Griot

A griot (/ˈɡri.oʊ/; French pronunciation: [ɡʁi.o]), jali or jeli (djeli or djéli in French
spelling) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or
musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a societal
leader due to his or her traditional position as an advisor to royal personages. As a
result of the former of these two functions, he or she is sometimes also called a
bard. According to Paul Oliver in his book Savannah Syncopators, "Though [the
griot] 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 are popularly known as "praise singers", griots may use their vocal
expertise for gossip, satire, or political comment.

Griots today live in many parts of West Africa and are present among the Mande
peoples (Mandinka, Malinké, Bambara, etc.), Fulɓe (Fula), Hausa, Songhai,
Tukulóor, Wolof, Serer, Mossi, Dagomba, Mauritanian Arabs and many other
Senegalese Wolof griot, 1890
smaller groups. The word may derive from the French transliteration "guiriot" of
the Portuguese word "criado", or masculine singular term for "servant". These
story-tellers are more predominant in the northern portions of West Africa.

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 iggawen in Hassaniyan. Griots form an endogamous caste, meaning
that most of them only marry fellow griots and that those who are not griots do
not normally perform the same functions that they perform.

Francis Bebey writes about the griot in his book African Music, A People's Art
(Lawrence Hill Books):

"The West African griot is a troubadour, the counterpart of the

medieval European minstrel... The griot knows everything that is
going on... He is a living archive of the people's traditions... The
virtuoso talents of the griots command universal admiration. This
virtuosity is the culmination of long years of study and hard work
A Hausa Griot performs at Diffa,
under the tuition of a teacher who is often a father or uncle. The Niger, playing a Komsa (Xalam).
profession is by no means a male prerogative. There are many
women griots whose talents as singers and musicians are equally
remarkable."[1]

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