This article is devoted to the analysis of the Oath of the Manden hunters. The
Hunter’s Oath is one of the important texts of the oral tradition in West Africa. It is an oral document created according to the tradition in 1222 and recorded by the renowned Malian historian Yousuf Tata Cisse in 1963. The Oath is recorded in the Maninka language and consists of 7 parts. It is associated with the Charter of Manden, and it is sometimes called so, as the Oath proclaims the abolition of the hunt for people to turn them into slaves, as well as condemnation of violence
against people. The Hunters call upon all Manden to end hunger, slavery, and torment. However, for Africa of the 13th century, the document sounds too bold, in particular thanks to its translation into French by Cisse himself. When analyzing the text in Maninka, the text turns out to be more traditional. When analyzing a text in the Maninka language, the text turns out to be more
traditional. The article compares the Oath with other texts of the Manden oral tradition.