Griottes: Female Voices from West Africa

Author(s): Thomas A. Hale

Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 25, No. 3, Women as Oral Artists (Autumn,
1994), pp. 71-91
Published by: Indiana University Press
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Griottes:
Female
Voicesfrom
WestAfrica
A. Hale
Thomas

The griotfromWest Africa,a highlyvisibleculturalvoice from

Senegalto Niger,nowoperatesin a globalcontext,as evidencedbythefrequentsoundofkoramusicon National PublicRadio in theUnitedStates,
the use ofthe term"griot"bywritersin magazines,newspapers,
and other
ofpublication,andtheappearancesoftheseartistsintheconcerthalls
forms
and clubsofmajorcitiessuch as Paris,London,New York,San Francisco,
and Tokyo.1But in spiteof the growingnumberofreferences
to griotsin
boththepopularand scholarlymedia,thesocialfunctionand verbalartof
theseartisansofthe spokenand sungwordremainpoorlyunderstoodoutsideofWest Africa.The originofthe appellationitselfis a puzzlethathas
stillnotyieldeditssecret.2
Butone oftheleastunderstood
aspectsofthegriot'sworldfornearlyeveryoneoutsidetheWestAfricancontext-scholars
and thepublicalike-is thefemalegriot,or griotte.3
fromthelimJudging
ited information
available about them,one mightassumethat theyare
who standat the marginof the oral narrativetraditions
shadowyfigures
recountedbytheirmalecounterparts,
publishedinEuropeanlanguages,and
readbystudentsaroundtheworld.
One measureofthestatusofa griot,however,is therewardsthatthe
audienceprovides.The giftofa smallairplane4to Kandia Kouyate(Duran,
femalegriots,suggeststhat
"Djely Mousso"38), one ofMali's best-known
these women performers
stand somewhatcloser to the center,not the
oftheirculturalnetwork.
At leastthisseemsto be thecase in the
periphery,
heartlandof the Mande or Manding,a vastregionofSahel and Savanna
thatincludesmanydifferent
peopleswho claima commonheritagein the
Mali empire.Why,then,in thenearlytwodecadesofwhatwe mightterm
thepost-Roots
era,has therebeen sucha silenceon griottesin scholarship
abouttheoraltraditions
oftheregion?These femalewordsmiths5
singsongs
ofpraiseand advice,serveas intermediaries
in delicateinterpersonal
negotiations,and articulatethevaluesofsocietyat majorsocialevents.Are they

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72

in African
Research
Literatures

fromtheirmale counterparts?
Are thereregionaland ethnic
anydifferent
variationsin theirsocialrolesand verbalart?
The answerstotheseandmanyotherquestionsarenowjustbeginning
The storyofhowgriottes
to emergein theworkofa handfulofresearchers.
have gone unnoticed in the scholarlyworld for so long is almost as
importantas whytheyhave now begunto attractgreaterattention.This
studyisthestarting
pointfora longerand moredetailedchapterthatwillbe
of
book
nowunderway.6
a
on
The scopeofthatprojpart
griotsand griottes
ect isvast,rangingfromthe14thcentury
tothepresent,
fromWestAfricato
theWesternHemisphere.The moremodestpurposehere,basedon a notyet
ofdata,isfourfold:
to offer
first,
completesynthesis
preliminary
responsesto
the questionofwhywe knowso littleaboutgriottes;second,to reporton
worknowbeingdone byotherscholars;third,to givesomeexamplesofthe
verbalartofgriottes;and fourth,
to suggestsomeavenuesofresearchfora
new generationmoreawareof the dangersof long-heldassumptionsthat
have preventedmanyof us in the past fromtakinga less biased view of
thesubject.
Forreadersand viewersunfamiliar
withWestAfrica,thefirst
encounterwithgriotsmaywellhave comefromAlex Haley'sworld-famous
narrative,Roots,orfromthetelevisedversionofit,orfromitssequel,RootsII, the
storyofhow Haley wentabouthis research.In the lastepisodeofRootsII,
JamesEarlJones,intheroleofAlex Haley,sitsat thefeetofa Gambiangriot
played,in fact,bya real griot,the late Alhaji Bai Konte of Brikama,The
Gambia. But nowherein any versionof Roots,writtenor visual,do we
encountera griotte.One could quiterightly
assumefromthesewidely-disseminatedportrayals
ofWestAfricanlifethatgriottes
simplydidnot exist.
an
interview
with
Alex
in
November
1991, a fewmonths
During
Haley
beforehisdeath,I askedifhe had encounteredanyfemalegriots.He replied
candidly,"I neverheardofa femalegriot....Nobodyevermentionedit,nor
did I everthinkaboutit.... I tookitforgrantedthattherewerenone."CertainlytheAfrican-American
journalistand authordid notsetout to write
an anthropological
and he cannotbe blamedfor
studyofgriotsand griottes,
whatseemsin retrospect
to be an extraordinary
The omissionof
oversight.
from
Roots
was
also
due
at
least
in
a
to
difference
griottes
part
significant
betweencustomsin the periphery
and thoseat the centerof the Mande
world.In theCasamanceregionofSenegaland The Gambia,on theWesternedgeoftheMande,one findsa muchgreateremphasison theroleofmen
as koraplayersand solo singers,a phenomenonrootedin theoriginofthe
kora(Duran,personalinterview).Butone also findsan absenceofdiscussion about griottesin much scholarshipon the Africanoral tradition.
in areasoutsideof
Althoughtherearesomestudiesofwomenas performers
theSahel and Savanna zones,7as Davies and Gravespointout,someofthe
available information
appearsas partof largerstudiesby sociologistsand
(17). Forexample,A. RaphaelNdiaye'sLa Placedelafemme
anthropologists
danslesritesau Senegalincludessometextsofsongsbywomen.In thecase of
the Songhayand ZarmaofNiger,JeanneBissiliatand Dioulde Laya'sLes

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ThomasA. Hale

73

a collectionofchantsthatcan be sungby
Zamuou poemessurlesnomsoffers
Butinthegeneralareaofwomenand the
anywoman,notjustprofessionals.
"thereremainsmuchmoreto be
oraltradition,
as Davies and Boyceaffirm,
inparticular
on griottes
done" (17). The relativeabsenceofscholarship
and
in a largersenseof
in generalseemsto be symptomatic
womenperformers
thebasicgenderbiasthathas markedmuchsocialscienceresearchbyscholarstrainedin the West,Africanand non-African.Forexample,the most
ethnicgroup,SoryCamara's
thoroughstudyto dateofgriotsin a particular

etleroledesgriots
danslasociete
GensdelaParole:essaisurlacondition
malinke,

inover300 pagesofhighlydetailed
barelymentionstheexistenceofgriottes
and complexanalyses.
Even inthemostwidelyreadand longest-selling
versionoftheMande
the
and
translated,
edited,
recorded,
epic,
Soundjata
publishedby Djibril
TamsirNiane in 1960 and stillinprinttoday,one findsonlytwobriefreferences to griottes(28-29). And in myown researchforThe Epic ofAskia
Mohammed
in 1980-81inNiger,I foundno discussionofjesereweyborey,
or
griottes,by the sourceof the narrative,Songhayjesere,or griot,Nouhou
Malio,nordidI have theopennessofmindto askaboutSonghayfemalegriotsin thecourseofmanyhoursofinterviews
withovera dozenmaleartisans
ofthewordin WesternNigerduringtenmonthsoffieldwork.
Mygoal was
simplyto findan epic textthatmightparalleltheSoundjatain significance
andtolear something
aboutthepeoplewhowerereported
torecountthose
epics-male griots.
Over the 20 yearsI have been teachingAfricanliterature,
onlyan
occasionalstudentaskedme aboutfemalegriots.I wasnotunawareoftheir
existence.Forexample,NantenegweKamissoko,a famousMalianjelimuso,
visitedPenn State in 1978. But she was part of the entourageof jeli8
BatourouSekou Kouyate,the featuredartiston a tourofmanyAmerican
universities
conductedbyCharles Bird.Their performance
promptedmy
interestinoralliterature,
butat thetimeitdidnotoccurto me to interview
anyofthem.My repliesto studentinquiriesremainedthatI knewgriottes
existed,butthatI didn'tknowmuchaboutthesefemalewordsmiths.
Mamadou Diawara,drawing
Whyhave we been so blindto griottes?
on the workof E. Sosne in anotherpartof Africa,offers
an explanation
rootedin twodifferent
kindsofdistortions:
The firstdistortion
occurswithinthe contextstudied;forthis
remains-eveninmatrilineal
wherewomen,
groups-amen'ssociety,
undertheswayofthedominant
maleideology,
do notoftenproclaim
themselves
ashistorians.
The secondisduetothefactthatAfrican
of
studies,
regardless
whether
research
iscarried
outbymenorwomen,
continue
tobepromarked
and
foundly
bythemalepointofview.("Women,Servitude,
110)
History"
Diawara,a malehistorianfromthesameethnicoriginas thesubjectsofhis
levelsof Soninke societyin the
research,men and womenfromdifferent
ancient Malian kingdomof Jaara,and BarbaraHoffman,an American

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74

inAfrican
Research
Literatures

ofa jelimuso
overfour
whoadoptedtheidentity
years
during
anthropologist
inMaliinthelate1980s,seean evengreater
andmorefundaofresearch
in research
to datestemming
from
differences
in class.
mentaldistortion
and
andservile
worldviews
themanywaysaristocratic
Diawaracontrasted
dela Parole).
inthetransmission
oforaltraditions
rolesdiffer
(seeLa Graine
onbothherownworkaswellasonthatofBonnieWright
Hoffman,
drawing
howthenobleviewofgriots
as an inferior
andMarthaKendall,explored
theresearch
ofbothAfrican
andnoninforms
classliterally
andfiguratively
focussed
ona
scholars
African
("ThePowerofSpeech"2-3).Theattention
For
nobleat an eventtakeson twodifferent
meanings,
explainsHoffman.
andenlargement
ofthenoble'sreputathegriot,
itisa causeforanimation
canbea sourceofdiscomtion.Forthenoble,however,
thegriot's
activities
andembarrassment
aswellastheoccasionforunflattering
fort
comparisons
thelivingandthedead(3).
between
and noble
Whenwe combinethegenderbiasofbothresearchers
biasbasedonthedifferent
worldviews
ofgriots
and
informants
withanother
ofhabitus,
Bourdieu's
term
asdifferent
nobles,whatHoffman
explains
types
ofstructuring
structures
forthe
for"socially
constituted
embodied,
systems
conditions
of
existence
that
mostpart,earlyinlife,whicharegenerated
by
moral
and
the
of
and
the
the
definitions
the
possible
impossible,
permit
ofgriots
movesfardown
immoral"
("ThePowerofSpeech"4), theposition
thesocialladder,
andwomenmaydisappear
from
theviewofnoblemales.
Sucha biasleadsto a misunderstanding
aboutthecomplexnatureofthe
verbalexchange
between
nobleandgriot.Hoffman
concludes
that"while
thenoble'sposition
ofsocialdominance
overthegriotisoveremphasized
in
theliterature,
littleis knownofthepowerthatgriotshaveovernobles"
one is talking
about
("The PowerofSpeech"6). Thisholdstruewhether
maleorfemale
thefocusofHoffnobles,ormaleorfemale
griots.
Although
man'spioneering
dissertation
wason thesettlement
ofa disputeoverthe
maleleadership
ofthejelicommunity
inKita,Mali,in 1985,thejelimuso's
shegainedonjeliya,theactivity
ofMandegriots,
to
perspective
promises
contribute
to a majorrevaluation
oftheseartisans
oftheword,bothmale
andfemale.
Hoffman
inMaliinthelate1980s.A decadeearbeganherresearch
at theNationalSoundArchiveinLondon,had
lier,LucyDuran,a curator
fieldtripstoThe Gambia
beguntostudythekoraandcollectdataduring
andMali.Sheworked
withoneofthemostrespected
masters
inTheGamandbecomeinvolvedinvisitsofgriots
to
bia,AmadouBansangJobarteh,
theUnitedKingdom
inthe1980s.She alsointerviewed
of
them
for
many
articles
thatappeared
ina popular
British
FolkRoots.
In 1989,she
magazine,
a landmark
onwomensingers,
article
that
published
survey
"DjelyMousso,"
forthefirst
timea variety
ofinsights
intotheir
musical
artandmodprovides
em performance
contexts
inAfricaandEurope.Nowat theUniversity
of
London'sSchoolofOrientalandAfrican
Studies,Duranhas launcheda
thatwillfocusonthenature
offemale
musical
in
majorproject
performance
Wester Mali.

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ThomasA. Hale

75

FromDuran'smulti-faceted
workas wellas fromthatofHoffmanand
Diawara,it is clearnow thatgriottesarebothmorenumerousand in many
cases morefamousthantheirmale counterparts.
BothDuranand Hoffman
underscorethe factthatin Mali the professionitselfis drivenbywomen.
Duranexplains:
It is fundamental
oftheJalis(hereditary
to thetradition
musicians)
thewomen
thattheman'sjob istoplaymusicalinstruments
whereas
sing.Of coursemensingtoobutin generalwomen'svoicesareprewhenit comesto singingthefamedpraisesongs
ferred,
especially
whichrecount,
of
theorigins
andhistory
through
improvised
lyrics,
thevarious
surnames.
Womenarealsothe"animateurs"
atevery
family
traditional
andsinging
toencourage
the
ceremony-whether
clapping
orplaytheironpercusion
dancers
rod(nege),theirpresence
isessential.Andso itcouldbesaidthatthewomenaretherealstars
ofMali.It
is no accidentthatthegreatmalesingers
likeMoryKanteandSalif
Keitahad to maketheircareersin Europe;backhometheywere
upstaged
bythewomen.("DjelyMousso"34)
Hoffmanechoes Duran'sobservationbyremarking
thattheworldof
the griotsin Mali, measuredbythefrequency
ofevents,numberofpeople
involved,amountof moneychanginghands,and the varietyof new art
forms
(Interview).
beingcreated,iswomen-centered
Scholarsand instructors
outsideofWest Africawho have been readingand teachingSoundjataoritsEnglishversionSundiatafordecadesmaybe
to discoverthatwomenare,at leastin Mali, thedominantvoices
surprised
in themodemperformance
context.Two reasonsforthisreactionneed to
be mentionedhere.The first
isthatwe do nothearthevoicesofjelimusow
in
theeditionofSoundjatatranslated
Niane.
women
several
by
Although
play
source,jeliMamadouKouyate,apparently
keyrolesin theepic,theprimary
did not mentionjelimusowas havingany significant
speakingparts.But
otherversions,forexampletheSon-Jara
recountedbyjeliFa-DigiSisoko in
Kita in 1968 and translatedbyJohnW. Johnson,givethema voice in the
narrative.Forexample,in a keypassageoftheepic,thelegalbirthorderof
Son-Jaraand hisbrotherDankaranTuma isdetermined
bythefactthatthe
jelimusosent to the kingto reportSon-Jara'sbirthrefusedfooduntilshe
made her announcement.The otherjelimusowho was to announce the
earlierbirthofDankaranTuma,sonofthefirst
wife,Berete,accepts
slightly
foodfirst,
thusdelayingtheannouncementto thekingandplacingthechild
in secondplace. What mattershereforourpurposesis thefactthatin the
linearversionoftheepicrecountedbySisokothejelimuso
has a voice.In this
tohereas theKuyatematriarch,
canscene,jelimusoTumuManiya,referred
didlyexplainswhathappenedto an enragedSaman Berete,first
ladyofthe
Mande butmotherofan infantwho has nowbecomesecondin line to the
throne:
TheKuyate
matriarch
spokeout:
atall
(Indeed)
"Nothing
happened
"I wasthefirst
topronounce
(Indeed)
myself.
Yourhusband
saidthefirst
nameheard,

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76

in African
Literatures
Research

"Said,hewouldbetheelder,
(Indeed)
"Andthusyours
becametheyounger"
(Indeed)
andSisoko131)
(Johnson
an easiA comparisonbetweentheproseversionbyNiane, a textthatoffers
the
lines
for
and
introduction
readers,
3,084
younger
ly-understandable
transcribed
byJohnJohnsonand a teamof Malian scholarsfromCharles
thatwe have muchto gain
Bird'srecording
ofFa-DigiSisokodemonstrates
to lineartransin ourunderstanding
oftheoralepic tradition
by"listening"
lationsofactualepic performances.
Butsucha comparisonalso revealsthat
we have faileduntilrecentlyto recognizetheroleand voicesofgriottesin
thosenarratives.
A secondreasonforourblindnessto womenis thatscholarlyinterest
in textsrecordedfromoralsourceshas tendedto focuson the longerforms
thathave longbeen viewedto be thedomainofmen in West Africa.9But
thisparadox,
womenhave alwayssharedthestagewithmen.To understand
to griottesby
one mustbeginbylookingback at themanyearlyreferences
Europeans.Arab and Europeantravelersencounteredgriottesat the same
tooknoteofgriotsin theentourageofrulersofWestAfrican
timetheyfirst
thatwe findin
townsand cities.Amidtheconfusionand misinterpretation
theirportrayals
ofthesemaleand femalewordsmiths,
one sensesnevertheas menin theprofession.
lessthatwomenareequallyimportant
on a tripto theSenegambiaregionin 1843
Anne Raffenel,
reporting
of the European
and 1844, makesa comparisonwithbardsand minstrels
MiddleAges.What interests
us hereisnot thecomparison,
whichcontributesto thedistorted
imageofgriotstoday,butthefactthathe mentionsseveraltimestherolesofbothmenand women.
etGriotes
LesGriots
exercent
lesnegres,
etprincipalement
parmi
aupres
desprincipaux
uneespecede profession
uneidenchefs,
quipresente
titecompleteavec...les bardset menestrals.
Les Griots,hommes
ou
leschefs
etlepeuplepardesbouffonneries
femmes...amusent
grossieres,
etilschantent
leslouanges
detousceuxquilespayent
dansdesespeces
...[Cette profession,
suivie
d'improvisations
emphatiques.
egalement
par
leurs
devient
unheritage
defamille.
(1:16; emphasis
added)
femmes,
andgriottes
exercise
a kindofprofession,
[AmongtheNegroes,
griots
forthemostimportant
thatisalmostexactly
likethat
chiefs,
primarily
of...bardsandminstrels.
amusechiefs
andthe
Griots,menorwomen,
andtheyimprovise
bombasgeneral
publicbytheirvulgar
buffoonery,
ticpraises
tosingforallthosewhopaythem.....Tlhis
alsofolprofession,
lowedby theirwomen,becomesan inheritedfamilytradition.
mine)]
(translation
Raffenelunderscores
thisequalitybetweenthesexeswitha matchedpairof
detailedcolorsketchesofa griotand a griotte,
partofa seriesoffinely-drawn
ofhistrip.
imagesincludedin an atlasthataccompaniesthenarrative
In the late 19th century,the firstphotographicimagesof griottes
beganto appear.Forexample,duringtheGallieniexpeditionfromMedina
in Senegalto Kita in Mali in 1879-81,a photographer
tookpicturesoflocal

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Thomas
A. Hale I

77

One is of the wifeof an interpreter

rulersand otherdignitaries.
from
Medina,and "hergriote."Anotheris of "DambaSambala,son of the
The appearance
ofgriots
defender
ofMedinain 1859andhisgriote."10
and
the
notion
that
both
in
sexes
griottes formally
supports
posedphotographs
retinues.
wereimportant
members
ofofficial
atthattimewasa
Photography
The factthattheexpedidemanding
process.1'
complexandconsiderably
tosucha subjectreminds
tionleaderssawfittodevotetimeandequipment
theviewerthatthephotographer
oflocal
wasnotsimply
taking
snapshots
cultural
colortouseupa rolloffilm.
Inthe20thcentury,
asmoreEuropeans
however,
begantotakegreater
inthehistory
ofWestAfrica,
interest
backbothmanuscripts
from
bringing
distant
citiessuchasTimbuktu
andoccasional
narratives
from
oralsources,
seemedtofadeintothebackground
oftheoutsiders'
focuson the
griottes
Ifthemoreperceptive
continent.
colonialadministrators
andresearchers
in
WestAfrica
couldseeanyvalueintheoraltradition,
theirinterest
concentrated
on thepoliticalepic,a genreusually
recited
bymenintheSaheland
Savannaregion.12
In 1935,theGovernor-General
ofFrenchWestAfrica,
from
sentouta circular
letter
hisheadquarters
inDakartoall
JulesBrevie,
administrators
and oraldocuments,
askingthemto collectbothwritten
whichwouldhelptheFrench
tolearnabout"wars
including
"epiclegends"
betweentribes,migrations,
and...thesocialand economicsituations
in
theseAfricancountries"
as
both
African
and
(132-33).Today, scholars,
to piece together
thecomplexcultural
of
non-African,
attempt
history
WestAfrica,
theworldofwar,diplomacy,
andgovernance,
traditionally
viewedbymenas theirdomain,13
continues
toattract
moreattention
than
andnaming
ceremonies.
songssungbywomenatweddings
ofArabic-language
chronicles
takenfrom
Myowncomparative
study
WestAfricabackto Franceat theend ofthe 19thcentury
and a more
recorded
Scribe
recently
epicabouttheSonghayrulerAskiaMohammed,
andNovelist,
istypical
ofthistendency.
womencharacters
Griot,
Although
playkeyrolesintheepicandwedo heartheirvoices,Songhay
jesereNouhouMaliodoesnotgivea voicetothefewgriottes
mentioned
intheepic.
Therecouldbemanyreasons
forthisabsence,
forexamplethefactsthatthe
malegriots
hadgreater
rolesthanthegriottes
inthisepicandalsothatthe
of
the
was
heard
men.
Inanyevent,atthetime
performance epic
mainly
by
oftherecording
andinterview
as wellasduring
mostoftheten-year
taskof
thenarrative
from
audiotapetoprint,
itdidnotoccurtometo
processing
askanyofmyco-workers
ontheproject
aboutthelackofa griotte's
voicein
theepic.
Renewedinterest
inwomenin theoraltradition,
liketherelatively
recentfocusonwomeninagriculture
scholars
and
by
development
people,
bothnon-African
andAfrican,
whoseekto understand
moreclearlythe
African
societies
istheproduct
ofmanycontemfunction,
waysparticular
influences.
In myowncase,as I prepared
toundertake
research
fora
porary
bookon griots,
I realizedrather
thatmenwere
comprehensive
belatedly
andthatI neededtolear moreaboutgriottes
ifI were
onlypartofthestory,

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78

inAfrican
Research
Literatures

to arriveat a moreholisticunderstanding
oftheprofession.
I returned
to
on
in
1989
for
a
last
revision
the
text
of
The
Askia
Mohammed,
Niger
Epicof
butwiththeaddedgoalofundertaking
a first
effort
to understand
more
abouttheverbalartandsocialfunctions
offemale
artisans
oftheword.DurI interviewed
inbothNiamey,
tenjeserey
thecapital,
ingthattrip,
weyborey
andinYatakala,
a very
smalltownthatistheseatofthelocalcantonchiefin
thenorthern
comerofwestern
ofthosevideotaped
interNiger.The result
viewseventually
tookshapea yearlateras a shortinstructional
videoentioftheSahel:FemaleKeepers
tled"Griottes
oftheSonghay
OralTradition
in Niger."Sincethen,I haveinterviewed
overa scoreofgriottes
in The
whohaveworked
withgriotGambia,Senegal,andMali,aswellasscholars
tes.Whatfollows,
a preliminary
effort
to bringtogether
then,represents
recent
research
onthesefemale
artisans
ofthewordorwordsmiths-jalimuetc.
sow,jeserey
weyborey,
tigawatan,
Griotsandgriottes
maintain
genealogies,
singpraises,
compose
songs,
narrate
andserveasspokespersons.
playinstruments,
history,
Traditionally,
from
andgriottes
outthesefunconlythosewhoaredescended
griots
carry
as we shallsee later,notall womenwhosingaregriottes.
tions,although
Evenifoneisbornintotheprofession,
onedoesnotautomatically
however,
becomea griotor a griotte.
Thosewhodo followthispathmustacquire
somehow
therequisite
verbalandmusicalknowledge,
buttheydo so in a
of
and
there
does
not
at
seem
first
to
be
differvariety ways
anygreatgender
ence in the pedagogy
of theirart.One lears fromsomeoneelse who
andothers
whomayormaynotbemasrelatives,
knows-siblings,
parents,
terperformers-by
tothem,studying
withthem,attending
cerelistening
monieswiththem,
first
aspartofa chorus,
and,atsomepoint,participating,
andonlylaterasa leadpraise-singer
ornarrator.14
Therearegreatvariations
inskill,however.
in
1986
that
Johnson
suggested
amongtheMande,atleast
intheheartland,
men
can
achieve
the
status
ofnara,ormastersinger
of
only
It isa titlethatisusually
narratives.
obtained
between
theagesofforty
and
he added(25). Duran,however,has assertedmorerecently
that
fifty,
womencanalsobecomenaraorngara.
She explains
thata ngarasuchas the
lateSiraMoryDiabateofKangabaissomeonewitha gift
forwords
whocan
Femalengaraaregenerally
over50.
singhistorical
songsas wellas praises.
Whatcounts,
sheadds,isnotgender
butability
withwords
The
(Interview).
in perspective
difference
herebetweenJohnson
and Duranon whocan
becomea naraorngaradependson howonedistinguishes
between
sungor
viewedbymalegriots
as thedomainofmen,15
narratives,
spokenhistorical
andlongpraisesongsabouthistorical
heroesbybothmenandwomen.It is
a difference
thatrequires
muchmoreevidenceandcloserstudy
ifweareto
understand
themostsubtlevariations
intheverbalartofmenandwomen
ofWestAfrica.
griots
Othervariations
intraining
occurelsewhere
intheMandediaspora.
Forexample,
considerable
differences
dueto
amongtheSoninkeonefinds
classandlocation.MamadouDiawaraexplored
from
theperspective
ofa
historian
a variety
ofnuancesintheSoninkevillageofJaara,
former
capital

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A. Hale I
Thomas

79

isleared-forofa kingdom
bythesamename.Thewaytheoraltradition
one
is
of
noble
orslaveorigin,
on
whether
or
depends
mally informallyoranother.
and
from
one
town
or
maleorfemale,
(griot) non-geseru,
geseru
not
me
to
delineate
here
in detail
do
limitations
permit
Although
space
ofthepastneed
twoaspectsofthetransmission
theseintricate
differences,
ofservile
a female
"information
remains
tobementioned:
first,
provenance
andHistory"
domainparexcellence"
109),
(Diawara,"Women,Servitude,
historians
thepastareoftentheprincipal
andsecond,womenwhorecount
testimonies
withcare;
"becausetheylearntheprivate
oftheircommunity
overthemeninthisdomain"(Diathemsomeprecedence
andthatensures
andHistory"
Servitude,
113).
wara,"Women,
of menand
If thereis anybasicdifference
betweenthe training
to travelmore
seemthatmenhavegreater
women,itmight
opportunities
oflimited
othergriots.
Butthisis a distinction
widelyand to lear from
the
local
of
contexts.
Well-known
hold
true
in
most
that
only
validity may
moresothanmen.Ifoneweretoaskceletravel
andperhaps
griottes
widely,
orTataBambo
Kandia
MariamKouyate,
such
as
brated
Kouyate,
jalimusow
theywouldquicklylistthecountries
Kouyatewheretheyhavetraveled,
theyhavevisitedas wellas thecapitalsandheadsofstateforwhomthey
inAfrica
Butbecauseofthegeneral
lackof
haveperformed
andinEurope.'6
aretoooften
onthem,
thesegriottes
seenfrom
outside
focussing
scholarship
dominated
ofWestAfricaas simply
partofan entourage
bymen.One can
of
world
conclude
that
the
the
remainslargely
griotte
only
geography
unmapped.
Iftravelhasalways
beenimportant
forthetraining
ofa griot,
modem
communications
hasplayedan evengreater
roleinhelpingto
technology
ofthesewordsmiths.
Hoffman
her
newgenerations
notedduring
prepare
all
thatsomegriottes
on a cassette
ownapprenticeship
wouldrecord
player
thesongsata wedding,
takethemhome,andplaythemoverandoveragain,
"Itis a veryliberating
form
oftrainsinging
alongwiththemforpractice.
is notat thewhimofanyone"
"becausethestudent
ing,"shecomments,
(Interview).
fortraining
is theradio.Bothgriots
Anothersourceofmaterial
and
can pickup newmaterial
to regularly-scheduled
griottes
bylistening
prooftraditional
musicinNiger,Mali,andSenegal.ButHoffman
adds
grams
thatinMali80%ofthemusicontheradio,atleastduring
thetimesheconductedherresearch,
featured
womenasleadsingers
Duranadds
(Interview).
is heldbyfemaleleadsingers
that80% ofthecassette
market
(Conversaforwomento
tion).Thereappearsto be, then,muchmoreopportunity
record
andpractice
songsbyotherwomenthanisthecasefortheopposite
sex.We don'tknowifthisis alsotrueforthosecountries
eastandwestof
inboththetraining
Mali,butitisclearthattheroleofradioandtelevision
anddiffusion
ofmusicperformed
is an areathatrequires
much
bygriottes
closerstudy.
A morecomplexdifference
thatemerges
froma comparison
ofthe
sexesisinthekindsofnarratives
recounted.
On thoseoccasionsimportant

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80

in African
Literatures
Research

enoughto call foran epic,forexamplethe installationofa chief,menmay

chantor singin one or moresessionspartor all ofone oftheselongpoetic
To datethereisno publishedepic narratedbya womanbecause,
narratives.
it is rarefora woman to
as Hoffmanobservesfromher own fieldwork,
division
recountan entireepic (Interview).Johnsonpointsto a traditional
of the epic when he explainsthat "both
of functionin the performance
and song....The wifewill
womenand menare involvedwithpraise-poetry
oftensingthesongsinherhusband'sepics.Also popularisthemusicianwho
accompanieshis wife'ssinging.A fullensemble,suchas thatoftheKuyate
who only
lineageofthevillageofKela nearKaaba, includesa mastersinger
narrates,a womanwho singspraise-poemsand songs,a femalechorus,a
male naamu-sayer,
and severalmale musicians"(25). Papa BunkaSusso,a
on the
Gambiangriot,confirmed
recently(1993) thatin his own country,
oftheMande world,thesamearrangement
holdstrue:men
Westernfringe
and womenoftenperform
themenrecountingthenarrativepart
together,
oftheepic and thewomensingingthesongs.
ButDuranreportsthatshe has witnessed
jelimusow
singingepics,and
as
Ami
Koita
for
"Sundiata"
two
hours
and Mariam
gives examples
singing
Kouyateperforming
episodesof the same narrative(Interview).Duran is
not completelysurethatBambaraor Mandinkagriottesdo not singepics,
but she is certainthatthosefromthe Maninka regionsdo. She cites the
exampleofa longsequenceofa womansingingepisodesoftheSundiataepic
for a documentaryfilmby Yves Billon, "Les Gens de la Parole," that
appearedon theFrenchtelevisionchannelLa Septin 1984 (Conversation).
Given thebeliefon thepartofresearchers,
bothAfricanand non-African,
thatonlymennarrateepics,thereisobviouslya greatneedformorestudyof
theintersection
betweengender,genre,and ethnicity
beforewe can understandmorefullytherolesofmenandwomeninthisparticular
formofnarrativeinWestAfrica.
Both men and womensingpraisesand songsof greatvarietyabout
heroesofthepastand patronsofthepresent.They composenew songsfor
friendsand importantpeople. But praise-singing,
fasa dali17among the
and Mande
Bamana, Maninka,and Dyula (Hoffman,"Power,Structure,
jeliw"),is morethan simplya matterofvoicingkindwordsabout another
personin exchangeforrewards.Hoffmandescribesboth the coolnessof
noble womenbeingpraisedbyjelimusowas well as the secretrepetitionof
these praisesby the subjects in private.The wordsare "like personal
charms."The noblewomen"feelthepowerofthegriots'words,powerthat
and Mandejeliw").The
moves,thatenables"(Hoffman,
"Power,Structure,
conceptoftheubiquitousoccultforceknownas nyamaand theverbalpower
inherentin it is too complexto explain in detailhere (see McNaughton;
volumeeditedbyConrad and Frank),but the
Bird;and the forthcoming
mainpointis thatthereis muchmoreto praise-singing
thanthe soundof
a complexrelationship
reflects
betweentwodiffersong.The praise-singing
entgroupsin society.Itcan causethepraisedpersonto rushheadlongintoa
suicidalwarorgiveawayeverything
he orsheowns.The praisesofthegriot

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ThomasA. Hale

81

revealboth a personaland collectivelinkbetweenthe subjectand those

who are inescapablybound to him or her forpoliticaland social reasons.
Gitu Sagado, one ofthe griottesofYatakalawhomI interviewed
in 1989,
chantedforme a typicalpraisesongfora cantonchiefwhichrevealedthis
interdependence:
ofthepoorpeople
Father
Husbandofbeautiful
ladies
Atwhoseabsencethecityisnotinteresting
Atwhoseabsencepeoplearenothappy
toyou,nobleMaiga(descendants
ofAskiaMohammed)
Greetings
Beourmother
Beourfather
Provide
uswithclothing
Be thesaltweneedforourgravy
Be theoilweneedforourporridge
Provide
uswithrobesandtrousers
Thenwewouldbeproud
Theprince
whocame
To provide
uswithclothing
Theprince
whocame
To feedus
Theprincewhocame
To provide
uswithshoes
Youareoureyes
Youareourmirror
Youareourhandsandlegs
Thatweusetowalk(Hale,"Griottes
oftheSahel")
The distinctionbetweenthewell-beingofsocietyand thatofthegriottes,
who,duringtheinterview,
explainedthattheycouldreceivebetween$200
and $400 at an installationofa cantonchiefas wellas everything
else in the
home ofthehonoree,seemsto be deliberately
blurredhere.On one level,
the griottesmaybe seekingrewardsfromthe new leader.But in a broader
sensetheyarereminding
thenobleofhisresponsibility
to society.A prince
whodoes notfulfill
hisdutiesto hispeople,whodoesnotmeasureup to the
ideal ofthepeopleand theirneedsas articulatedbythegriottes,
appearsby
implicationnotto be a prince.
In theweeklyroundofweddingsandnamingceremonies,
also
griottes
In Niamey,WeybiKarma,one
playa vocal roleas advisorsorsocialarbiters.
ofthemostsoughtafterjesereyweyborey,
likehercounterparts
in Mali and
elsewhere,singssongsofadviceforthebrideat a wedding:
bride,
Stopcrying,
andlistentome.
Stopcrying,
Ifyourmother-in-law
abusesyou,
butdon'tsayanything.
Just
cry,
Ifyoursisters
orbrothers-in-law
abuseyou,
Just
cry,butdon'tsayanything.
Ifyourhusband's
mother
abusesyou,

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82

Literatures
in African
Research

Just
cry,butdon'tsayanything.
oftheSahel")
Butleaving
yourhouseisnota crime.(Hale,"Griottes
ofa woman'srighttoescapefromdomesticabusereflects
in
The articulation
as sourcesofmodelsfor
microcosmthelargerroleofbothgriotsand griottes
whetherexpressedin a songfora brideor an
social behavior,18
appropriate
behaviorincludesactsofgreatgenerosity
chief.
for
a
Such
appropriate
epic
differences
bothin rewardsand in praises
there
are
of
But
griots.
bypatrons
forthose who appreciatethe wordsof griotsand griottes.FromDuran's
who have becomefamousand
recentwork,it appearsthatthosejelimusow
abroadtendtobe exceptionally
haveperformed
generousinpraisesfortheir
so
or
male
more
thanjelike,
griots.
patrons,perhaps
Duran givesthe exampleofKandia Kouyatewhoseentirerepertoire
is composedofpraisesfora particular
on one recording
patron,Babani Sissoko.19"Virtuallyall ofhersongs,from1987 onwards,are in praiseofSissoko,"adds Duran ("Djely Mousso"38). Tata Bambo Kouyatebeginsher
or "wealthypatron,"witha homagesongto the
1985 recording"Jatigui,"
sameman,BabaniSissoko,whohad at thetimean international
reputation
forgenerosity
to his favoritejelimusow.On the CD liner,Duran explains
thatit wasduringKouyate'stravelsin the1980sto expatriateMalian communitiesin otherpartsof Africathatthe talentedjelimusofirstmet this
wealthypatron,a successfuland well-connectedbusinessmanofjali origin
too.Duran'sdescription
oftheencounteralso revealshowtraditional
music
can be instantlyreinterpreted
to servecontemporary
ends: "Tata's turn
came in 1984. Sissoko,thenlivingin Libreville,had hearda tapeofTata's
musicand becomeso entrancedthathe returned
toMali tofindher."Learningthatshe was in Pariswitha groupofmusicians,"he followedher...and
made a grand entrance at one of her concerts.Tata recognisedhim
and began improvising
instantly,
praiselyricsto him,recitinghisgenealo'Toutou Diarra,'the tuneshe was
gies,listinghis manyacts ofgenerosity.
was
a
traditional
dedicated
toa greatfighter
fromSegou,but
singing,
melody
she renamedit 'homageto Baba Sissoko'-now hermostfamouscomposition"(LinernotestoJatigui).
The listoftheremaining
tuneson theCD givessomesenseoftheclose
relationshipbetweenthe jelimusoand her patronsand friends:"Ainana
Bah-A closefriendofTata's,Ainana isherguide,"explainsDuran.Kouyate herselfaddsthatthiswoman"has takentheplace ofmyparents."What
is interesting
hereis thatthehomageto thisfemalefriendis setto thetune
of the Douga, "the greatMandingsongforwarriors,"
one thatreadersof
ofCamaraLayetoceleL'Enfantnoirwillremember
beingsungbythefather
brate,withtheaccompanimentofa griot,thecreationofa setofgoldearringsfora femaleclient.Here theredo not seemto be anygenderbarriers
betweentuneand moder subject.
"Mama Bathilyis the name ofone ofMali's powerfulmerchants,"
a
man who "helpsme and givesme giftseverytimeI meethim,"explains
Kouyate.Again,thepraiseto thiscontemporary
personis basedon a wellknowntraditional
tune,"ToutouDiarra."

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A. Hale I
Thomas

83

whooffers
fora femalefriend
"AourouBocoum,"
helpand
frequent
of
advice,is setto "Djarou,""a classicFulanituneforthegreatwarriors
MacinainMali,"addsDuran.
"GoundoTandja-AnotherversionofToutouDiarra"is dedicated
"to a Serehulewomanbanker...who
is not afraid,"
notesthejelimuso,
a
womanwhomanifests
inherownmanner
self-confidence.
great
"AmadouTraore"isfora marabout
from
Bamakowho"isdescended
from
thegreatwarrior...I
Tiramakhan,
praytoGodtogivehimsuccessand
declares
(LinernotestoJatigui).
longlife,"
Kouyate
Not all womenhavewealthy
andthedesireorthetalentto
patrons
stepontotheglobalstage.Forthosewhosecontextismorelocalinnature,
iswitha group
insomecasesthewoman
sometimes
ofwomen,
performance
with
a
man
who
serves
as
the
on thekora,andoccaperforms
accompanist
itisthemanwhotakesthelead.Forexample,
ninesionally
WeybiKarma's
member
backedupby
troupinNiamey,
Niger,ismadeupoffemale
singers
malemusicians,
butshe is clearlythelead singerand
drummers,
mostly
director
ofthegroup.
Whatever
thegendermix,thematter
ofrewards
forwomenin the
localcontext
raisesmanyquestions.
Karma
theshareof
determines
Weybi
incomeforthemenandwomenofherowntroupe.
MamataSunna,a memberofWeybiKarma'stroupe,
"inthisprofession,
explainsthatingeneral,
thefemale,
thejesereweyborey,
doesnotreceiveas muchreward
as men,
becausewhatever
the circumstances,
the man is alwaysahead and the
womancomesafter
him.Thatiswhywhenwomensharesomething
with
men
take
a
shareandwomena smaller
sharebecausetheyare
men,
bigger
towomen"(Hale,"Griottes").
superior
WhatdidMamataSunnameanwithherreference
tomalesuperiorassistant
AissataNiandou,whotranity?NeitherI normyNigerienne
scribed
andtranslated
thisinterview,
coulddetermine
from
either
theaudio
orvideorecording
whether
ornotthegriotte
believedmenwere
actually
to women,orwasinsteaddescribing
thewaymenoperated.
It is
superior
mostlikely
thatshewassimply
in
her
role
the
tradiarticulating professional
tionalsocialvaluesofSonghay-Zarma
society.
Interviews
withtwodozenmalegriots
inbothTheGambia,Mali,and
MichelGuignard
whohasconducted
research
Senegalas wellas datafrom
inMauritania
confirm
whatseemstobe thegeneral
ofmen,espetendency
ciallyinThe GambiaandSenegal,to treatwomenas second-class
particiwithhisfemale
pants(61). I askedeach manhowhe sharedhisrewards
Theanswer
wasoften
thatthewomenreceived
farlessthanthemen,
singer.
thatthereisevena formal
perhaps10to30%. Itseemsunlikely
agreement
onwhoreceives
what.The exception
wasManjakoSusofrom
Serrekunda,
The Gambia,whosefemalepartner,
Suso,alsohiswife,wasso
Sayengdeh
talentedandso well-known
thatsheinsisted
on takinga halfshareofall
income.The Gambianjaliexplainedthatit is thewomanwhoopensthe
fortheman,andtherefore
hasa veryimportant
roleto play
performance
RodericKnightreported
thatanotherGambianjali,Alhaji
(Interview).

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84

Literatures
in African
Research

a jalimuso
whocould
thehopethatifhe couldmarry
SuntuSuso,expressed
It
isa view,
as
Musicians"
become
he
would
2).
("Women
well,
wealthy
sing
thathe foundamongmanymalegriots:
addsKnight,
"every
jalikehopesto
that
morerecently
musofora wife"(2). He haswritten
havea true...jali
Alhaji SuntuSuso has, in fact,founda wife,"Kankaba,a finesinger"
for
from
62), andhasbeenprospering
performances
("MusicoutofAfrica"
Paris
of
African
theexpatriate
(Conversation).
community
isfocussed
onTheGambia.ButDurandrawsa clear
research
Knight's
and Mali by
ofgriotsin thatcountry
betweenthesituation
distinction
in
The
Gambia.In
is
more
male-dominated
the
that
profession
remarking
male
havea muchhigher
Mali,wherefemalesingers
profile,
performance
donotfeelthattheyarebeingadequately
compensated
bythe
accompanists
that"theinstruIn "SavannahSex Wars,"shereports
women(Interview).
mentalists
(all men;fewwomenplayinstruments)
complainthatthe
Thevirtuforthemselves.
takethelion'sshareofthemoney
womensingers
Associaof
formed
the
Bouba
Malian
oso
Sacko,president
newly
guitarist
to
Mali's
andregular
tionAmicaledesArtistes
topvocalists,
accompanist
ofthisorganibehindtheforming
claimsthatoneofthemainmotivations
theinterests
oftheinstrumentalists"
zationwastoprotect
(43). Sincethe
ofthedemocratinstallation
andtherecent
oftheTraoreregime
overthrow
ofAlphaKonare,bothmenandwomenmusiicallyelectedgovernment
to organize.For
cianshave takenadvantageof greatersocialfreedom
andlast
ownassociation
haveestablished
their
thewomensingers
example,
in Bamakotoraise
November
helda concertat theStadedesOmnisports
MarcheauxRoses(Duran,Conversation).
torestore
theburned-out
money
forgriottes-amounts,
contextin which
The entiresubjectof rewards
aregiven,differences
between
cashandmaterial
differences
rewards
gifts,
between
whatisgiventomenandtowomen,andvariations
byaudience,
inEurope)-is a
location(athome,inanother
ethnicgroup,
partofAfrica,
matter
ofconsiderable
revealmuchabout
thatcannevertheless
complexity
from
aswellas helpustounderthenuancesthatdistinguish
griottes
griots
withtheirpatrons.
standtheirrelationship
Butthedatanowavailableonly
hintsatwhatcanbelearned
from
closerstudy.
Anotherquestionthat awaitsfurther
studyis the relationship
andinstruments.
The 21-stringed
between
koraisdescribed
gender
byboth
malegriotsas wellas byscholarsas an exclusively
maleinstrument
(see
nogriotwhocanexplaintomewhythisis
Huchard;
Knight).I havefound
true.ButDuransuggests
tworeasons
forthisgender
onehistorical,
division,
the otherpractical.First,drawing
on Knight'stheorythatthe korais
descended
from
thehunter's
15-16),Duransees
harp("Mandinka
Jaliya"
thislinktoa traditionally
malegroupas thesourceoftheinstrument's
masculineidentity.
alsotakesonmasculine
Second,theinstrument
meaning
by
theposition
inwhichitisheld,whether
theperformer
isstanding
up,when
itjutsforward
from
thewaistata highanglethatisstrikingly
phallic,orsittocrosshislegsorplaceonelegoutto
tingdown,wherehe isobligedeither

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ThomasA. Hale

85

sitwith
theside,positionsthatcontrastwiththoseofwomen,whonormally
forward
theirlegstogetherand pointedstraight
(Conversation).
The onlyinstrument
thatwomengriotsplayin the Mande world,it
It is knowngenericallyas thenege,a
seems,is themetalpipe and striker.20
termto designateany metal instrument,
especiallyin The Gambia, and
in Mali as the karinyaor karinyan.21
But womenin some
morespecifically
Forexample,
do
instruments.
of
the
Sahel
areason thenorthern
fringes
play
the
an
in Mauritaniawomen griots,or tigawatan,
ardin, 11- to 14play
similar
of
seen
in ancientEgyptian
that
is
to
some
those
harp
very
stringed
close to theWolofxalam,theMande
art.22
Men playthe 4-stringed
tidinit,
instrungoniand the Songhaymolo.The ardinand the koraare different
ments,and theyare playedin oppositepositions-the stringsof the kora
facingtheplayer,thoseoftheardinfacingtheaudience.Buttheydo share
twocommonelements:first,
theyaremadeofthesamebasicmaterials(calaand second,thewordardinappears
bash,longwoodenneck,manystrings),
in slightly
modified
as thenameforone ofseveraltuningsysform,hardino,
temsforthekora.23
to
Charryexplainsthislinkbytracingthetermhardino
an
Arabic
word
for
male
leader
that
is
also
used
to
describe
ardin,
religious
thetuningadoptedforthelead koni(or ngoni)whentwoofthemarebeing
playedat the same time(Charry,"MusicalThought"229 and Conversaofthelinkbetweenthesetwoinstruments
as wellas
tion).The significance
the reasonsfortheirgender-specific
natureis farfromclear fromthe evidence citedabove. The pictureisfurther
complicatedbythefactthatsome
womenofnobleoriginplaymusicalinstruments,
as we shallsee belowinthe
recentresearchof Kate Modic. It is obviousthatwe need to learnmore
abouttherelationship
betweeninstruments
and genderin boththeMande
worldand in neighboring
areas.
Fromthe foregoing
it is apparentthatscholarsin a varietyof disciand anthropology-are
folklore,
literature,
pines-musicology,ethnology,
theoftensubtledifferences
in verbalartand
onlybeginningto understand
socialfunctions
thatdistinguish
femalegriotsfrommales.We needto takea
on theirrolesin societybyjudiciouslyre-readlongerhistoricalperspective
ingmoreoftheearlytravelaccounts,a taskthatI hope to completesoonfor
the studymentionedearlier.24
But thereremainfartoo manygaps in our
isa partiallistoftopknowledgeofotheraspectsoftheirlives.The following
ics thatmayinspireothersto help us appreciatethesemulti-faceted
performers
froma morefully-informed
perspective.
needsto be viewedin thebroadestpossible
First,theworldofgriottes
For
context.
lack
of
to theiractivitiesin
geographic
spaceI havenotreferred
otherareaswhereI have somedata,forexampleSenegal,Guinea,GuineaBissau,Benin, northernC6te d'Ivoire,BurkinaFaso, easternNiger,and
northern
Nigeria.The linksbetweenpeoplesin theseareasand thosein the
Mandeheartlandmustbe exploredinmoredetailifwe aretounderstand
the
and unitythatmarkfemalecontributions
to the manydifferent
diversity
forms
ofverbalartinWestAfrica.

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86

in African
Literatures
Research

ownviewoftheoriginoftheprofession,
Second,thegriottes'
long
Forexample,
there
obscured
bythefocusonmen,needsmoreinvestigation.
Themostwidely
veraremanyetiological
talesaboutthefirst
reported
griot.
ofthehunter
whosacrifices
from
histhighto
sionisbasedon thestory
flesh
brother
Aretheirorifeedhisstarving
(seeZemp).Butwhataboutgriottes?
of
men?
tales
related
to
those
gin
intheimpactofmodemcommunications
technolThird,variations
from
on
men
and
women
need
to
be
the
Mauritanian
examined,
ogy
tigiwit
in1936tohavesungsongsoverthetelephone
tostudents
in
whoisreported
whohadpaidherbymoney
order(Puigadeau,
isolatedpartsofthecountry
who
citedin Guignard27) to the contemporary
jalimusow
apprentice
starsbecauseofa fewappearances
on Maliantelevision
becomeovernight
andtheveteran
whosecassettes
are
Conversation),
(Hoffman,
performers
formostjalimosow
"oneis
soldon everystreet
corer. If,as Duransuggests,
(Conversation),what
onlyas good as one's mostrecentcassetterecording"
are the consequencesforthe artand economicsofthosewhoselivelihood
dependsinparton thesale ofrecordings?
Fourth,one mustask whatis the impactoftheshiftfroma local to a
global audience on griottesas well as griots.Duran reportsthatOumou
Dioubateand Djanka Diabate,bothfromGuinea,"havemovedcompletely
intofullblownhi-techpop-unashamed musicfor
awayfromthetradition,
the dance floor,"a changethatproduces"a wall ofdisapprovalfromelder
members
oftheWestAfricancommunity
towardswomenwhobecomefully
("Savannah Sex Wars"44).
fledgedpublicperfomers"
betweentheverbalartandsocialfunctions
of
Finally,therelationship
who singsimilarsongsbutwhose
griottesand griotsand thoseperformers
ancestorswerenotgriots-forexamplethewomenofWassoulouin southernMali-remains an exceedinglycomplexpuzzlethatwilltakeconsiderable patienceto sortout.In a lengthy
reviewofOumouSangare'slatestCD,
"Ko Sira,"in theNew YorkTimeson February
20,1994, Milo Miles,a commentator
on worldmusicforNationalPublicRadio,leavesthereaderwitha
senseofconfusionaboutjusthowhermusicalheritagerelatesto thatofthe
to criticizehimbecauseno scholarto date
griottradition.But it is difficult
has exploredthe question.The recentlydefended(May 9, 1994) dissertationbyKate Modic offers,
however,somenewdata thatwillhelpdelineate
the difference
betweengriottesand theirnon-griottesisterperformers.
Modic studiedthe musical traditionof the Ben Ka Di ("agreementis
sweet"),an associationof womenof noble originin Bamako,Mali. They
sing,dance,and playtheji dunun(waterdrum),thentamanin
(smallhourthe
and
the
metal
rodand
(the
glassdrum), yakoro(gourdrattle),
karinyan
as
an
ensemble
at
most
of
the
same
events
that
and
striker)
griottes griots
attend- weddings,namingceremonies,circumcisions,
and engagements
(see Modic). ButModic notesthattheirsongsarefocussedmoreon thepresent and on everyday
eventsthanon praiseforpeopleofthepast.Also, the

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ThomasA. Hale

87

womanwhoplaysthekarinyan
scrapesitwiththemetalrodinsteadofstrikit
the
do
see also Modic'sarticleforthcom(Conversation;
ing
waygriottes
in
These
do interact,however,
ing AfricaToday).
non-griotte
performers
insomesubtlewaysthatpromwiththeirprofessional
thejelimusow,
sisters,
ise to revealmoreaboutthesocial functionoffemalegriotsand theirrelaofsociety.
tionshipwithothermembers
Fromthislimitedselectionofevidencegleanedfroma relatively
small
numberofsources,it is clearthatgriottes-jelimusow,
and
jesereyweyborey,
been
as
but
that
social
and
techtigawatan-havealways
important artists,
nologicalchangesaffecting
manyWestAfricansocietiestodayareenabling
themto breakintonew areasof music-making.
The workof the scholars
citedabove is beginningto providea clearerpictureof the verbalartand
social functionsof these femalewordsmiths.More researchand more
betweenscholarsin themanydifferent
exchangeofinformation
disciplines
thatfocuson griots25
are needed ifwe are to arriveat a balanced view of
thesewomen.26
NOTES
'Theuseoftheterm
andorganizations
inbothFrench
"griot"
bypublications
and Englishis astonishing,
and rangesfromthe U. S. Embassy
in
newsletter
toa magazine
inMartinique,
Le GriotdesAntilles,
a scholBamako,Mali,Le Griot,
anda bookstore
inBaltimore,
Griot,
arlyjournalintheU. S.,TheLiterary
Maryland,
GriotBooksellers.
The termis employed
oftenin the New YorkTimes,has
beendefined
ofTimeinresponse
toa reader's
andhasappeared
bytheeditors
query,
inthetitlesofbooks,including
TheGriots'
Cookbook
published
bythreeAfricanAmericanwomenin Baltimore,
MaryMcGill,MaryCarterSmith,and Elmira
andTheCinematic
Griot
Washington,
byPaulStoller.
onecanfindclearArabicreferences
tojalisthatdatetothemid2Although
as wellas late 15th-and
14thcentury
references
withother
early16th-century
andEnglish
thefirst
to
travelers,
descriptors
byPortuguese
usageoftheantecedent
themodemtermgriot,
datesto St.L6'sRelation
duVoyage
duCap Verdin
guiriot,
1637.I havecomeacrossanddevelopedeighttheories
fortheoriginofgriot
that
theHassaniya
Arabicwordiggiw,
a term
ofeither
Berber
rangefrom
(VincentMonwordfor
teil)orWolof(H. T. Norris)originto theearly16th-century
Portguese
Jew,
judeu,whichsurvives
todayasjidiu,thetermforgriotinthePortuguese-based
creolelanguage
ofGuinea-Bissau.
Otherscholars,
forexampleEricCharry
in his
thesison Mandemusic(seeChapter3), haveaddedmoretothelist
extraordinary
Arabicwordformusician
andsinger),
butnoone,I believe,has
(qawal,a medieval
established
a convincing
forgriotrootedina language
etymology
spokenineither
Africa
orEurope.
3Griot
andespecially
holda variety
ofnegative
connotations
forpeople
griotte
inmanypartsofWestAfrica
aswellasforsomeresearchers
inthefieldoforalliterature(bothHoffman
andDuran)becauseoftheirimprecision,
theirFrenchorigin
from
uncertain
sources
inEuropeorAfrica,
thefactthateveryethnic
and,finally,
todesignate
different
kindsofkeepers
oftheoraltradition.
grouphasitsownwords
Griot
andparticularly
itsoffshoots
andgriotique
havealsotakenonnegative
griottage
inFrancewhere,
as inWestAfrica,
theterms
oftensignify
meanings
empty
praise,
orpraiseforpay.One couldmakea strong
caseforabandoning
theseterms.
ButI

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88

in African
Literatures
Research

forseveralreasons.
hasspreadoutsidethe
thinktheyareworth
First,
griot
keeping
contheAfrican
onextremely
continent
andthroughout
diaspora,
taking
positive
Africanas a linkto theirancestors:
forthosewhosee theprofession
notations
oftheSundiata
havereadexcerpts
American
epicat Kwanzaceremonies
"griots"
musicians
andscholars
African-American
eachyearin December;
distinguished
inprint
hasanoffitogriots;
theCityofBaltimore
havesometimes
beencompared
havecollected
oral
cialgriot,
teenagers
MaryCarterSmith;andAfrican-American
inRoxbury,
aspartofa
from
theirancestors
andneighbors
histories
Massachusetts,
recentprojectentitled"GriotsofRoxbury."
Second,theregionalnatureofthe
carries
outsomeofthe
andgriotte
underscores
thefactthattheprofession
terms
griot
activities
oldestandmostimportant
cultural
linking
manydiverse
peoplesofWest
ofdeepSahelianandSavannacivilizaserveas useful
indicators
Africa.
Thewords
wecan
tion.Third,byusingboththeseterms
andthemoreethnic-specific
words,
in
for
moreeffectively
the
about
the
oral
those
tradition
outbridge gap knowledge
theuseofbothgriot
sideofWestAfrica.
andgriotte
more
Finally,
helpstodistinguish
from
forthosewho,likeAlexHaley,didnotknowofthe
female
malegriots
clearly
ofthesewomenwordsmiths.
existence
4Thegift
ofthesmallairplane
wasintended
toenableKandiaKouyate
tovisit
herpatron
moreeasilyathisairstrip-equipped
home(Duran,Conversation).
hereina broadsensethatincludes
5Iusethetermwordsmith
thenarrating
andsinging
donebymenandwomen.Charry
intothree
(Chapter3) dividesgriots
thosewhoplayinstruments
(men),thosewhospeakaboutthepast(pricategories:
andthosewhosing(primarily
men,whoareviewedas theexperts),
women,
marily
mencanalsosing).
although
from
IndianaUP.
6Forthcoming
WestAfrica,Daviesand Graveslist,forexample,Beverly
7From
Mack's
"'WakaDayaBa Ta KareNika':'One SongWillNotFinishtheGrinding':
Hausa:
Women's
OralLiterature"
andMarionKilson's
andSpider:
WestAfriRoyal
Antelope
canMendeTalesasexamples
oforalliterature
produced
bywomen(22).
is boththeBamanaandManinkaspelling,
8Jeli
whilejalireflects
theMandinkapronunciation
oftheterm.I willattempt
tousebothcorrectly
inthisstudy,
thereader
atfirst.
although
mayfindthedifference
confusing
oftheoralepicgenreisa viewexpressed
9Male"ownership"
tomebyallofthe
I interviewed
anditisechoedintheresearch
ofscholars
whohaveworked
on
griots
theoraltradition
ofmen,forexample
intheintroduction
to
JohnWilliam
Johnson
Son-Jara
(25).
'Thephotosareinthecollection
oftheSocietedeGeographie
housedatthe
NationaleinParisandcatalogued
inAlfred
Fierro's
Inventaire
desPhoBibliotheque
surPapier
delaSociete
deGeographie
aspartofthe"We.Afrique"
series.
tographies
' Conversation,
a specialist
inthehis14Feb.1994,withVeraViditz-Ward,
ofphotography
inAfrica.
tory
12Seenote9.

3Oneneednotlookfar,ofcourse,to findmanyexceptions
to thisrulein
WestAfrica,
from
theAmazons
ofDahomey
toSarraounia
ofNiger.Inthe
ranging
WestAfrican
orAskiaMohammed,
onediscovers
thatthe
Son-Jara
epic,forexample
herocannotsucceedinhisquestwithout
theintervention
ofwomenatmanystages,
from
atbirth
topalaceintrigue
andeventually
inwar.
protection
victory
moredetailonthetraining
14For
ofgriots,
seeJohn
W.Johnson's
introduction
toSon-Jara,
p. 25.
15Seenote9.

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ThomasA. Hale

89

MariamKouyate.Whenasked
160fthesewomenI haveonlyinterviewed
with
as wellas griots,
sheandmanyothergriottes,
abouttravels,
alwaysdescribed
audiences.
andtheirmostfamous
greatpridetheirtravels
forpraising-singing
intheMandeandinneigharemanyotherterms
17There
isheardacrosstheSaheland
Mandeterm,
areas.Another
jamu,forexample,
boring
Savannaregionsas zamuamongtheSonghay,
amongtheFulani,and
jammude
jammu
amongtheSoninke(Hale,1990,102).
whoisnotofjelimuso
18Oumou
(Advice
sings"SigiKuruni"
origin,
Sangare,
recent
on
her
most
toa newbride),a songwitha similar
CD, KoSira.
message
that
butDuranexplains
ontheCD linerisactually
'9Thespelling
"Cissoko,"
itshouldbeSissoko(conversation,
1994).
de la civilisation
20SeeOusmaneSow Huchard's"La Kora,objet-temoin
d'uneharpe-luth
essaid'analyse
(332).
negro-africaine"
organologique
mandingue:
outthisdistinction.
Hoffman
forpointing
Barbara
21Ithank
in
inherMusicandMusicians
connection
22Lisa
Mannichemakesthemusical
ofa
a detailed,
Ancient
(132). De la Courbeprovides
description
page-long
Egypt
inhisaccountofhisfirst
(as wellas otherkindsofgriottes)
bya tigiwit
performance
1685.
to
the
region,
Senegambian
voyage
outthislink.
23IthankLucyDuranforpointing
frommanyoftheseearly
an excellentseriesofexcerpts
24Charry
provides
C ofhisthesis.
textsinappendix
Roderic
25IthankEricCharry,
Hoffman,
Johnson,
John
LucyDuran,Barbara
andCaroleBoyceDavies fortheir
KateModic,MolaraOgundipe-Leslie
Knight,
conversaofinformation
withmeduring
interviews,
telephone
generous
sharing
ofthisarticle.
Theexperience
ofworking
ofdrafts
tions,and,insomecases,readings
inWest
ofthegriot
withthemhasemphasized
tomethecomplexity
phenomenon
Africa.
orindirectly
tothisarticle
wassupported
26Research
thatcontributed
directly
Affiliation
GrantProgram,
Agency's
University
bytheUnitedStatesInformation
the
fortheHumanities
theNationalEndowment
University
Fellowship
Program,
ofModemLiterature,
andthe
American
Philosophical
Society,theDepartment
ofLetters
oftheDeanoftheFaculty
andSocialSciencesattheUniversity
of
Office
StateUniversity,
theComparative
Literature
Niamey,and,at The Pennsylvania
theInstitute
fortheArtsandHumanistic
theFrenchDepartment,
Department,
theLiberalArtsResearch
theOffice
oftheDeputyVicePresident
Studies,
Office,
forInternational
the
of
forResearch
Office
the
Executive
VicePresident
Programs,
andGraduate
andAudio-Visual
Services.
Studies,
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