Kuma · Manden Tee No. 03

from £29.90

Everyone is free to speak: that is the oath of 1222. The tradition crossed nearly eight centuries from mouth to mouth, carried by the griots, before being set down in writing with them. The Kuma emblem gives that voice a body: a medallion in honey gold, earth brown and ivory on a deep black tee, a balafon resting low in the field, and a sparse trail of gold marks rising from it into the dark. Kuma, the spoken word, is a right and a charge. For those who speak, teach and pass things on. Around it, a ring of dots, an echo of the forty-four articles.

Choose your finish

Compare	Printed	Embroidered front
Technique	Ink printed flat	Stitched thread
Feel	Smooth, no relief	Raised, thread texture
Medallion	Same design	Same design on the front, about 20 cm wide
Price	from £29.90	from £109.00
Dispatch	2 to 5 working days	within 15 working days

Choose your size

Size guide

Between two sizes, take the larger one: the cut is meant to fall loose. Measurements are on the chest, flat, in centimetres then inches.

Size	Half chest	Body length
S	49.5	69
M	53.5	73
L	56.5	75
XL	59.5	77
2XL	63.5	79
3XL	67.5	81

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Finish

Size

Clear

Where it is made United Kingdom, Europe and elsewhere: printed to order by our Printify partners in Europe (in England for the tees and the Dikenga hoodies). Embroidered version: embroidered in the United Kingdom.
United States: printed in the US by Printify (tees in Florida, hoodies in California; size 3XL and the Night Skies hoodies ship from Europe).

Delivery Delivery in 5 to 10 working days in the United Kingdom and Europe, 7 to 12 in the United States, 10 to 20 elsewhere. Two to four days of that are the making, because nothing is stocked.

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The story of the design

What it means

The Manden swore twice. In 1222, the hunters' oath proclaimed seven declarations: one life is one life; hunger is not good, slavery is not good; everyone is free to speak. In 1236, after the victory of Kirina, Sundiata Keita gathered the assembly of the Manden at Kurukan Fuga and the charter took form. Carried from mouth to mouth by the griots for nearly eight centuries, the tradition was set down in writing in 1998: forty-four articles compiled with the griots (Kankan version). It stands among the oldest known declarations of rights, inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Kuma quotes the hunters' oath of 1222: everyone is free to speak. The empire of Mansa Musa did not begin with gold. It began with an oath.

After the tradition of the Manden Charter: the hunters' oath (1222, seven declarations) and the charter of Kurukan Fuga (1236); the Kankan version in forty-four articles compiled by Siriman Kouyaté with the griots (UNESCO workshop, 1998); the research of Youssouf Tata Cissé and Wa Kamissoko; D.T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on the intangible cultural heritage of humanity list.

Part of Collection 02 · Manden · The Oath. Emblem No. 03.

Two versions

Printed: the medallion is printed directly on the fabric. It takes the look of embroidery, but it is a flat print: no relief, no thread. Made to order, dispatched in 2 to 5 working days.

Embroidered front: the same medallion stitched in thread on the front, about 20 cm wide, by our embroidery workshop in the United Kingdom. Made to order, dispatched within 15 working days, then 3 to 7 days delivery in the UK (7 to 15 days elsewhere).

Fabric & Fit

Stanley/Stella Creator 2.0, 100% organic combed ring-spun cotton (GOTS-certified fabric), 180 gsm single jersey, fabric washed. Colour: Black. Medium fit, true to size.

Printed version delivered to the United States: Stanley/Stella Crafter, 100% organic combed ring-spun cotton, 155 gsm, regular fit, printed in Florida (size 3XL is printed in England on the Creator 2.0).