Keita dynasty

The dynasty remained a major power in West Africa from the early 13th century until the breakup of the Mali Empire around 1610. Rivals from within the clan founded smaller kingdoms within contemporary Mali and Guinea. Of the members of these modern "daughter dynasties", the late politician Modibo Keita and the musician Salif Keita are arguably the most famous.

Legendary Ancestors

According to Muslim tradition, Bilal ibn Rabah was a freed slave, possibly of Abyssinian descent, who accepted Islam and became one of the Sahabahs of Muhammad. Bilal ibn Rabah bears the distinction of being the first muezzin in Islam. According to Mandinka/Bambara legends dating to the period after the conversion to Islam and passed down by djelis, Bilal had seven sons, one of whom settled in the Manding region. This son, Lawalo Keita, had a son named Latal Kalabi Keita, who later sired Damul Kalabi Keita. Damul Kalabi Keita's son was Lahilatoul Keita and the first faama of the city of Niani. It is through Lahilatoul that the Keita clan becomes a ruling dynasty, though only over the small area around Niani.

It was common practice for griots in West Africa to invent Islamic ancestors for their royal clients, to enhance their prestige and legitimacy, and this is certainly the case for the Keita. The earliest ancestors have Islamic names, while later ones have clearly non-Islamic names, but it's impossible now to determine which of these are inventions and which may have a basis in historical reality.