Introduction by the Editor-in-Chief

Abstract

Introduction by the Editor-in-Chief Rosa de Jorio This volume has been slow in the making, but we hope that our readers will enjoy the quality and diversity of the articles gathered here. The number of submissions has significantly increased in recent times, and thus the delay should only be temporary. We are pleased to host a dossier on Djibril Tamsir Niane in the wake of his passing, with contributions by David Conrad, Elara Bertho, Stephen Bulman, and Stephen Belcher, and an introduction by Ryan Skinner. Earlier versions of these articles were presented at the 2021 virtual International Mande Studies Conference hosted by Uppsala University, and also at the 2021 virtual Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association. In addition to Conrad’s biographical contribution centering on his long-time friendship and collaboration with Niane, the other contributions focus on the genealogy of the Soundjata epic. Embracing a comparative perspective, they foreground the choices, omissions, and continuities in Niane’s versions of the epic, while exploring some of their significations. We are also pleased to include two general articles: one dedicated to the study of dress as a prism through which to study the history of Guinea, a perspective that enables Saidou Mohamed N’Daou to foreground the agency of regional groups in the face of conquest and violence; the other by Agnieszka Kedzierska-Manzon, who investigates the construction of ritual specialists (donsow and jinetigiw), focusing particularly on their gender crossings and thus expanding and nuancing our understandings of gender in the Mande world. The volume also includes a special feature on the future of Mande studies. Contributors interrogate the wider scholarly and political implications of Mande studies as a discursive intellectual tradition, and explore possible ways to reconceptualize the field. Finally, this volume includes a new section for book reviews, featuring reviews by Marcia Tiede and Bruce Whitehouse. Mande Studies is truly a collective enterprise, and I could not have done it without the generosity and intellectual expertise of my coeditors. I wish to thank Patrick Royer, Joseph Hellweg, and Stephen Belcher for their careful reviews of the manuscripts and their constructive feedback. Bruce Whitehouse recently joined our editorial team, and we look forward to working with him at Mande Studies in the future. We also wish to thank the anonymous external reviewers for their thoughtful reviews. The articles included here have benefitted greatly from their expertise. We wish to thank as well our copy editors in French and [End Page 3] English, some of whom are our colleagues who generously put their language skills to the service of Mande Studies. I thank Joseph Hellweg, Patrick Royer, and Nicolas Médevielle for their help in this regard. Finally, we would like to inform our readers that from the present volume onward––that is, volume 23––Mande Studies, as with all other IUP journals, will be hosted on Project MUSE. JSTOR will continue storing our previous volumes of Mande Studies (1–22), as well as more recent ones, in its permanent archival collection, starting three years after their publication date. Enjoy the read! [End Page 4] Rosa de Jorio University of North Florida Copyright © 2021 Mande Studies Association