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Samba Gueladio Djegui is less well known, perhaps, than Sunjata and other larger-scale West African epic heroes, although it is equally likely that we have met him and then forgotten the encounter, that we have failed to recognize this particular hero of the Western Fulbe-speakers (Hal-Pularen or Tukolor) (1) and his particular qualities under a mantle of familiarity, or what one might term a form of intercultural compatibility of the storylines. The most likely points of encounter for a foreigner would be through the classic collection of African folktales first published in 1927 by Blaise Cendrars, the Anthologie Negre, which contains a version collected by E-V. Equilbecq, or else through a "translation" appended to the Poemes of Leopold Sedar Senghor, or more recently perhaps--for those who read lyrics of popular music--through the music of the Senegalese musician Baaba Maal, who sings a praise of Samba Djegui without giving the story. Where Sunjata is rooted in the Manding, in the homeland of the various Mandekan peoples, the story of Samba Gueladio offers a more international flavor, and it is harder to define its homeland. Samba himself went into exile, as did Sunjata; so did his story. It is still a question whether he returned, and on what terms, and the exercise of retracing the travels of the tale may well illuminate particularities of an African hero which a more regionally-focussed study might leave in shadow.
Our travels will follow two paths, the first a literary exercise in transmission, adaptation, and adoption as we review the various versions available and their interrelations, the second an exploration of narrative parallels between the story of Samba Gueladio and those of other heroes from the wider world of the Fulbe, and the implications of these parallels for our view of the story within the West African oral tradition. In closing, we will consider some factors that have increased the weight of the story in recent years.
We might start first with the historical identification of the hero. The epic labels him a member of the Deniyanke dynasty, which ruled over the Futa Toro. The Futa Toro is a Fulbe-speaking, largely Moslem region along the upper reaches of the Senegal River, based on the original kingdom of the Tekrour (whence the...