SOUNDJATA, CHILD-LION

MEG, Auditorium, 65 boulevard Carl-Vogt – 1205 Genève

Puppet show and music

Soundjat, child-lion, a puppet show accompanied by music, celebrates one of the great heroes of West Africa. The thirteenth-century Soundjata epic is an integral part of the Mandinka griot tradition.

The soothsayers predict an exceptional future for Soundjata, the son of King Naré Maghan and his second wife Sougoulou, the woman-buffalo. But the young prince is incapable of walking; he can only crawl on the ground. After the death of his father, Soundjata and his mother suffer humiliation after humiliation inflicted by his father’s first wife Sassouma. But one day, to save his mother’s honour, ‘the lion awakes’: Soundjata reveals his true nature, he stands on his legs and with colossal strength, uproots a baobab tree.

He becomes a prodigious warrior, capable of defeating the horrible witch Soumaoro Kanté. Loved by all, he brings the kingdoms in the region together and founds the Mandinka Empire, the largest African empire of all time.

Aurore Bodin : puppeter,
Emma Utgès : puppeter,
Sory Diabaté : kora, balafon, percussion,
Florent Sieurac : sound & light

Adults Price : CHF 15.- / Children : CHF 8.- / Carte 20 ans/20 francs : CHF 5.-

Collaboration Les Z'ETHNOS / MEG - Musée d'ethnographie de Genève