Manden Charter: analysis and comparison of versions
This article is devoted to the Manden Charter (West Africa). The Manden Charter, according to tradition, was adopted in 1236 in Kurukan Fuga (Mali). It is an oral document that has undergone the influence of time during the transmission of the text among generations of griots; it is a set of norms that was created to organize the Mali empire. The Charter itself is a reconstruction from epic sources, in which several griots from Guinea and Senegal participated at once. The article presents a complete translation of the Charter, the comparison and analysis of its several versions from the griots Siriman Kuyate and Karamo Adam Diabate. While the Kuyate’s version of the Charter is considered to be “official”, the Diabate’s version is more credible. The analysis of the articles allows us to conclude that a part of the document may well be qualified as a declaration of new world order in the Mali Empire, while the other part of the document is a folklore addition to it. Today, it is especially important to record all references to traditional texts or knowledge, since attempts to change history, making it more “humane” and “modern”, can be traced in Africa at all levels.