In the ancient African oral tradition of the Epic of Sundjata, Balla Fasséké is Sundiata Keita's jeli (griot).
King Naré Maghann Konaté offered his son Sundiata a jeli, Balla Fasséké, to advise him in his reign.
"[1] In the Epic of Sundjata, the king, Naré Maghann Konaté, is the son of a long lineage of hunters distinguished because of their skill, bravery, and ability to communicate with the guardian spirits who ruled over Mali in the 13th century.
However, Maghan's first wife, Sassouma Berete, was jealous, and had hoped her own son, Dankaran Touman, would be the heir to the throne.
Sassouma, in response to this, sends Balla Fasséké and Sundjata's half sister Nana to the sorcerer king Soumaoro Kante, of the Sosso, who had been threatening all of the kingdoms with his growing army.