Talk:Pre-imperial Mali

I am preparing to make major changes in this section. At present it represents a vision of Mali's past that is almost entirely based on oral tradition and customs of the Mandinka as practiced after the nineteenth century. While there is no doubt that oral tradition is important as a source, particularly for political history, it is less certain that it is so for customs and particularly for governmental organization. The constitution, allegedly given by Sunjata, for example, is probably a work of several centuries and an accretion of concepts and ideas. The attempt to reconstruct it in 1998, drawing on many different sources also probably increased the number of additions.

I will preserve some of this material, but will write in qualifications, reflecting the uncertainty that has to attend such efforts.Beepsie (talk) 12:52, 8 October 2010 (UTC)