The highly standardized oral narrative about Sunjata, nowadays known as the Sunjata Epic, has been governing society since--at least--the fourteenth century when Arab travel writer Ibn Battuta on a trip along the Niger River reported a Sunjata tradition. This epic tells about the foundation of society--called "Mali" or "Mande"--and expresses values that go beyond the borders of countries: it explains the relationships among clans. It also prescribes how, based on patronymics and clan-related praise songs, every person should behave in public. The epic is also now much esteemed as Mali and Guinea's medieval history and as a national and supranational charter, maintaining prominence both in the mass media and in educational programs (cf. Bulman 2004; Adejunmobi 2011). The name "Mali" itself, which in 1960 became the official designation for the territory, is definitely the most striking example of this heightened status of the Sunjata Epic.Quotation marks removed from title to ensure alphabetical order. Different as follows; "Copy Debts"? : Towards a cultural model for researchers' accountability in an age of web democrac
