Researched And Reported By: Fanka Kanu
Proclaimed In The Year 1236 At Kurugan Fuga
Our Oral Constitution was handed down to us in 1236 A.D by Emperor Sundiata Keita. The oral codified constitution that has been passed on from generation to generation since it proclamation in 1236 A.D is still with us, following a major military victory by the Founder of the Malian Empire. This was made possible after consultation with his wise men, and during the assembly at Kurugan Fuga, where it was proclaimed and named it as the Kurugan Fuga Constitution. This new codified constitution named after the territory situated above the upper Niger River basin, between present-day Guinea and Mali where the proclamation was made at the assembly.
One wonders as to why such a humanistic and equality aspired constitution has existed for nearly a millennium now, and brought to light for more than a century ago, and it present format, for decades now, and yet not many of us knew about it. We, in the Kemet Media Network will publish it from tomorrow, in two parts series to start the conversation around it.
The present document was brought to life through series of workshops in 2009, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) .
The constitution has existed at the same time as the Magna Carta in the thirteenth century. It is one of the oldest constitutions in the world, albeit, substantially in oral form, it contains a preamble of seven chapters championing for social peace in diversity, the inviolability of the human being, education, the integrity of the homeland, so that it remains corruption free, food security, the invalidation of slavery by raiding without war, and freedom of expression and trade. It contains 44 articles.
It was first tried to be recorded in the 1890’s. The interpretation that was preserved as records in the 1890’s was transcripted in the 1960’s known as the Epic of Sundiata Keita. However, because of its oral nature the epic did not exist in a fixed format. Another attempt was made in 1998 to reconstruct it based on what was recorded in the 1960’s. A workshop was organized in Kankan, Guinea, with the aim of preserving and publishing it in more organized format. This was accomplished by employing modern communications technology, based on what the Griots narrated. The whole exercise was conducted and supervised by the Guinean Linguists. The supervision was done by Mr Siriman Kouyate, with which the workshop was able to transcribe and translate all the various versions preserved in different regions of the former Malian Empire to what is currently available.
Regrettably, the Empire fell, the words of the Constitution and the rituals associated with it, are still transmitted orally from father to son in a codified way within the Malinke clans. To keep the tradition alive, honourary commemorative annual ceremonies of the historic assembly are organized in the village of Kangaba, nearby the original clearing site of Kurukan Fuga, which now lies in Mali, and very close to the Guinean border.
The question now though, why our way of governance based on the values of equality, humanism, property rights,and environmentalism, have been staring at us and yet we did not see it? At the same token, others came with their own version, not based on ours and we took it, without knowing that we have own indigenous version?
Watch Out For Part 1, in tomorrow’s publication of the Kurugan Fuga Constitution!
