Coronation of Mansa
It's only been a few hundred years since the seperate cities set aside their pride to ensure their safety. In that time the role of leader has been held by an unbroken chain of leaders who participated in the coronation ceremony where the previous Mansa, sometimes symbolically, passes along the title and burden to their chosen replacement.
Execution
Each ceremony is a little different. The first time the Mansa passed away suddenly it became obvious that they hadn't thought of everything ahead of time. Eventually the leadership came up with some general guidelines for making adjustments to the ceremony based on what needs had to be met.
They established some basic elements that must be adhered to (and why - which is very important!) for the ceremony to be considered valid and legal. Since it was obvious at the time that there would be no way to anticipate every possible scenario, instead they included a list of which elements shouldn't be modified or how to appropraitely make changes without nullifying the benefits of the ritual.
Of course this is all ceremonial as the actual metaphysical ritual that was originally intended to select the Mansa was lost. For the first 150 years the Legacy of Visions, a priceless mystical artifact was used to divine a new leader until something (intentionally hidden from known history by the thief) was stolen that prevented the future use of the 'magical' element that was required. Before the next Mansa stepped down, they had worked with the leaders of the capital cities to recreate the last ceremony and reproduce it despite losing the vital element, they would publicly/outwardly appear to be performing the same powerful rituals. They couldn't allow the common citizens to know they'd somehow lost a HUGE portion of the magical government that they all trusted in.
Participants
The current Mansa formally and symbolically passes their title to the chosen heir. This usually means both individuals are present and willing to participate. Whenever this doesn't happen the Mansa or their chosen representative decides how to adjust the ceremony to represent the current situation without losing the meaning behind the ritual.
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