A griot (; ; Manding: or (in N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicating stories and history orally, which is an African tradition.
Instead of writing history books, oral historians tell stories of the past that they have memorized. Sometimes there are families of historians, and the oral histories are passed down from one generation to the next. Telling a story out loud allows the speaker to use poetic and musical conventions that entertain an audience. This has contributed to many oral histories surviving for hundreds of years without being written down.
Through their storytelling, griots preserve and pass on the values of a tribe or people, such as the Senegalese. The Wolof people in Senegal depend on griots to learn about their culture.
The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a leader due to their position as an advisor to members of the royal family. As a result of the former of these two functions, they are sometimes called bards. They also act as mediators in disputes.
Etymology and terminology The word may derive from the French transliteration of the Portuguese word , which is the masculine singular term for 'servant'. Griots are more predominant in the northern portions of West Africa.
Despite the important role of the griot in African culture, it's difficult to pin down the word's origin; hence the variety of terms for griot in African languages. Griots are referred to by a number of names: in northern Mande areas, in southern Mande areas, in Wolof, or or or in Serer, in Pulaar (Fula), in Hassaniyan, in Yoruba, and or in Soninke. Some of these may derive from Arabic , 'a saying, statement'.
The Manding term (meaning 'musicianhood') sometimes refers to the knowledge of griots, indicating the hereditary nature of the class. comes from the root word or ('blood'). This is also the title given to griots in regions within the former Mali Empire. Though the term griot is more common in English, some, such as poet Bakari Sumano, prefer the term jeli.
Today, the term and spelling djali is often preferred, as noted by American poet Amiri Baraka and Congolese filmmaker Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda.
Role Historically, Griots form an endogamous professionally specialised group or caste, meaning that most of them only marry fellow griots, and pass on the storytelling tradition down the family line. In the past, a family of griots would accompany a family of kings or emperors, who were superior in status to the griots. All kings had griots, and all griots had kings, and most villages also had their own griot. A village griot would relate stories of topics including births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs, and other life events.
Griots have the main responsibility for keeping stories of the individual tribes and families alive in the oral tradition, with the narrative accompanied by a musical instrument. They are an essential part of many West African events such as weddings, where they sing and share family history of the bride and groom. It is also their role to settle disputes and act as mediator in case of conflicts. Respect for and familiarity with the griot meant that they could approach both parties without being attacked, and initiate peace negotiations between the hostile parties.
Francis Bebey writes about the griot in African Music, A People's Art:Bebey, Francis (1969, 1975). African Music, A People's Art. Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books. With this privilege of being a neutral mediator, griots had the freedom and expectation to criticize and keep in line those with a higher social status. Their professional authority allowed them to speak honestly in public, often addressing nobles, political leaders, and wealthy families. In a way, they were able to be a voice for the marginalized, and since their role in tradition was highly respected, their critiques were not overlooked. In earlier periods, the verbal power of "nyamakala" (artisan specialists, including griots) was believed to be strong enough to elevate a patron beyond his rank or undermine a noble's position in society.
Griots have learned how to use this form of communication as a sort of social influence. They are recognized for their strategic use of language in social and political contexts. Plus, skilled griots structure their speech so that multiple meanings can be interpreted from the same message. This practice is referred to as heteroglossia, and it's a sort of controlled ambiguity that allows them to enhance their influence. The ability to navigate competing perspectives through speech is considered a mark of mastery for both male and female griots.
Women griotes (Griottes) Women griots, who are often referred to as griottes (Jelimusow in Mande languages), play a central role in Mande and other West African oral traditions. Similar to the men, they are typically born into hereditary griot families and trained from a young age. However, there has been a lack of research on Griottes as African Studies tended to be marked by the male point of view.
The research that exists explains how, although epic narration has often been described as a male domain, knowledge of epic traditions is not strictly limited by gender. In many performances, men usually narrate the historical framework of epics while women sing the praise songs and embody the visual aspect. Griottes are involved in community ceremonies that range from weddings, naming rituals, and public commemorations. During weddings, it is tradition that griottes dress the bride, accompany her during rituals, and sing praise songs that publicly affirm the social connection between the families. The wedding songs griottes sing often include moral guidance and social instruction as they advise brides what is expected of them in marriage. Therefore, griottes often reaffirm existing social expectations, leading to their traditions getting passed down each generation.
Despite their limitations beyond singing and performance, some griottes have achieved recognition as masters of verbal art. The title "ngara" (or naaraa) signifies high achievement in historical knowledge and verbal performance. While this is a term usually given to men, women have also received it as recognition that depends on skill rather than gender.
Women griots (Jelimusow) demonstrate their authority through embodied performance. Women in these African societies usually appear to be reserved or soft spoken; however, during performances, they embody a character. Their soft voices turn into loud vocal projections and expressive gestures, creating this commanding physical appearance. This transformation reflects an embodiment of caste identity and the controlled expression of "Ama," which is a form of ritual power associated with griot status. Their clothes also symbolize this transformation as griot women wear bright colors and lots of jewelry to distinguish themselves from noble women and publicly show their caste difference.
In contemporary times, regional differences in griottes are evident. In Mali, female performers have increasingly assumed prominent public roles and often dominate commercial and international stages. However, in parts of Senegambia, men have maintained their dominance in mixed gender performances as women are often in complementary roles. Within performance partnerships, the distribution of financial rewards has sometimes reflected broader gender hierarchies.These patterns reflect broader regional social norms regarding gender and authority.
Apprenticeship and training systems Griot traditions are passed on from generation to generation through a hereditary apprenticeship systems in which knowledge is passed on in families. Children born into jeli families are raised from an early age in verbal art, music, and genalogy. Musicianship in griot families is considered to be inherited and not learned, thus emphasizing the hereditary aspect of the griot role.
They learn through observation, repetition, and guided participation in performances instead of through a classroom approach. Musical training in Mande culture is different from that in Western conservatories as students practice short repeated passages of actual pieces of music instead of exercises or technical drills. These segments then serve as examples of larger compositions and are repeated and expanded to build technical complexity and variation. Oral transmission is not only memorization but also on interpretation and adaptation as well. Griots learn basic stories and musical structures while at the same time learning how to adapt performances to specific audiences and social contexts.
Instrumental specialization may be also hereditary and gender based within jeli families. Males are often associated with instruments such as the kora, balafon, or ngoni, while females are often restricted to vocal performance and praise singing. Access to specialized knowledge may also be shaped by patronage, such as the perception of some forms of oral history being restricted or sacred.
In the Mali Empire
The Mali Empire (Malinke Empire), at its height in the middle of the 14th century, extended from central Africa (today's Chad and Niger) to West Africa (today's Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal). The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita, whose exploits remain celebrated in Mali today. In the Epic of Sundiata, Naré Maghann Konaté offered his son Sundiata Keita a griot, Balla Fasséké, to advise him in his reign. Balla Fasséké is considered the founder of the Kouyaté line of griots that exists to this day.
Each aristocratic family of griots accompanied a higher-ranked family of warrior-kings or emperors, called jatigi. In traditional culture, no griot can be without a jatigi, and no jatigi can be without a griot. However, the jatigi can loan his griot to another jatigi.
In Mande society In many Mande societies, the jeli was a historian, advisor, arbitrator, praise singer (patronage), and storyteller. They essentially served as history books, preserving ancient stories and traditions through song. Their tradition was passed down through generations. The name jeli means "blood" in Maninka language. They were believed to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers. Speech was believed to have power in its capacity to recreate history and relationships.
Despite the authority of griots and the perceived power of their songs, griots are not treated as positively in West Africa as may be assumed. Thomas A. Hale wrote, "Another [reason for ambivalence towards griots] is an ancient tradition that marks them as a separate people categorized all too simplistically as members of a 'caste', a term that has come under increasing attack as a distortion of the social structure in the region. In the worst case, that difference meant burial for griots in trees rather than in the ground in order to avoid polluting the earth.Conrad and Frank 1995:4-7 Although these traditions are changing, griots and people of griot heritage have historically faced social pressure to marry within their hereditary lineages to sustain this practice. Therefore, such strict social norms reinforce occupational identity and social hierarchy. While modernization has reduced some of these constraints, stigma and marriage boundaries persist in certain communities.
One particular story that griots have enjoyed telling for generations is the Epic of Sundiata, which refers to the story of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire. In Mande culture, the king Sundiata eventually vanquishes named Sumanguru Kanté steals a magical balafon from forest genies that he uses to rule over his kingdom. Another character in the Epic of Sundiata is Kamissa, a sorceress from the land of Dô who possessed the ability to transform into a buffalo.