Everything about Griot totally explained
A
griot (/gɹi.ɒ/ in
English or [ɡʁi.o] in
French, with a
silent t) or
jeli (
djeli or
djéli in French spelling) is a
West African
poet, praise singer, and wandering
musician, considered a repository of
oral tradition. As such they're sometimes also called
bards. According to Paul Oliver in his book "Savannah Syncopators", "Though [thegriot] has to know many traditional songs without error, he must also have the ability to extemporize on current events, chance incidents and the passing scene. His wit can be devastating and his knowledge of local history formidable." Although they're popularly known as 'praise singers', griots may also use their vocal expertise for gossip, satire, or political comment.
Griots today live in many parts of West Africa, including
Mali,
Gambia,
Guinea, and
Senegal, and are present among the
Mande peoples (
Mandinka,
Malinké,
Bambara, etc.),
Fulɓe (Fula),
Hausa,
Tukulóor,
Wolof,
Serer,
Mauritanian Arabs and many other smaller groups. 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,
guewel in
Wolof,
gawlo in
Pulaar (Fula), and
igiiw in
Hassaniyya Arabic. Griots form an
endogamous caste, meaning that most of them only marry fellow griots and that those who are not griots don't normally perform the same functions that they perform.
Griots and jeliya
The
Manding term
jeliya (meaning "musicianhood") 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.
In the Mali Empire
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
Sundjata Keita, whose exploits remain celebrated in Mali even today. In the
Epic of Sundjata, 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.
Most villages also had their own griot, who told tales of births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs, and hundreds of other folktales.
Griots/Jeli in Mande Society
The Jeli in Mande society was as a historian, advisor, arbitrator, praise singer (patronage), and storyteller. Essentially, these musicians were walking history books, preserving their ancient stories and traditions through song. Their inherited tradition was passed down through generations. Their name, "Jeli", means "Blood" in the Manika language. They were said to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers as music is associated as such. Speech is also said to have power as it can recreate history and relationships.
Griots today
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.
In popular culture
In the
Malian film
Guimba the Tyrant directed by
Cheick Oumar Sissoko, the storytelling is done through the village griot, who also serves to provide comic relief.
In the late novels of the
Ivorian writer
Ahmadou Kourouma,
Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote takes the form of a praise-song by the Sora, the Griot, Bingo to the president-Dictator of the fictitious République du Golfe. His final novel
Allah isn't Obliged also prominently features a griot character.
There are also references in the Alex Haley's book of a Griot that passed his family history through oral tradition. When Haley traces back his history, passing from his previous generation through the slave time, back to Africa, he thought there should be griots telling his history and the history of his ancestor, known in the family as "The African", who was captured in the bushes when he was seeking timber to make a talking drum. When he arrived in Africa to make researches to his book, he actually found Griots telling his history. It was through them he learned the ancestor's identity,
Kunta Kinte. Since he'd first heard the story from his grandmother and later refreshed by his older cousin, he believed that they were griots in their own way until someone put the story to writing. He later learned that his cousin had died within the hour of his arrival at the village.
In
Paule Marshall's
Praisesong for the Widow, the protagonist Avatara (Avey) might take on some of the characteristics of a griot, especially in her commitment to passing on to her grandchildren her aunt's oral story of the Ibos at the Landing, in which Africans brought to the U.S. Sea Islands to be slaves promptly turned around and walked back to Africa over the water.
List of griot artists/groups
Further Information
Get more info on 'Griot'.
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