The Art of Griot, in the Traditional Society of the Madingo Empire of Mali. Written By El Hadj Djitteye August 8, 2016 , 01:15 GMT

Am siitting with le leader of the female band Tartit Fadimata Wallet Oumar in her house in Bamako.

Mali is internationally famous for its musical traditions. Singers such as late Ali Farka Toure, Salif Keita, Toumani Diabaté , the Tuareg group Tinariwen and Tartit have been honored by the Grammy awards and they have the ability to fill concert halls around the world. They owe their success to the tradition of the “griot” in African culture. The griot “jali” or “jéli” in Mandingo dialect spelling is a West African oral historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and oral musician. The griot is a guardian of oral tradition and is often seen as a societal leader due to his traditional position as an advisor to royal personages in the traditional Malian Mandingo Empire.

In Mali’s cultural heritage, the griot is a bard.  The griot has to know many traditional songs and he must also have the ability to extemporize on current events and be able to interpret chance incident. Although they are popularly known as “praise singers,” griots may use their vocal expertise for gossip, satire, or political comment. In modern West Africa, political leaders from the village to the presidency often hire griots to sing their praises, which is part how they earn their reputations as “praise singers.” But what griots really do is much more complex.

Am with Toumani Diabate in the Malian ministery of Culture office February 2016

According to the hand written documents of the Empire of Mali, the griot in this highly conservatives’ society serves as oral historian, adviser, arbitrator of disputes, praise singer, musicians, story teller. The griot is like a walking history books, preserving the ancient stories and traditions through song and poetry.
The West African griot is a troubadour, a living archive of the people’s traditions. He is a poet, historian, singer, comedian, and official oral archivist all in one. Griots spend decades in apprenticeship, studying the art and the history before they earn the title. Often, the position is handed down through families. Through the oral medium of the griot, Africa’s cultural heritage griot is handed one generation to another.

The Mandingo Empire of Mali was founded by Massa (king in mandigo dialect) Sundiata Keita in 13th century. In the Epic of Soundiata, KingNaré Maghan Konaté offered his son Sundiata a griot, Balla Fasséké, to advise him in his reign.Balla Fassékéis considered the founder of the Kouyaté line of griots, which existsup to this day.The Kouyate griots live in Guinea and Mali. The most famous version of the Soundiata legend is Soundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Pearson publishers 2006), translated by the Guinean historian D.T. Niane who took down the story from a griot of the Kouyaté clan.

Cultural Caravan for Peace Mopti, 2015

In the madingo language, the word Kouyate means that there is something between us, some sort of story or information that must be shared. So, the Kouyates took on the role of educating the imperial family, the Keita clan, and praised the great men of the empire for action in the battle and other accomplishments as they built the empire. The griot also passes messengers between lovers, a job for which song and poetry are perfect. In some cultures if you love someone you cannot simply visit her or him in order to tell them your message. It’s not that simple, so the griot acts as a go-between. A young man can pay the griot to inform the girl about his intentions of love. The griot also plays this role in communication between villages that may be negotiating over farm land and other resources. This is an example of how the griot plays a crucial role in the daily life of communities and helps people and communities connect with each other.

Most villages in the Empire of Mali also had their own griot, someone who told tales through song and poetry of births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs. They also sang of hundreds of other things like the history of great hunters and the exploits of village leaders. This is still true today. Griots are often relied on to protect the individual history of a family, or a village, or a region. Most musical instruments that griot play with be traced back hundreds of years.Their guitars are made from large squash gourds and the drums are made from goat skin.
The griot tradition helps explain why the modern Republic of  Mali—landlocked, arid and poor—is an international sensation on the music scene. The late Malian guitarist and song writer Ali FarkaToure, a native of the Timbuktu region of northern Mali, is one of the best known African musicians in the world.

Both Toure and the singer Salif Keita, another Malian international star, trace their lineage back to the old Mali Empire. Salif Keita is a member of the Keita clan, is a descendant of the empire’s founder, Soundiata Keita himself. The Tuareg band Tinariwen won a Grammy for Best World Music Album in 2012, even as Mali was struggling with civil war. In the empire Soundiata founded, life was based on social harmony among ethnic group and the griot played a crucial role in the stability of this society. For this reason, the griot has never been more important to the social and cultural fabric of not only Mali, but to all of West Africa.

Cultural caravan for peace Mopti 2015

In 2012, northern Mali fell under the hand of Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. During this time the social harmony among ethnic group was destroyed. Today, as Mali struggles for peace and reconciliation, the art of the traditional griot can play a crucial role in the process of bring ethnic groups together to restore the social cohesion. The griot is there to remind us of our cultural heritage. The symbiotic relationship between griots and their traditional patrons is very important. The griots maintain all the knowledge of their patron’s life background, from the stories of their ancestors’ accomplishments in the past right down to who they married to and with whom they made alliances. For centuries this knowledge has been handed down from one generation of griots to another.

Cultural caravn for peace Bamako 2016

During these difficult times, we Malians must understand that the griot can be a peace maker. Through his knowledge of history and communities he can help get communities talking to each other. The griot can use his knowledge of social relationships to help strengthen national cohesion for all Malians.
I have a deep passion for storytelling, for talking with elders, for reading ancient hand written documents of our history. It is my goal to give my reader a better understanding of my cultural heritage.
Peter Chilson  and John H. Sime contributed to the editing of this article.