Griot
A
griot (pronounced "gree-oh") or
djeli is a
West African
poet, praise singer, and wandering
musician, considered a repository of
oral tradition. Griots today live in many parts of West Africa, including
Mali,
Gambia,
Guinea, and
Senegal, and are present among the
Mande peoples,
Fulbe (Fula),
Hausa,
Tukulóor,
Wolof,
Serer,
Mauritanian Arabs and many other smaller tribes. The word may derive from the
French transliteration "guiriot" of the
Portuguese word "criado," which in turn means "servant." In African languages, griots are referred to by a number of names:
jeli in northern Mande areas,
jali in southern Mande areas,
géwal in
Wolof,
gawlo in
Pulaar (Fula), and
igiiw in
Hassaniyya Arabic. Griots form an
endogamous caste, meaning that most of them only marry other griots and that those who are not griots do not normally perform the same functions that they perform.
The
Malinké term
jeliya (meaning "transmission by blood") is sometimes used for the knowledge of griots, indicating the hereditary nature of the class.
Jeliya comes from the root word
jeli or
djeli (blood), which is also the title given to griots in areas corresponding to the former
Mali Empire. Though the usage "griot" is far more common in English, some griot advocates such as
Bakari Sumano prefer the term
jeli.
The
Mali Empire (Malinke Empire), at its height in the middle of the
fourteenth century, extended from
central Africa (today's
Chad and
Niger) to West Africa (today's
Mali and
Senegal). The Empire was founded by
Sundiata Keita, whose exploits remain celebrated in Mali even today. In the
Epic of Sundiata, King
Naré Maghann Konaté offered his son Sundiata a griot,
Balla Fasséké, to advise him in his reign.
Balla Fasséké is thus considered the first griot and the founder of the Kouyaté line of griots that exists to this day.
Each family of griots accompanied a family of warrior-kings, which they called
jatigi. In traditional culture, no griot can be without
jatigi, and no
jatigi can be without a griot; the two are inseparable, and worthless without the other. However, the
jatigi can accept a "loan" of his griot to another
jatigi.
Bakari Sumano, head of the Association of Bamako Griots from
1994 to
2003, was an internationally-known advocate for the importance of the griot in West African society.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, the American painter, produced several works depicting griots. The influence was mostly derived from his
Haitian heritage and its relation to
West African culture.
Synthia Saint James, a prominent
African American fine artist and
illustrator, has also created paintings that depict griots.
*Charry, Eric S. (2000).
Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa. Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology. Includes audio CD. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
*Hale, Thomas A. (1998).
Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press
*Hoffman, Barbara G. (2001).
Griots at War: Conflict, Conciliation and Caste in Mande. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press
