Keita dynasty

The Keita dynasty ruled pre-imperial and imperial Mali from the 12th century into the early 17th century. It was a Muslim Dynasty, and its rulers claimed descent from Bilal Keita (later named Bilal ibn Ribah Bilal).

Bilal Keita was a freed slave who accepted Islam and became one of the Sahabahs of the prophet Muhammad. Bilal Keita bears the distinction of being the first muezzin in Islam. According to Mandinka/Bambara accounts invented after their conversion to Islam and passed down by djelis (Muslim chroniclers), Bilal had seven sons, one of whom settled in Manden (Mandinka traditional territory). This son, Lawalo Keita, had a son named Latal Kalabi Keita, who later sired Damul Kalabi Keita. It was common in most royal dynasties to try to link their origins to some divine or religious personalities and was common across cultures and religions. Damul Kalabi Keita's son was Lahilatoul Keita and the first faama of the city of Niani. It is through Lahilatoul that the Keita clan becomes a ruling dynasty, though only over the small area around Niani.

There would be nine faamas of Niani prior to the founding of the Mali Empire. Its first mansa would be Sundiata Keita. This is when Mari Jata is crowned and Keita becomes a clan name. A couple of generations after him, his great-nephew, Mansa Musa Keita I of Mali, made a celebrated pilgrimage to Mecca which established his reputation as the richest man of his day.^[1] The dynasty he belonged to remained a major power in West Africa from 1235 until the breakup of the Mali Empire around 1610. Rivals from within the clan founded smaller kingdoms within contemporary Mali and Guinea. Today the surname Keita belongs only to one royal family in Africa. Of the members of these modern "daughter dynasties", the late politician Modibo Keita and the musician Salif Keita are arguably the most famous.

Ancestors

List of royal faamas of Manden (capital — Kangaba)

List of royal faamas of Manden (capital — Dodugu)

List of imperial mansas of Mali (capital — Niani)

List of post-imperial mansas of Mali (capital — Kangaba)

See also

• Mali Empire
• Faama
• Mansa
• Modibo Keita
• Salif Keita
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

References

Sources

• Cooley, William Desborough (1966). The Negroland of the Arabs Examined and Explained. London: Routledge. p. 143 Pages. ISBN 0-7146-1799-7.
• Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers: An Encyclopedia of Native, Colonial, and Independent States and Rulers Past and Present. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. p. 395 Pages. ISBN 0-89950-390-X.