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Griots are historians, praise-singers and musical entertainers. And yet, none of these descriptions quite captures their unique status in Manding society.
In the time of Sundiata, griots tutored princes and gave council to kings. They were educated and wise, and they used their detailed knowledge of history to shed light on present-day dilemmas. Long after the fall of the Malian Empire in 1468, a Manding family of means would have their own griot to advise them and help them negotiate matters with other families. Griots arranged the terms of marriages and mediated disputes, always relying on their understanding of each family's history.
Somewhere along the line, griots, or jelis as they are known among the Manding, also became the official musicians of the society. The balafon, which figures prominently in the Sundiata story, is a wooden xylophone and probably the original jeli instrument. But now, jelis also play the ngoni, a small traditional lute, and the kora, a 21-string cross between a harp and a lute. Jelis also sing in loud, proud voices full of the grandeur of their history. There are male griot singers, but the great majority of these beloved and respected vocalists are women.
The griot's ancient art, jeliya, is still practiced today, though some say it has declined under the pressures of modern, commercial society. These days, Manding families generally cannot afford their own private griot, so the musicians move from family to family, performing at weddings and baptisms, entertaining and praising the guests. Critics claim that this way of working forces griots to know a little bit of everybody's history, but prevents them from knowing all the rich detail that their ancestors had to master.
Perhaps jeliya has changed, but it remains enormously popular. Some of the most celebrated pop music stars of Mali, Guinea, Senegal and the Gambia are griots, who have transformed traditional compositions to create modern, electric music. In Mali, female griot singing stars include Ami Koita, Kandia Kouyaté, and Tata Bambo Kouyaté, all of whom have released many volumes of cassettes on the local market. Guinea's Mory Kanté has built an international career on his driving, Paris-produced dance tracks, but the music remains firmly rooted in his griot past.
Perhaps West Africa's most celebrated pop star around the world, Salif Keita of Mali, does not have griot ancestry. Indeed, as the name Keita indicates, he is a noble descendent of Sundiata Keita, the first king of the Malian Empire. But Salif nevertheless draws heavily from griot tradition in his music.
One need only turn on the radio or the television, or go to a music festival in one of these countries to experience the enduring power of griots in West Africa. Better still, take a walk down almost any residential street in the Malian capital of Bamako on a Thursday or Sunday--traditional wedding days--and you'll soon discover a street wedding in progress. You'll see a crowd of smartly dressed men and women gathered in the dirt street around a group of musicians playing through cranked up amplifiers. There may be guitars, balafon or kora, or the small ngoni lute all weaving a web of intricate melodies.
And before them, there will be a female griot singer in a fabulous, embroidered gown, singing her heart out. Guests will circulate before her, and when they hear her praising them by name, they will give her money, as sure a sign as any that the griot's art is still alive and well. If you stick around long enough, you're bound to hear a version of the griots' classic of classics, "Sundiata."
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