This work is the culmination of a long oral investigation by Youssouf Tata Cissé with Wâ Kamissoko, a talented "traditionalist", met by chance on his way to Krina, his vital village. It brings us invaluable data on the foundations and administrative structures of the empire of Mali, slavery in West Africa in the 12th century, the small royalties which then tore the Mandingo country apart, the conquests of Soundjata and the abolition by the latter of slavery and the slave trade.