Sundiata

Before his death, what present does King Nare Maghan give his son Sogolon Djata?

• huge iron rod
• crown
• griot
• plot of land

Which words best describe Sassouma Berete, the king’s first wife?

• kind and honest
• resentful and vengeful
• foolish and silly
• generous

Which is NOT a sign of Sogolon Djata’s strength?

• He picked up an iron bar without effort
• He dug around in calabashes for food
• He bent the iron bar when he stood       
• He uprooted a baobab tree

When the king asks the soothsayer about Sogolon Djata, what does the soothsayer mean by answering, “Great trees grow slowly, but they plunge their roots deep into the ground?”

• Sogolon Djata will achieve the greatness that is his destiny in an incident involving a tree
• a.  Although SD is developing slowly, he will someday become a great, strong king.
• a.  SD will never become a king because he is too rooted in the earth.
• a.  The king is old and soon will be buried in the ground.

What special talent does Sogolon(the mother) use to try to heal her son?

• a.  She resorts to sorcery, using rare herbs to strengthen his legs.
• a.  She resorts to seducing her husband, the king.
• a.  She resorts to bribing the blacksmith to create an iron rod for her son.
• a.  She resorts to beating him until he can’t stand.

To what animal is SD repeatedly compared?

• wolf
• antelope
• lion
• bear

Who becomes the ruler immediately after King Nare Maghan’s death?

• Sassouma Berete
• Sogolon(the mother)       
• Dankaran Touman
• Sogolon Djata

What is the final straw that causes Sogolon (the mother) to strike her son?

• a.       Sassouma Barete’s insults about the baobab leaf
• a.       Jealousy about her husband
• a.       SD’s lies about not being able to walk
• a.       Her frustration with her other children

What does Balla Faseke bring back from the blacksmith seer?

• leaf
• tree
• iron rod
• sword

What gift does Sogolon Djata give his mother?

• a leaf
• a tree
• an iron sword
• a sharp dagger