their instruments too

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Griots and Grioettes

• their instruments too

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Keepers of History
excerpts from Joanna Lott
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Who holds your history? Griots hold the
memory of West Africa.   In West Africa, written
history is something new. African history was
written in European languages during the colonial
era beginning in the late 1800s, and has been
around in Arabic for centuries. But societies in
the Sahel and Savanna regions of West Africa have
long kept their own history, in their own
languages, orally, in the form of epics (long
stories often sung).
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Imagine relying on someone's memory to hold your
people's history. In many parts of West Africa,
this job is carried out by the griot.
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Griots have been around for a millennium (one
thousand years). Once, the male griots and
female griottes were historians, genealogists (a
person who traces or studies the descent of
families), advisers to nobility, entertainers,
messengers, praise singers the list goes on.
Today they are mainly entertainers.
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The griot profession is inherited, passed on from
one generation to the next. Griots are very
different from the rest of society, almost a
different ethnic group. They are both feared and
respected by people in West Africa for their
wisdom and talent with words.
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In return for their services, griots receive
gifts. There is no set fee. They never know what
they will get. Sometimes a few coins, sometimes a
blanket, sometimes much more.
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Good griots must have remarkable memories and be
ever ready to recite or sing long histories,
genealogies, and praise songs. They must also be
musically talented. To become a griot you must
learn genealogies and histories, but not just the
words, also the music.
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Training for a griot begins within the family
unit, with boys and girls learning from their
griot parents, and then moves on to a formal
griot school, and then to an apprenticeship with
a master griot.
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Both boys and girls can train to be griots,
although griottes may have less freedom to travel
and train because most are mothers. This is the
way griots have always been trained.
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To Sum It Up
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Griots, pronounced "greeohs", are storytellers of
West Africa who use poetry and rhythm to teach
villagers about their history. Their home is the
territory of the Mandinke people in the country
of Mali where their tradition is alive to this
day. "Griot" is the French term for this class
of musicians the local term is jeli.
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This oral tradition was (and in rural areas still
is) central to the preservation of history and
culture in ancient African societies as written
language was very scarcely used. Griots also
traditionally play important roles as community
arbitrators and peacemakers much like lawyers and
judges today.
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Pictures of Griots
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Griots hold the memory of West Africa. At the
festival marking the installation of a regional
chief in Faraba Banta in October 1991, griotte
Adama Suso sings and Ma Lamini Jobareth plays the
kora.
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Griot singer Suso is playing the kora (note his
name on the instrument).
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Members of the Mandingo Jalis with friends.From
left Dela Kanuteh (with balafon), Aliu S. Dabo
(griot), Karunka Suso (with kora), friend, and
Mawdo Suso (with balafon).
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listen to some griots
http//home.planet.nl/verka067/Songs.html
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Djembes
wooden drum
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The djembe is heard on most celebrations of one's
life likeweddings, baptisms, harvests, and
parties. The djembe is carved in one single
piece into a log of hard wood. It has a hide
top. These are some designs that are carved on
for decoration.
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Balafon
xylophone
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(No Transcript)
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In the Mandingo country, the Balafon is played by
the griots when they tell the stories of the
families. The Balafon is a wooden xylophone,
mounted on a bamboo frame. The blades are all
parallel to each other, a calabash (gourd) under
each blade is used as a sound box.
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(No Transcript)
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Barra
gourd drum
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The Barra is originally form Mali. It is played
in celebrations of happy events. The Barra is
made out of 3/4 of a calabash (gourd) shell, on
which is fixed a treated cow skin, stretched with
normal ropes or with leather strings. The Barra
is normally played with all the surface of the
hands. Its sound has a vibrating quality when it
is not very stretched, but it is often tuned to
get a clear and dry sound.
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Kora
harp guitar
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The kora is a unique instrument with a harp-like
appearance and a notched bridge similar to that
of a guitar. It sounds somewhat like a harp, but
its intricate playing style can be closer to
flamenco (Spanish) guitar.
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The kora's body is made from a calabash gourd cut
in half and partially covered with cow skin.
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Traditionally, there are twenty-one playing
strings plucked by the thumb and forefinger of
each hand. The remaining fingers grip the two
vertical hand posts.
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Cora Connection Discover The Mandinka Kora
http//www.kora-music.com/