What can we learn about recording history from the griots?
Griot (noun)
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A member of a class of travelling poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa.
What is the purpose of a griot?
Griots in West African societies played a very important role.
Through their music, they passed down history from one generation to the next so that it was not forgotten. In Western society, we are more used to our history being written.
In Africa, the griots would sing and recite poetry that told of a people’s past. Through the work of the griots, history was mixed with music and entertainment.
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Griots and Royalty
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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.[8]
Who can be a griot?
Historically, griots form an endogamous professionally specialised group or caste.
This means that most of them only marry fellow griots, and pass on the storytelling tradition down the family line.
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The above is adapted from this Wikipedia article: Griot - Wikipedia
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Endogamous (adjective): of or relating to the practice of allowing marriage only within a specific tribe, caste, ethnic or religious group, or other social unit
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Caste (noun): a fixed social group into which an individual is born
What else did they do?
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The griots were also praise singers( a political role). Furthermore, they were also the mouthpiece of the rulers. In their songs and music they could tell people about their ruler, what they had done and why they were the right person for the job. So history was not only mixed with music and entertainment, it was also coupled with, politics and propaganda.
Why might they be unpopular?
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Unfortunately for the griots, their position often made them unpopular.
They held a powerful position and, as a result, were looked upon with suspicion by rulers. The people who they sang to may have been suspicious of some of the songs they heard if the songs were not about their people.
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'Sambou, griot de Niantanso.' 1872.
From The New York Public Library
Niantanso is a village in Mali, West Africa
What can we learn from the history of griots?
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We learn that Medieval West African society was complex and very political. People cared about their past. Political power often changed hands and new rulers needed to reach out to people to keep their support. The griots were used to reach out and keep the lives of the rulers in everyone's minds.
The history of griots also shows us that people wanted to be kept up to date with what was happening in their wider world as the griots were like a news service, telling people about what their rulers were doing.
Mamadou Cissokho a.k.a Modou Ndiaye is a Griot. He is a Kora player, singer, drummer and percussionist. Mamadou was born in Senegal and since 2002 has lived in Britain. He has recorded albums and tours the world as part of bands and solo.
Through him and many others the tradition of the Griot survives and thrives.
PNS is very grateful to Mamadou for his support. Scroll down to find out more!
Images courtesy of Mamadou Cissoko
The song Tounga is described by Mamadou Cissokho
This song is about emigration. Leaving your own country to start a new life somewhere far from home can be daunting but at the same time a great adventure.
Over to You!
Thinking Questions
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Now you have explored a little about the griots, get your history brain activated by considering what you know about the griots in West African tradition compared to our contemporary world.
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What are the similarities between griot music traditions and contemporary forms of music?
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How might contemporary approaches to history telling be compared to the griot tradition?
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What are the similarities between the griots and contemporary forms of messaging and propaganda?
History Detective challenge
Can you find other ways that history has been recorded in different times and contexts?
This link could get you started: READ: Recordkeeping and History (article) | Khan Academy
The griots' instruments...
Griots played three main instruments. Can you find images of these instruments?
Can you see any similarities in other musical instruments we use all over the world today?
Kora - a harp like instrument.
Balafon - a wooden xylophone where the sound resonates in gourds (a hard skinned fruit like a pumpkin with hollowed out flesh and hardened skin).
Ngoni - A lute of Arabic origin.