Dankaran Touman (

Manding languages The Manding languages (sometimes spelt Manden) are a dialect continuum within the Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo family spoken in West Africa. Varieties of Manding are generally considered (among native speakers) to be mutually intelligible ...

: ''Dànkàràn Túmá'') was the first son of

Naré Maghann Konaté Naré Maghann Konaté was a 12th-century faama (king) of the Mandinka people, in what is today Mali. He was the father of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, and a character in the oral tradition of the Epic of Sundiata.Takacs, Sarolta Ann ...

(father of

Sundiata Keita Sundiata Keita ( Mandinka, Malinke: ; 1217 – c. 1255, N'Ko spelling: ; also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He was als ...

, founder and first Emperor of the

Mali Empire The Mali Empire (Manding languages, Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or ''Manden ...

in the 13th century) in the Malian epic of Sundiata. He was also the King of Manden before the establishment of the Mali Empire.

History

In the story, Dankaran persecuted his paternal half-brother Mansa

.Niane, DjiBril Tamsir, Unesco. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa, "Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century", University of California Press (1984), p 131,

(Retrieved : 20 July 2012) After Naré's death, Dankaran and his mother Sassouma Bereté plotted to kill Sundiata Keita because they feared that Sundiata would take the throne. To protect her children, Sogolon Conde (mother of Sundiata) abandoned the country with her children and lived in exile.

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...

oral tradition suggests that the future greatness of Sundiata as a king was prophesied well in advance of his birth. Sogolon lived in exile with her children for several years. During their time in exile, the

Sosso The Sosso Empire, also written as Soso or Susu, or alternatively Kaniaga, was kingdom of West Africa that originated as a vassal of the Ghana Empire before breaking away and conquering their former overlords. Inhabited by the Soninke ancestors ...

king

Soumaoro Kanté Soumaoro Kanté (also known as Sumaworo Kanté or Sumanguru Kanté) was a 13th-century king of the Sosso people. Seizing Koumbi Saleh, the capital of the recently defunct Ghana Empire, Soumaoro Kanté proceeded to conquer several neighboring stat ...

invaded their country ( Niani). Fearing for his life, Dankaran abandoned his subjects and left the country.Belcher, Stephen Paterson, "Epic Traditions of Africa", Indiana University Press, (1999), p 101,

(Retrieved : 20 July 2012) Messengers were sent by the Mandinka elders to go and look for Sundiata so that he could come back and help liberate the Mandinka people, Mandinkah people and their country from the Sosso King. Ki-Zerbo, Joseph, ''

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', (editors : Joseph Ki-Zerbo,

Djibril Tamsir Niane Djibril Tamsir Niane (9 January 1932 – 8 March 2021) was a Guinean historian, playwright, and short story writer. Biography Born in Conakry, Guinea, his secondary education was in Senegal and his degree from the University of Bordeaux. He was ...

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, 1998, pp 54 -55, ''"Mali's Boy-King: A Thirteenth-Century African Epic Becomes Digital"'', By Ronica Roth (in NEH) : Humanities, July/August 1998, Volume 19/Number 4

/ref> His victory at the

Battle of Kirina The Battle of Kirina, also known as the Battle of Krina or siege of Karina ( 1235), was a confrontation between Sosso king Sumanguru Kanté and Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita. Sundiata Keita's forces roundly defeated those of Sumanguru Kanté, ...

led to the foundation of the

References

{{Epic of Sundiata Keita family Year of birth missing Year of death missing