Do you know the Epic of  Sundiata? 

It is akin to a Malian Illiad: an oral tradition much more culturally significant than  a mere story, with a far greater scope and depth of influence. It carries, like the Illiad, the weight of authority and the breadth of shared history.

Mali did not have a robust writing system in the Manding languages  (chiefly Bamanankan)  until one was devised by the French. Thus, our traditional primary sources in the West regarding  Mansa Musa are the works of  contemporaneous scholars writing in Arabic, most importantly Ibn Khaldun.

These Arabic writers, though, give us mere glimpses of the Empire, and  their understanding and perspective is limited.

But that does not mean there isn't a rich history existing to this very day - in fact, there is an entire universe of myth, legend, genealogy, and cataloging. But, like the Sundiata tradition with which it is intertwined, it is spoken, memorized, vouchsafed, protected.

Protected. From whom?  Everyone else.  And we are getting to the reason this oral tradition is not so easily known, or discoverable.

The most important source that exists on Mansa Musa's mythos, his place in history, and his place in culture,  is traditionally found in the form of a family of royalty, who have long been called Mali's "living archives.": the Kieta of Kangaba.

So why not just ask these fine folks, write down what they say, and have the rich history of Mansa Musa on display for the world?

Because, until the last 30 years, the Kieta would scarcely talk to Western scholars, and when they did, it was on the condition that what they said not be written down, and with the understanding that the Kieta and their griots alone have the authority to retell their sacred histories.

This has changed significantly in recent years, thanks in large part to African scholars working  in western universities such as my dear friend Dr. Karim Traore, who recently retired after many years of teaching and research.

But the fact remains that this information was closed to us for so long, there is not wide appreciation for it in the West.

Make no mistake, though.  Mansa Musa is very important, and very present, in Mali