Historian Kassim Koné presents a unique opinion on the question of the suitability of the epic as a historical source by suggesting that "in Mandé, the people [did not did not wait for the [griot] to provide them with evidence or historical dates; they [expected] the [griot] to give meaning to their lives” (157). As the narrator says, he “[teaches] kings the history of their ancestors so that the lives of the ancients may serve as an example to them, because the world is old, but the future is born from the past” (Soundiata 1). In other words, through the stories of storytellers, descendants were able to access the wisdom and advice of their ancestors and apply these messages to the present day. In the Sundiata epic, values ​​such as loyalty, courage, and religiosity appear as an integral part of the Mande people, providing historians with important insight into their psyche. Such important insight cannot be ignored, even if the setting or plot of the story is not always historical. Arguably, Western historiographical preoccupation with facts has obscured this alternative, but equally important, use of