Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Sunjata)

The silk-cotton tree (ceiba pentandra), also known as the Kapok Tree, is a tropical tree native to South America and the Caribbean. According to the notes of this edition of the text, this tree was transported to West Africa by the Portuguese in the 14th and 15th centuries (87). As such, mention of the silk-cotton tree in Sundiata is anachronistic, or belonging to a different time than is suggested, since the epic is set in the 13th century.

The silk-cotton tree is a large and impressive tree that produces valuable downy, cotton-like fibers in its seedpods, as well as bark that was used in several traditional remedies. The tree is associated with Sundiata’s destiny to become great and powerful (like the tree), especially through connection to his kingly genealogy (the roots of the tree). The first time the tree is mentioned, Naré Maghan is sitting “in his usual position under the silk-cotton tree surrounded by his kinsmen” (4). This is where Naré Maghan hears the Sangaran hunter’s prophecy, and his position with his kinsmen at the base of the tree represents the base from which the powerful Sundiata will blossom. The tree’s slow growth also represents the time it will take Sundiata to become king; as Doua reminds Naré Maghan in his moment of doubt, “the silk-cotton tree emerges from a tiny seed” (16).