Kambili is the name of the hero of an epic Mandinka poem of the Wasulu hunters of Mali (see Kambili the Hunter for an earlier segment of the poem and further background). The small excerpt published here is from a version of the poem performed by the famous Mandinka singer, Seydou Camara, in Bamako, Mali, in 1968. The translated text comes from Fritz H. Pointer’s book, A Translation into English of The Epic of Kambili (An African Mythic Hero).
This part of the poem mentions the wedding ceremony of Kambili to his first wife, Kumba. Seydou only briefly describes the arrangement of the marriage, the wedding procession and the dances performed on the day. The majority of his lyrics are praises for Kambili and the heroic ideals of the hunters’ society that Kambili represents. The bride, Kumba, plays a more significant role in the narrative later on when Kambili battles her previous husband, the sorcerer Cekura. Cekura is referred to throughout this segment of the poem as “the man-eating lion”, enraged by the marriage of Kumba to Kambili.
Seydou was more than a singer for the Wasulu hunters. He had undergone a long apprenticeship of over a decade with accomplished bards before being elected by the hunters’ society to serve as the official priest and seer for the hunters. Seydou would perform divination, create magical talismans and, after the hunt, sing the praises of the animals the hunters had killed. Part of his role was to sing at hunters’ weddings and other formal occasions, the lyrics from this part of the epic poem may be part of Seydou’s repertoire of wedding songs.
Seydou weaves together praises for Kambili and his family with proverbs of the hunters’ society, interspersed with live instructions to the other musicians of his band. The first great Mandinka kings were revered as master hunters and the alliances that formed amongst hunting groups crossed over ethnicity, culture and geographical areas, possibly leading to the growth of the first Mali empires. The arrival of Islam led to the Mandinka adopting Muslim modes of expression and ritual prayers, but for the hunters’ society this was tailored to fit their traditional culture on their terms.
As members of an institution that precedes the Islamic empire in Mali, with their own magical beliefs and supernatural practices, the hunters appear to have some disdain for Muslim holymen. Seydou mocks the holymen as being hypocrites and accuses them of being incapable of dealing with forces of sorcery, in contrast with the skills of the hunter.
The Wedding of Kambili and Kumba
Ah! Namu-sayers!
At this time, kolas had been sent out for a wife for Kambili.
And what was Kambili’s first wife’s name?
Her name was said, Kumba.
They tied up ten kolas,
And went off to marry the beloved Kumba.
And brought her and gave her to Dugo’s Kambili.
It was the way of doing a marriage.
(Man, pay attention to the rhythm!
Don’t miss the rhythm whatever you do!)
Ah! To each slave his reason for coming.
To each his destiny.
Putting tradition aside for just one day’s pain is not good.
Hot Pepper of the Game, Kambili Sananfila! (1)
They have done the wedding dance!
Ah! All of the holymen are by the mosque,
But all of them are not holymen!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
(Man, hurry your hand on the harp-strings.)
The family name is joy!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Ah! Some are studying at the mosque,
But they all don’t give birth to saints!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
All the holymen are by the mosque,
But they all don’t know how to read!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Those without hope in the Koran, Father,
The spirits are calling to you.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Mother Dugo the Owl! Bird! (2)
I play my harp-strings for you.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
(Man, I can’t hear the sound of the harp.
The harp isn’t playing!)
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Ah! Should you see a man with bad habits,
You’ve seen a man who’ll die young.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
The irreproachable of Balendala,
Well, you’ve seen a terrible thing!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Even if you see him naked,
He looks like a dangerous thing.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
All the hunters go off in the bush,
But all are not masters of the powder.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
(Man, tighten that string!
Tighten that string a bit!)
Master, You filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Don’t you all go off to the fields?
But all are not champion farmers.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Of all those who make the pilgrimage,
They all don’t know what it means.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
(Ah! Harpist, you’re slowing down my words!)
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Mother Dugo the Owl Bird,
You’ve given birth to a powder master!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Ah! It’s true that all women give birth,
But all don’t give birth to hunters!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Some women give birth to sons,
But all don’t give birth to kings.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
(Hurry your hand on the strings.
You make it hard for me to speak.)
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Ah! Hunter, no matter how you hurry,
Man, the hero will get there before you.
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Mother Dugo the Owl, Soul-Seizing Angel.
Ah! Young smiths, I say the beast has become furious. (3)
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Dugo has given birth to Kambili!
The man-eating lion has become furious in Jimini
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
It’s the call for Mother Dugo the Owl,
The Big-Eyed Night Bird!
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
Ah! Dugo’s Kambili, can’t you stop
The man-eating lion?
Master, you filled him with knowledge.
Ah! You filled him with sorcery!
(Ah! Rhythm man, rhythm man!
Slow down a little!)
Speaking is not easy; not being able to speak is not easy.
I’m doing something I’ve learned,
I’m not doing something I was born for.
They had thus finished the wedding procession.
The wedding speeches had been given, Allah!
When the message had been given to Kambili,
It was none but the hunter Kambili’s voice:
“This man-eating lion, Allah!
If the man-eating lion is going to die,
(Pay attention to the rhythm.)
Ah! If the man-eating lion is going to die in Jimini,
The lion is going to die with one shot in Jimini!”
Ah! The dancers of the war dance have decreased.
The dancer of the warrior’s dance has gone to rest.
Soloba Jantumanin has gone to Last Judgement.
No reason was given for the powderman’s going to rest.
Soloba Jantumanin has gone to Allah.
The bullet master has gone back for sure.
The darkness of Last Judgement is never empty of strangers.
It’s the call for Dugo the Owl, Kambili Sananfila.
Greet the tracking dog as the hunting dog.
Look to the chair for seizing all the smells.
A sandal that’s stepped in dung leaves its bits behind.
Look to the cat for the wild hunting cat.
They finished with the wedding ceremony.
Performed by Seydou Camara, in Bamako, Mali, in 1968.
Recorded by Charles Bird.
Translation by Fritz H. Pointer,
from A Translation into English of The Epic of Kambili
(An African Mythic Hero),
Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd (2012)
Footnotes
- Kambili Sananfila: “Sananfila” is one of the names for Kambili´s family.
- Mother Dugo the Owl: Refers to Kambili’s mother, whose praise-name is “The Owl”.
- The beast and “the man-eating lion” refers to the sorcerer Cekura, who is enraged at Kumba leaving him to marry Kambili.
