In the traditionally polygamous Mande world, half-brothers would often compete for control of their father's lineage and claim to his wealth and land.
[3] This setting out to make a name for oneself was particularly common among younger brothers, who were less likely to receive anything from their father and therefore more motivated to overhaul the system through their own actions.
[5] The emphasis in positive fadenya is a respect for the existing elements of society and a recognition that traditions should be “reinvented” as opposed to essentially changed.
For fadenya to be positive, it must place value in the current society and badenya, and change elements only to innovate, not to destroy or severely alter.
[5] One must return from one's experience of the outside world or of other views, and bring this new knowledge to the community, using it to innovate and adapt existing customs.
[5] One may use cruel force to impose different and self-serving values, rejecting years of societal progress and disrespecting the innovations and work of those who came before.
Negative fadenya can also signal an individual's complete break from society, in which one leaves and never returns with anything to benefit one's own family and people.
[1] It “connotes devotion to home, family and tradition” and “conveys a sense of community, social solidarity, and shared intimacy”.
[2] The “strong forces in Mande society [which] emphasize group norms, decisions and success over those of the individual…are reflected in the term badenya.
It is also worth noting that it is through badenya that women often display their influence in society, for they have the power to protect their children from the forces of fadenya.
The story, as told by Balle Fasseke, begins with the birth of Sunjata to the King, Maghan Kon Fatta, and his mother, Sogolon Kedjou.
Through a series of events in which his mother, sister, and younger half-brother provide tremendous help, eventually Sunjata is able to become King and rule.
This fadenya returns later, after the death of his father, when “his brothers got together,/ and then they went to a sorcerer/ and told him, ‘Attack [Sunjata] with a korte till he dies”.
The fact that it is Sunjata's sister who plays such a significant role in his rise to power is reflective of the strong relationship between full siblings as described by badenya.
Twentieth-century Malian author Massa Makan Diabaté's "Kouta trilogy" is often interpreted as demonstrating the conflict between fadenya and badenya.