Mansa (title)
Mansa(N'Ko:ߡߊ߲߬ߛߊ;[1]pl.marnsa) is aManinka[2]andMandinka[3]word for a hereditary[1][4]ruler, commonly translated as "king".[5][6][7]It is particularly known as the title of the rulers of theMali Empire,such asMansa Musa,and in this context is sometimes translated as "emperor".[8]It is also a title held by traditional village rulers, and in this context is translated as "chief".[1]
Mansacontrasts with another Manding word for ruler,faama.Faamaemphasizes the military, coercive authority of a ruler,[9]and can be translated as "tyrant",[10]whereasmansarefers to a hereditary ruler whose authority is derived from tradition[1]and mystical power.[9]A ruler can be both afaamaand amansa,but amansawas not necessarily afaama.[9]
The wordmansa(Arabic:منسا,romanized:mansā) was recorded in Arabic during the 14th century by North African writers such asIbn BattutaandIbn Khaldun,who explained it as meaning "sultan".[11]Cognates ofmansaexist in otherMandé languages,such asSoninkemanga,Susumenge,andBambaramasa.[2]Vydrin also compared it tomensey,theGuancheword for their rulers.[1]According to Misiugin and Vydrin, the original meaning of the root word was probably "chief of hunters" or "chief of warriors".[2]
An alternate translation ofmansa,which Jansen attributes to the followers ofMarcel Griaule,is thatmansameans "god", "the divine principle", or "priest-king". Jansen notes that they have not provided their reasoning for choosing this translation.[6]
List of Mansas
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdeVydrin 2015,p. 260.
- ^abcMisiugin & Vydrin 1993,p. 105.
- ^Schaffer 2005,p. 333.
- ^Jansen 1996,p. 99.
- ^Macbrair 1839,p. 40.
- ^abJansen 1998,p. 256.
- ^Conrad & Condé 2004,pp. xv, 198–199.
- ^Sutton 1997,p. 221.
- ^abcChappatte 2022,p. 22.
- ^Vydrin 2015,p. 218.
- ^Levtzion & Hopkins 2000,pp. 289, 333.
Works cited
[edit]- Chappatte, André (2022-11-01).In Search of Tunga: Prosperity, Almighty God, and Lives in Motion in a Malian Provincial Town.University of Michigan Press.ISBN978-0-472-22074-8.
- Conrad, David C.; Condé, Djanka Tassey (2004).Sunjata: a West African epic of the Mande peoples.Indianapolis: Hackett.ISBN0-87220-697-1.
- Jansen, Jan (1996)."The representation of status in Mande: did the Mali Empire still exist in the Nineteenth Century?".History in Africa.23:87–109.doi:10.2307/3171935.hdl:1887/2775.ISSN0361-5413.JSTOR3171935.S2CID53133772.
- Jansen, Jan (1998). "Hot Issues: The 1997 Kamabolon Ceremony in Kangaba (Mali)".The International Journal of African Historical Studies.31(2): 253–278.doi:10.2307/221083.hdl:1887/2774.ISSN0361-7882.JSTOR221083.
- Levtzion, Nehemia; Hopkins, John F. P., eds. (2000) [1981].Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West Africa.New York, NY: Marcus Weiner Press.ISBN1-55876-241-8.
- Macbrair, R. Maxwell (1839).A grammar of the Mandingo language: with vocabularies.London.
- Misiugin, Viacheslav M.; Vydrin, Valentin F. (1993). "Some archaic elements in the Manden epic tradition: the" Sunjata Epic "case".St. Petersburg Journal of African Studies.2:98–111.ISSN1025-4544.
- Schaffer, Matt (2005)."Bound to Africa: the Mandinka Legacy in the New World".History in Africa.32:321–369.doi:10.1353/hia.2005.0021.eISSN1558-2744.ISSN0361-5413.S2CID52045769.Retrieved2022-04-13.
- Sutton, J. E. G. (1997)."The African Lords of the Intercontinental Gold Trade Before the Black Death: al-Hasan bin Sulaiman of Kilwa and Mansa Musa of Mali".The Antiquaries Journal.77:221–242.doi:10.1017/S000358150007520X.eISSN1758-5309.ISSN0003-5815.S2CID129875132.
- Vydrin, V. F. (2015).Manding-English Dictionary: (Maninka, Bamana). Volume 1, A, B, D-DAD.Lac-Beauport: MeaBooks Inc.ISBN978-0-9939969-3-1.
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