Sassouma Bérété Character Analysis in Sundiata

Maghan Kon Fatta's first wife, mother of Dankaran Touman. When Maghan Kon Fatta takes Sogolon as his second wife, Sassouma is extremely jealous of his preference for Sogolon. She wants her son to rule instead of Sundiata, so she makes several attempts on the lives of Sogolon and Sundiata, and eventually arranges their exile. Before her husband's death she makes life miserable for Sogolon and teases her for everything from her ugliness to Sundiata's inability to walk.

Sassouma Bérété Quotes in Sundiata

The Sundiata quotes below are all either spoken by Sassouma Bérété or refer to Sassouma Bérété. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“Listen, Djata,” said Soumosso Konkomba, “we had come here to test you. We have no need of condiments but your generosity disarms us. We were sent here by the queen mother to provoke you and draw the anger of the nocturnal powers upon you. But nothing can be done against a heart full of kindness.”

Related Characters: Soumosso Konkomba (speaker), Sassouma Bérété, Sundiata/Maghan Mari Djata

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

The witch Soumosso Konkomba and eight other witches have been sent by Sassouma to provoke Sundiata. These witches hoped to bring Sundiata to violence and anger, which would justify Sassouma's request that the witches kill Sundiata, but Sundiata responds to the witches with kindness and generosity. Once again, Sundiata's reaction serves to support the idea that he's a born (and destined) leader. Kindness and generosity are qualities that a good king must possess in order to inspire his people to love him, and Sundiata demonstrates the extent of his generosity here to people who were "stealing" from him. This reasserts Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mol

Sassouma Bérété Character Timeline in Sundiata

The timeline below shows where the character Sassouma Bérété appears in Sundiata. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Family, Community, and the Mali Empire Theme Icon

...family line resulted in Maghan Kon Fatta, Sundiata's father. Maghan Kon Fatta had three wives: Sassouma Bérété, Sogolon Kedjou, and Namandjé. (full context)

...day. The entire city wants to see her, but they hear nothing but rumors from Sassouma Bérété, Maghan's first wife. On the day of the wedding, drums beat at dawn and... (full context)

...now moves through the king's enclosure freely, and people have become accustomed to her ugliness. Sassouma, Maghan’s first wife, becomes unbearable, since she’s jealous of Sogolon's pregnancy and of Maghan’s preference... (full context)

...song about "the lion child, the buffalo child." Maghan distributes rice among his people and Sassouma grows even more jealous. (full context)

Sassouma is thrilled at Mari Djata's misfortune. Dankaran Touman, her 11-year-old son, already runs and practices... (full context)

...elders refuses to follow the dead king's wishes to reserve the throne for Mari Djata. Sassouma makes sure that Dankaran Touman is crowned king, and she herself becomes an all-powerful queen... (full context)

...memory. People say that nobody can rule with powerless legs. All the gossip stems from Sassouma, and she uses her newfound power to banish Sogolon to a small hut at the... (full context)

...the village. The garden grows well, but one day she finds she must go to Sassouma to ask for some baobab leaf (a condiment). While Sassouma freely gives Sogolon the baobab... (full context)

...she's being punished. Mari Djata asks her what's wrong, and Sogolon relates what happened with Sassouma. Mari Djata tries to cheer her up. When he's unsuccessful, he informs his mother that... (full context)

...while Mari Djata keeps eating as though nothing happened. Suddenly, they hear laughter behind the hut—Sassouma is telling a serving woman how she humiliated Sogolon. Sogolon hides in her hut where... (full context)

...sings thanks to God. The entire palace hears Balla Fasséké's song and runs to see. Sassouma's whole body trembles. (full context)

The narrator says that from that day forward, Sassouma had no peace of mind, but man can do nothing against destiny and her efforts... (full context)

...Fran Kamara and Kamandjan. Dankaran Touman, on the other hand, possesses no authoritative qualities and Sassouma fears for his reign. She summons nine great witches and asks them for help killing... (full context)

...explains that the witches can't justify killing Sundiata, as he's done nothing bad to them. Sassouma instructs them to go to Sogolon's garden tomorrow and pick from it. She says that... (full context)

...Sundiata that they came to the garden to test him, as they were sent by Sassouma to provoke him. She asks for his forgiveness. Sundiata offers each woman one of the... (full context)

...her children together. She suggests to Sundiata that they leave Niani, as she knows that Sassouma will try to harm Manding Bory and Djamarou (who possess no aptitude for protective witchcraft)... (full context)

Sassouma enters and finds Dankaran Touman collapsed. The young king says that he doesn't understand why... (full context)

...people often think they're doing harm to someone when, in actuality, they're only assisting destiny. Sassouma thinks she's victorious, but the miseries that Sogolon and her family experience on the road... (full context)

...that he speaks the truth because he's a guest. The narrator explains what's actually happening: Sassouma sent gold to Mansa Konkon to kill Sundiata. The king deems Sundiata the winner of... (full context)

...the merchants and Sogolon recognizes them as members of Maghan Kon Fatta's court. Mandjan Bérété, Sassouma's brother, explains that they left Mali two months ago to search for Sundiata. He says... (full context)

...to describe how they escaped, but Nana Triban just cries and apologizes for her mother Sassouma's cruelty to Sundiata (Nana Triban never thought ill of Sundiata). Balla instructs Nana Triban to... (full context)

Sassouma Bérété Character Analysis

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Sassouma Bérété Character Timeline in Sundiata