Griots

The griots of the West African empires were story-tellers who advised the king. While they told legends, they also recounted historical facts and helped the king in his decisions. Without griots, much of the knowledge about West Africa would have been forgotten, as books and historical records were much less common back then. The griots were mostly older men, who helped a potential griot learn stories and the griot's ways of thinking. One story told by many griots over and over is the story of Sundiata. The legend of Sundiata tells how the African prince overcomes his diabilities to walk and speak, along with the malicious wishes of his father's other wife. 

This story is still known today, and is recorded in many places, but when it happened, the only record was Sundiata's griot  passing along the story that miraculously survived through time, along with many other African legends and fables.