairy hide on his arm, and borrowed his brother's gown and arm ring. Deceived, Mama Dinga spoke: