ABSTRACT
The political institutions and social patterns developed by Soninke elites were subsequently diffused by Mandekalu warriors in their conquests during the c. 1100-c. 1500 dry period. The message implicitly conveyed by the cliches in oral traditions is clear: In the sahel and savanna zones Mandekalu horse warriors imposing the Mande tripartite social order prevailed over power associations, including the Great Python Society controlled by smiths. Mandekalu war bands followed trade routes linking the savanna and savanna-woodland zones and founded conquest states with tributary status to the rulers of Mali. Mandekalu raiding and state building were renewed along the receding savanna-woodland-forest borderlands during the c. 1630-c. i860 dry period and continued until the imposition of European rule in western Africa. Once a Mandekalu state was established, resident Mande traders and smiths probably depreciated their links with host groups and tried to accommodate the new order by emphasizing their Mande kinship affiliations and shared cultural ties.
