Introduction The famous epic of Son-jara explains and celebrates the exploits of the legendary founder of the old Mali which was also called the Manden about seven hundred and fifty years ago. The Son-jara epic is also referred in West Africa as the sunjata. The epic constitutes a virtual social, political and cultural society which consists of the deep rooted aspects of the Mande people. It was originally in oral form like a song until it was first written by an Arab historian in the fifteenth century. This epic has been performed and recited by the bards of the West African people and it has also been translated but not rewritten by many scholars who engage in the studies of the West African people. The epic of Son-jara was printed by the Madinka bard called Fa-Digi Sisoko and since then it has been retold and changed so many times by different authors and scholars. What makes this epic different from other epics is that most of it is historical and not mythical Biography of Sundiata Sundiata Keita was a Muslim man from Mali. He liked to explore culture and religion and therefore he built a reputation of being a powerful magician because of his exploits in the local religion and culture. Sundiata became the ruler of the Mali Empire because of the influence he had on the Mali people. He was the founder of the Mali Empire and he ruled effectively. His way of ruling was influenced by his family ties and his religion and also his magical ability. All these aspects enabled him to lead Mali Empire well and defeat most of their enemies. The events that happened in his life were very fascinating and made the epic more interesting. Johnson states that Sundiata got his name from his mother because in the Mali Empire, people got their names as a combination of the given name by the mother and the personal name and not forgetting the clan name. (Johnson 9) Sundiata went through a lot of struggles in his childhood and these events made him stronger and wiser and eventually enabled him to become to become the king. He grew up at the time when the ruler of the Ghana Empire was trying to take over the Mali Empire. He therefore rose against the rule of the Ghanaian ruler by building an army to overthrow the ruler who had taken over his homeland. He had a very strong army because of his courage, influence and prowess and managed to defeat the ruler and hence he was made the ruler of the Empire. Johnson states that Sundiata ruled with the help of his mother who was a sorceress and his female relatives. (Johnson 10) He was a good ruler who ensured that the Empire was prosperous and therefore he engaged in farming activities which made the Empire of Mali very wealthy. Sundiata also loved their culture and preserved it all the time. He was also a supporter of religion especially the Muslim religion. He adapted most of the values that help him become a good ruler from religion and culture Overview of era and culture effects on the author Son-jara is the most celebrated and respected Mali ruler in oral narrative and literature today. The society of Mali has assigned him the role of Culture hero. The epic of Son-jara is therefore very popular because it is original and shows the life of the hero as written or explained personally by him. Its popularity has been great because of the belief that t