“All human beings have the right to life and the preservation of their physical integrity.” So reads one of the articles of the Charter of Kurukan Fuga, the African charter on human rights. An interview with historian, Djibril Tamsir Niane, who has just published this document.

Interview conducted by Chérif Elvalide Sèye

Les Afriques: What is the Charter of Kurukan Fuga?

Djibril Tamsir Niane: The Charter of Kurukan Fuga comprises “decisions” and “recommendations” made by the assembly of allies that Soundjata gathered the day after his victory in Kirina which gave him the upper hand on Soumaoro Kante. The year was 1236. These decisions and recommendations collectively formed the basis of the legal system of the empire Soudjata created – the Empire of Mali.

LA: What does this represent for Africa?

DTN: The Charter of Mande acquits Africa of the charge of being a regressive, violent and static continent. One must overcome clichés and prejudice. The Charter of Mande teaches tolerance and brotherhood between clans and ethnic groups. The cohesion between community members seems to have been the foremost priority of the men and women that met at Kurukan Fuga. Implementing a system for conflict resolution was therefore the central objective: and so the practice of using jocular mockery and insults or jocular abuse* was institutionalised, as well as a patronymic system to create alliances between clans.

 “Never offend women as they are our mothers.”

The primary advantage of this was to create an environment of frank interaction between protagonists while establishing the rights and responsibilities of community members to ensure that all could live in peace and solidarity. Jocular abuse is based on a pact signed by ancestors and is sacrosanct. The right of the firstborn, one of the solid pillars of African social structure, is explicitly expressed in the charter. These are values that could not be weakened by anything or anyone.

LA: Is it safe to say that in the history of human thought, this document is as important as the French Revolution’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen?

DTN: The charter states that:  “All human beings have the right to life and the preservation of their physical integrity…” Can one say anything more to guarantee an individual’s safety? The Charter of Mande expressed this very notion long before the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and even before Great Britain’s 1297 Magna Carta. Habeus corpus is the historic foundation of English civil liberties. It clearly states that “No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed--nor will we go upon or send upon him--save by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” This pivotal idea that laid the groundwork for human rights was expressed in 1236 in Kurukan, deep in the heart of Africa.

“In addition to their daily duties, women are to be involved in all of our governments”  

But unlike the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the Charter of Kurukan Fuga was not widely distributed beyond the borders of the African continent, as it was oral in form. This calls on us to live, observe our behaviour, and understand that the Charter is as pertinent today as it was when it was first conceived. For Africa, and particularly for West Africa, this charter is as important as its European equivalent.

Jocular abuse’s institutionalisation belongs equally to the Mandingoes, the Wolofs, the Sereres, the Peuls and the Soninkes. Each group believes its people to be the source of this charter. No one stopped to think that it had been institutionalised by Soundjata in the 13th century. It is the heritage of all African peoples who have changed in the course of three centuries in the region that was once the Empire of Mali.

The charter continues to govern inter-group relationships. All groups have adopted it. The cousin relations between Peuls and the Sereres, between the Mandingoes and the Peuls and the patronymic ties such as Diarra (the Mandingoes) and Ndiaye (Wolofs and Sereres) and Diatta (the Diolas); the equivalents between Traore (the Mandingoes) and Diop (the Wolofs), between Gueye (the Wolofs) and Sissoko, Fakoli (Mandingo) – all these equivalent ties and connections date back to the era of the Empire of Mali. It isn’t by accident that West Africans, the CEDEAO, is the first sub-region of the continent to have adopted a law that permits the free circulation of people and goods!

LA: How was it discovered?

DTN: Since the appearance of the Manding epic poem in 1960, we knew it existed and were aware of a few articles but we didn’t possess the text in its entirety. As is often the case, it wasn’t until 1998 that we finally found it when we weren’t even looking for it! In the spirit of French-speaking culture, Mandingo traditionalists from Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Senegal were brought together by the CELHTO and Intermedia Consultants. The goal of the meeting, which gathered modern communicators and Djeli around a common theme, was to encourage an improved collaboration among them and ensure the safeguard of African oral heritage.

 “Never wrong those who are foreign to you.”

The griots or folktellers of Kankan (Guinea), where the meeting took place, held a cultural evening during which the griots recited texts praising Soundjata. The modern communicators were by no means unaware of what stood before them. They knew that the true masters of discourse were in the process of performing, each in his own way, the laws that Soundjata and his companions had passed in Kurukan Fuga during the assembly that was held in this very place. Hence, thanks to this fortunate encounter, we were able to put together once again the oral text of the charter. This text in Maninka was then translated by Guinean linguists under the supervision of Siriman Kouyate, a traditionalist and magistrate. The text has been widely circulated thanks to the efforts of the CEHLTO. It has just been published by Société Africaine d’Edition et de Communication (S.A.E.C) and Harmattan.

LA: What assures you that the text you now have is authentic?

DTN: The griots that were in attendance at Kurukan Fuga belong to “schools” or traditionalist families with collections. They are the certified keepers of oral tradition. The recitations came about without any preparation in the course of the social gathering. Each simply said what he remembered. Though they all knew that there were 44 articles in total, none knew all 44 of them. When they met, they had little difficulty putting it all back together, however. Each said the same thing: “ I am reciting what my teacher taught me.” We know there is a popular belief that says that a Djeli who betrays the text he was taught will suffer. “The altered text eats away at him.” No griot would take a risk of that magnitude at an assembly of his own peers! Griots are proud of the chain of transmission of which he is the most recent link.

* Jocular abuse: the social practice which authorises an, at times, requires that members of the same family or of different ethnic groups mock and insult each other without any consequence. These verbal confrontations are a means of securing frank, positive social interaction.