Increasing female voices in the RMG sector through Social ...
Griottes Female Voices From West Africa
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Griottes: Female Voices from West AfricaAuthor(s): Thomas A. HaleSource: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 25, No. 3, Women as Oral Artists (Autumn,1994), pp. 71-91Published by: Indiana University Press
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Griottes:
Female
Voices
rom
West
Africa
Thomas .
Hale
The
griot
rom
West
Africa,
highly
isible
cultural
oice from
Senegal
to
Niger,
ow
operates
n a
global
ontext,
s evidenced
y
he
fre-
quent
ound
ofkoramusic n National PublicRadio in the
United
States,
the use of the
term
griot
y
writers
n
magazines, ewspapers,
nd
other
formsfpublication,ndthe ppearancesf hese rtistsn the oncert alls
and clubs
of
major
ities uch as
Paris,
ondon,
New
York,
an
Francisco,
and
Tokyo.1
But in
spite
of the
growing
umber
f
referenceso
griots
n
boththe
popular
nd
scholarly
media,
he social function nd verbal
rt
f
these rtisans fthe
spoken
nd
sung
word emain
oorly
nderstood ut-
side of
West Africa.
he
origin
f
the
appellation
tselfs a
puzzle
hathas
still
not
yielded
ts ecret.2 utone of he eastunderstood
spects
f he
gri-
ot's world or
early veryone
utside he
West African ontext-scholars
and thepublic like-is thefemale riot, rgriotte.3udgingromhe im-
ited informationvailable about
them,
ne
might
ssumethat
they
re
shadowy igures
ho
stand at the
margin
f
the
oral
narrative
raditions
recounted
y
heirmale
counterparts,ublished
n
European anguages,
nd
read
by
tudentsround
he
world.
One measure f
the status
f
a
griot,
owever,
s
the
rewards
hat
he
audience
provides.
he
gift
f
small
irplane4
o
Kandia
Kouyate
Duran,
Djely
Mousso
38),
one
of
Mali's
best-known emale
riots,
uggests
hat
thesewomenperformerstand somewhat loser to the center,not the
periphery,
f heir
ultural etwork. t
least his
eems
o
be thecase in
the
heartland
f
the
Mande or
Manding,
vast
region
f
Sahel and
Savanna
that
ncludes
many
ifferent
eoples
who claim a
common
heritage
n
the
Mali
empire.Why,
hen,
n
the
nearly
wo
decadesofwhat
we
might
erm
the
post-Roots
ra,
has
there een such a silenceon
griottes
n
scholarship
about
he
oraltraditions
f
he
region?
hese
femalewordsmiths5
ing ongs
of
praise
nd
advice,
erve s intermediariesn
delicate
nterpersonal
ego-
tiations,
nd articulate hevalues
f
ociety
t
major
ocial events.Are
they
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72
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
any
different
rom heirmale
counterparts?
re there
egional
nd
ethnic
variations
n
their ocial roles nd verbal rt?
The
answers
o
these
nd
many
ther
uestions
renow
ustbeginning
to
emerge
n
thework f handful
f
researchers.
he
story
fhow
griottes
have
gone
unnoticed
n the
scholarly
world for so
long
is almost
as
important
s
why hey
have
now
begun
to attract
reater
ttention.
his
study
s the
tarting
oint
or
longer
nd more etailed
hapter
hat
will
be
part
f book
on
griots
nd
griottes
ow
underway.6
he
scope
of
hat
proj-
ect s
vast,
anging
rom he
14th
entury
o
the
present,
romWestAfrica
o
the
Western
Hemisphere.
he
moremodest
urpose
ere,
asedon a not
yet
complete
ynthesis
f
data,
s fourfold:
irst,
o
offer
reliminaryesponses
o
thequestion fwhyweknow o little boutgriottes;econd, oreport n
work ow
being
done
by
other
cholars; hird,
o
give
ome
xamples
f
he
verbal rtof
griottes;
nd
fourth,
o
suggest
ome avenuesofresearch or
new
generation
more wareof the
dangers
f
ong-held
ssumptions
hat
have
preventedmany
of us
in
the
past
from
aking
less
biased
view
of
the
ubject.
For
readers
nd
viewers nfamiliar
ithWest
Africa,
he
firstncoun-
ter
with
griots
may
well
have come from lex
Haley's
world-famousarra-
tive,Roots,
rfrom he
televised ersion f
t,
r
fromts
equel,
Roots
I,
the
story
fhow
Haley
went bouthis research.n the ast
episode
ofRoots
I,
James
arl
Jones,
n
therole
f
Alex
Haley,
its t
the
feet
f Gambian
griot
played,
n
fact,
y
a
real
griot,
he
ate
Alhaji
Bai
Konte of
Brikama,
he
Gambia.
But nowhere n
any
version f
Roots,
written r
visual,
do
we
encounter
griotte.
ne could
quite
rightly
ssume
rom
hese
widely-dis-
seminated
ortrayals
f
West African ife hat
griottes
imply
id
not exist.
During
n interview
ithAlex
Haley
in
November
1991,
a few
months
before is
death,
asked fhe
had
encountered
ny
female
riots.
e
replied
candidly,Ineverheard f female riot....Nobody vermentionedt,nor
did
ever hink
bout t.... took tfor
ranted
hat
herewere
none. Cer-
tainly
he
African-American
ournalist
nd author id
not set out
to write
an
anthropological
tudy
f
griots
nd
griottes,
nd he
cannotbe
blamed or
what eems n
retrospect
o be an
extraordinary
versight.
he
omission f
griottes
rom
ootswas also
due at
least n
part
o
a
significant
ifference
between
ustoms n
the
periphery
nd
those at
the
center
f
the
Mande
world. n
the
Casamance
region
f
Senegal
and
The
Gambia,
n
theWest-
ern
dge
of
he
Mande,
one
finds much
reater
mphasis
n the
role fmen
as koraplayersnd solosingers, phenomenon ooted ntheorigin fthe
kora
Duran,
personal
nterview).
ut
one also
finds n
absenceof
discus-
sion
about
griottes
n
much
scholarship
n
the
Africanoral
tradition.
Although
here re
ome tudies
fwomen s
performers
n
areas
outside
f
the
Sahel and
Savanna
zones,7
s Davies
and
Graves
point
ut,
ome
of
he
available
information
ppears
s
part
of
arger
tudies
y
sociologists
nd
anthropologists
17).
For
xample,
A.
RaphaelNdiaye's
a Place
de
afemme
dans
esritesu
Senegal
ncludes
ome
exts f
ongs y
women. n
the
ase of
the
Songhay nd ZarmaofNiger,JeanneBissiliat nd DiouldeLaya'sLes
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ThomasA. Hale 1 73
Zamu
ou
poemes
ur es
noms ffers collection f hants
hat an be
sung y
any
woman,
ot
ustprofessionals.
ut
n
the
general
reaofwomen
nd
the
oral
tradition,
s
Davies and
Boyce
ffirm,
there
emainsmuchmore o
be
done 17). The relative bsence f cholarshipngriottesnparticularnd
women
performers
n
general
eems
o be
symptomatic
n a
larger
ense
of
thebasic
gender
ias
that
has marked
much
ocial
cience esearch
y
chol-
ars trained
n
the
West,
African nd non-African. or
example,
he
most
thoroughtudy
o date
of
griots
n
a
particular
thnic
group,
ory
Camara's
Gens e a Parole: ssai ur
a
condition
t erole es
riots
ans a
ociete
alinke,
barely
mentions he xistence
f
griottes
nover 00
pages
f
highly
etailed
and
complex
nalyses.
Even n themostwidely ead nd ongest-sellingersion f heMande
epic,
the
Soundjata
ecorded,
ranslated, dited,
nd
published
y
Djibril
Tamsir
Niane in
1960 and
still n
oday,
ne finds
nly
wo
brief
efer-
ences to
griottes
28-29).
And in
my
own research orThe
Epic of
Askia
Mohammedn 1980-81 n
Niger,
found o
discussion
fjesere
eyborey,
r
griottes, y
the
source
of
the
narrative,
onghay esere,
r
griot,
Nouhou
Malio,
nordid have the
openness
fmind o ask bout
onghay
emale
ri-
ots n the
ourse
f
many
ours f nterviews ith ver
dozen
male
rtisans
ofthe
word
n
Western
Niger
during
en
months
f
fieldwork.
y goal
was
simplyo find nepictext hatmight arallel heSoundjatansignificance
and to
ear
something
bout he
people
who
were
eported
o
recount hose
epics-male
griots.
Over
the
20
years
have been
teaching
African
iterature,
nly
an
occasional tudent skedme
aboutfemale
riots.
was not
unaware ftheir
existence. or
xample,Nantenegwe
amissoko,
famous
Malianjelimuso,
visited Penn
State in
1978.
But she
was
part
of the
entourage
f
eli8
Batourou ekou
Kouyate,
he featured
rtist n a tour f
many
American
universitiesonductedbyCharles Bird.Theirperformanceromptedmy
interestn
oral
iterature,
ut t
thetime tdid
notoccur
o me to
nterview
any
of
them.
My
replies
o
student
nquiries
emained hat
knew
griottes
existed,
ut
hat
didn'tknow
much
bout hese
emale
wordsmiths.
Why
have
we
been
so blind
to
griottes?
amadou
Diawara,
drawing
on
the work f
E.
Sosne in
another
part
of
Africa,
ffersn
explanation
rooted
n
two
differentinds
f
distortions:
The first
istortion
ccurswithin he
context
tudied;
or
this
remains-evenn
matrilineal
roups-a
men's
ociety,
here
omen,
underhe wayf hedominant ale deology,onot ftenroclaim
themselves
shistorians.
The
second s due
o the act
hat
African
tudies,
egardless
f
whether
esearchs
carriedut
by
men r
women,
ontinueo
be
pro-
foundly
arked
y
hemale
point
f
view.
Women,
ervitude,
nd
History
10)
Diawara,
male
historian rom
he
ameethnic
rigin
s the
ubjects
fhis
research,
men
and
womenfrom
ifferent
evels of
Soninke
society
n
the
ancient
Malian
kingdom
f
Jaara,
nd
Barbara
Hoffman,
n
American
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74
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
anthropologist
ho
dopted
he
dentity
f
elimuso
uring
ver
our
ears
ofresearch
n Mali n the
ate
1980s,
ee
an even
greater
ndmore
unda-
mental istortion
n
research
o date
temming
rom ifferencesn class.
Diawara ontrastedhemany aysristocraticnd ervile orldviewsnd
roles iffer
n
the
ransmissionf ral raditions
see
La
Graine e a
Parole).
Hoffman,
rawing
n
both
er wn
work
s
well s
on
that fBonnie
Wright
andMartha
endall,
xplored
ow henobleview f
griots
s an inferior
class
iterally
nd
figuratively
nforms
he
esearch
f othAfricanndnon-
African
cholars
The
Power
f
peech
-3).
The
attention
ocussedn a
noble t
an
event
akes n two
ifferent
eanings,xplains
offman.
or
the
griot,
t sa cause
or
nimation
nd
nlargement
f henoble's
eputa-
tion. or henoble, owever,he riot'sctivitiesanbeasourcef iscom-
fort
nd mbarrassments
well s the ccasion
or
nflatteringomparisons
between
he
iving
nd he
ead
3).
When
we combine he
gender
ias
of both
researchers
nd noble
informantsith nother
ias
ased n
the ifferentorldviewsf
riots
nd
nobles,
hat offman
xplains
s
different
ypes
f
habitus,
ourdieu'serm
for
socially
onstituted
ystems
f
tructuring
tructures
mbodied,
or
he
most
art, arly
n
ife,
hich re
generatedy
onditionsf xistencehat
permit
efinitions
f
the
possible
nd the
mpossible,
he
moral nd the
immoral ThePower f peech ),the ositionf riots oves ar own
the ocial
adder,
ndwomen
may isappear
romhe
view
fnoblemales.
Such
a
bias eads o
a
misunderstanding
bout he
omplex
ature f he
verbal
xchange
etween oble nd
griot.
offman
oncludeshat
while
the
noble's
osition
f
ocial ominancever he
riot
s
overemphasized
n
the
iterature,
ittle
s
known
f
the
power
hat
riots
ave
over
nobles
( The
Power
f
Speech
).
This
holds ruewhetherne s
talking
bout
male rfemale
obles,
rmale rfemale
riots.
lthough
he ocus fHoff-
man's ioneeringissertationason the ettlementf disputever he
male
eadership
f
he
eli
ommunity
n
Kita,Mali,
n
1985,
he
elimuso's
perspective
he
gained
n
eliya,
he
ctivity
f
Mande
griots,romises
o
contributeo a
major
evaluation
f
hese rtisansf
he
word,
oth
male
andfemale.
Hoffman
egan
er
esearchnMali n the
ate1980s.
A
decade ar-
lier,
ucy
uran,
curatort theNational oundArchiven
London,
ad
begun
o
study
hekora nd
collect ata
during
ield
rips
o The
Gambia
andMali. he
worked
ith
neof he
most
espected
astersnThe
Gam-
bia,Amadou ansang obarteh,ndbecomenvolvedn visits fgriotso
theUnited
Kingdom
n the1980s.
he also
nterviewed
any
f hem or
articleshat
ppeared
n
popular
ritish
agazine,
olk oots.n
1989,
he
published
landmark
urvey
rticle
n
women
ingers,Djely
Mousso,
hat
provides
or
he
irstime
variety
f
nsights
nto heirmusical
rt ndmod-
em
performance
ontextsn Africa
nd
Europe.
ow
at the
University
f
London's
chool
of
Oriental nd
African
tudies,
uran
has
aunched
major
roject
hatwill
ocus
n
thenaturef
emale usical
erformance
n
Wester Mali.
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ThomasA. Hale
I
75
From
Duran's
multi-facetedork s
wellas from hat
f
Hoffman
nd
Diawara,
t s clearnow that
griottes
re bothmorenumerous nd
in
many
cases more amous hantheirmalecounterparts.othDuranandHoffman
underscore
he
fact hat n Mali the
profession
tself
s
driven
y
women.
Duran
explains:
It is
fundamentalo thetradition
f
he
Jalis
hereditary
usicians)
that he
man's
ob
s
to
play
musicalnstruments
hereas
he
women
sing.
Of coursemen
ing
oo but n
general
omen's
oices
re
pre-
ferred,
specially
hen
t
comes
o
singing
he famed
raise
ongs
which
ecount,
hroughmprovised
yrics,
he
origins
nd
history
f
the
arious
amily
urnames. omen
re
lso he animateurst
every
traditionaleremony-whetherlappingnd ingingo ncouragehedancersr
play
he ron
ercusion
od
nege),
heir
resence
sessen-
tial.And o t ould e said hat he
womenre he eal tars f
Mali.
t
is
no accident hat he
great
male
ingers
ike
Mory
ante ndSalif
Keitahad to make heir areersn
Europe;
ackhome
they
were
upstagedy
he
women.
Djely
Mousso
4)
Hoffman choes Duran'sobservation
yremarking
hat he world f
the
griots
n
Mali,
measured
y
the
frequency
f
events,
umber f
people
involved,
mountof
money hanging
hands,
and the
variety
f new art
formseing reated,swomen-centeredInterview).
Scholars nd instructorsutside f
West Africa
who
have been read-
ing
nd
teaching
oundjata
r
ts
English
ersion
undiata or ecades
may
e
surprised
o discover
hatwomen
re,
t
least
n
Mali,
the dominant
oices
in the modem
performance
ontext. wo
reasons
or
hisreaction
eed to
be mentioned ere.The
first
sthat
we do nothear
hevoices
ofjelimusow
n
the
edition f
Soundjata
ranslated
y
Niane.
Although
women
lay
everal
key
oles n the
epic,
the
primary
ource,
eli
Mamadou
Kouyate,
pparently
did not mention
elimusow
s
having
any significant
peaking
arts.
But
other ersions,or xample heSon-Jaraecounted yeliFa-DigiSisoko n
Kita
in
1968 and translated
y
John
W.
Johnson,
ive
them voice in the
narrative. or
example,
n
a
key
passage
fthe
epic,
the
egal
birth
rder f
Son-Jara
nd his
brother ankaranTuma is
determined
y
hefact
hat
he
jelimuso
ent
to
the
king
to
report
on-Jara's
irth efused ood
until he
made her
announcement. he other
elimuso
who
was to
announce the
slightly
arlier irth fDankaran
Tuma,
on of hefirst
ife,
erete,
ccepts
food
irst,
hus
elaying
he
nnouncemento the
king
nd
placing
he
hild
in
second
place.
What
matters erefor
ur
purposes
s
the fact
hat
n
the
linear ersion f he
pic
recounted
y
isokothe
elimuso
as avoice. n this
scene,
elimuso
umu
Maniya,
eferredo here s the
Kuyate
matriarch,
an-
didly xplains
what
happened
o an
enraged
aman
Berete,
irst
ady
f
the
Mande but
mother f n infantwho
has now
becomesecond n
ine to the
throne:
The
Kuyate
matriarch
poke
ut:
Nothing
appened
t
ll
(Indeed)
I
was he irst
o
pronounce
yself.
(Indeed)
Your usbandaid he irstame eard,
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76
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
Said,
e would e
the
lder, (Indeed)
And
hus
ours
ecame he
younger
(Indeed)
(Johnson
nd isoko
31)
A
comparison
etween
he
prose
ersion
y
Niane,
a text hat ffersneasi-
ly-understandable
ntroduction
or
younger
eaders,
nd
the
3,084
lines
transcribed
yJohn
Johnson
nd
a
teamof Malian
scholars rom harles
Bird's
ecording
f
Fa-Digi
Sisoko demonstrates
hat
we
have much
o
gain
in
our
understanding
f
heoral
epic
tradition
y listening
o inear rans-
lations f ctual
epic performances.
ut uch
comparison
lso
reveals hat
we
have failed
ntil
recently
o
recognize
he roleand voices of
griottes
n
thosenarratives.
A secondreason or urblindness o women s that cholarlynterest
in texts ecorded
rom ral sources
as
tended
o
focus
n
the
onger
orms
that
have
long
been viewed o be the domainofmen
n
West
Africa.9 ut
womenhave
always
hared he
tage
with
men.To
understandhis
aradox,
one
must
egin
by
ooking
ack at
the
many arly
eferences
o
griottes
y
Europeans.
Arab
and
European
ravelersncountered
riottes
t the
same
time
hey
irstooknote
of
griots
n
the
entourage
frulers f
WestAfrican
towns nd cities.
Amid theconfusion nd
misinterpretation
hatwe find n
their ortrayalsfthesemale and femalewordsmiths,ne sensesneverthe-
less
hat
women re
equally mportant
s
men
n
the
profession.
Anne
Raffenel,
eporting
n a
trip
o the
Senegambia egion
n
1843
and
1844,
makes
comparison
with
bards
nd
minstrels
f
the
European
Middle
Ages.
What nterestss here s not the
comparison,
hich
ontrib-
utes
o the
distorted
mage
f
griots
oday,
ut hefact hathe mentions
ev-
eraltimes heroles
f
bothmen
nd
women.
LesGriots
t
Griotesxercent
armi
es
negres,
t
principalement
upres
des
principaux
hefs,
ne
spece
e
profession
ui presente
ne
den-
tite ompletevec... esbards t menestrals.esGriots, ommesu
femmes...amusent
es hefst
e
peuple ar
es
ouffonneries
rossieres,
et ls hantentes
ouanges
e
tous eux
ui
es
payent
ans
es
speces
d'improvisations
mphatiques.
..
Cette
profession,
galement
uivie
ar
leurs
emmes,
evient n
heritage
e
famille.
1:16;
emphasis
dded)
[Among
he
Negroes,
riots
nd
griottes
xercise kind f
profession,
primarily
or he
most
mportant
hiefs,
hat
s lmost
xactly
ike
hat
of... ards ndminstrels.
riots,
men
r
women,
muse hiefsndthe
general ublic
y
heir
ulgar
uffoonery,
nd
heymprovise
ombas-
tic raiseso ing or llthosewho ay hem....Tlhisrofession,lso ol-
lowed
by
their
women,
ecomes n
inherited
amily
radition.
(translation
ine)]
Raffenel nderscoreshis
quality
etween he
exeswith
matched
air
f
detailed
olor
ketches f
griot
nd a
griotte,
art
f
series f
finely-drawn
images
ncluded n an
atlas hat
ccompanies
he
narrativef
his
trip.
In
the late 19th
century,
he
first
hotographic
mages
of
griottes
began
to
appear.
For
xample, uring
he
Gallieni
expedition
rom
Medina
inSenegalto Kita nMali in1879-81, photographerookpicturesf ocal
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Thomas
. Hale
I
77
rulers
nd other
ignitaries.
ne
is of the wife f an
interpreter
rom
Medina,
nd
her
griote.
nother
s of
Damba
Sambala,
on
of
the
defenderfMedina n 1859 ndhisgriote. 10heappearancefgriotsnd
griottes
n
formally
osed
hotographs
upports
henotion hat oth exes
were
mportant
embersf
fficialetinues.
hotography
tthat imewas
complex
nd
considerablyemandingrocess.1'
he
fact
hat
he
xpedi-
tion eaders
aw
it odevote
ime
nd
quipment
o uch
subject
eminds
the
viewer
hat
he
photographer
as
not
imply
aking
napshots
f
ocal
culturalolor
o
use
up
roll f
ilm.
Inthe 0th
entury,
owever,
smore
uropeansegan
o
ake
reater
interest
nthe
history
f
West
Africa,
ringing
ack
oth
manuscripts
rom
distantities uch sTimbuktund ccasional arrativesromral ources,
griottes
eemed o fade nto he
background
f he
outsiders'ocus n the
continent.
f he
more
erceptive
olonial
dministratorsnd
esearchers
n
WestAfricaould ee
ny
alue
nthe
ral
radition,
heir
nterestoncen-
tratedn the
oliticalpic, genre sually
ecited
y
men n
the ahel
nd
Savanna
egion.12
n
1935,
he
Governor-Generalf
FrenchWest
Africa,
Jules
revie,
ent
ut
circularetter
rom
is
headquarters
n
Dakar oall
administrators
sking
hem o
collect othwrittennd
oral
documents,
includingepic egends
hichwould
elp
he rench
o
earn bout wars
betweenribes,
migrations,
nd...the ocialandeconomicituationsn
these
Africanountries
132-33).
Today,
s
scholars,
oth
Africannd
non-African,
ttempt
o
piece together
he
complex
ultural
istory
f
West
Africa,
heworld f
war,
iplomacy,
nd
governance,
raditionally
viewed
y
men
s their
omain,13
ontinueso
attract ore
ttentionhan
songs
ung y
woment
weddings
nd
naming
eremonies.
My
wn
omparative
tudy
f
Arabic-language
hronicles
aken rom
WestAfrica ack
to France
t
the
end of
the 19th
entury
nd a
more
recentlyecordedpic bout heSonghayuler skiaMohammed,cribe
Griot,
nd
Novelist,
s
typical
f his
endency.
lthough
omen
haracters
play ey
oles nthe
pic
ndwedo hear
heir
oices,
onghay
esere
ou-
hou
Maliodoes
not
give
voice o the
ew
riottes
entionedn the
pic.
There ould e
many
easonsor
his
bsence,
or
xample
he acts
hat he
male
griots
ad
greater
oles han
he
griottes
nthis
pic
nd lso
hat
he
performance
f he
pic
was
heard
mainly
y
men. n
any
vent,
t
the
ime
of he
ecording
nd nterviews
well
s
during
ost f
he
en-year
ask
f
processing
henarrative
rom
udio
ape
o
print,
tdid
not
ccur o me o
ask ny fmyo-workersnthe rojectbout he ack f griotte'soice n
the
pic.
Renewed
nterestn
women
n the
oral
radition,
ike he
relatively
recent
ocus n womenn
griculture
y
cholarsnd
development
eople,
both
non-Africannd
African,
ho
eek o
understand ore
learly
he
ways articular
frican
ocieties
unction,
s
the
product
f
many
ontem-
porary
nfluences.n
my
wn
ase,
s
prepared
o
undertake
esearchor
comprehensive
ook
on
griots,
realized
ather
elatedly
hat
men
were
only art f he tory,nd hatneeded o ear morebout riottesf were
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78
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
to
arrive
t
a
more
olistic
nderstanding
f he
profession.
returned
o
Niger
n 1989 or last evision
n
the ext fThe
pic f
Askia
Mohammed,
butwith he
added
goal
of
undertaking
firstfforto understand
ore
about he erbal rt nd ocial unctionsf emalertisansf heword. ur-
ing
hat
rip,
intervieweden
eserey eyborey
n
both
Niamey,
he
apital,
and n
Yatakala,
very
mall own
hat s he eat f he ocal anton hiefn
thenorthernomer f
western
iger.
he
resultf hose
ideotaped
nter-
views
ventually
ook
hape year
ater s
a
shortnstructionalideo nti-
tled Griottes
f
he ahel:Female
eepers
f
he
onghay
ralTradition
in
Niger.
ince
then,
have nterviewed
ver score f
griottes
n The
Gambia,
enegal,
nd
Mali,
s
well
s
scholars hohaveworked ith
riot-
tes.Whatfollows,hen, epresentspreliminaryffortobring ogether
recent esearchn these emale
rtisansf heword r
wordsmiths-jalimu-
sow,
eserey
eyborey,
igawatan,
tc.
Griots
nd
griottes
aintain
enealogies,ing
raises,ompose
ongs,
play
nstruments,
arrate
istory,
nd
erve
s
spokespersons.
raditionally,
only
hosewho re
descended
rom
riots
nd
griottes
arry
ut hese unc-
tions,
lthough
s we
shall ee
ater,
ot
ll
women
who
ing
re
griottes.
Even
f
ne
s
born
nto he
rofession,
owever,
ne
doesnot
utomatically
become
griot
r a
griotte.
hose
whodo follow
his
ath
must
cquiresomehowhe
requisite
erbal ndmusical
nowledge,
ut
hey
o so ina
variety
f
ways
nd here oes
not
eem
t
firstobe
any
reat
ender
iffer-
ence
in
the
pedagogy
f their
rt.
One
lears
from
omeone lse
who
knows-siblings,
arents,
elatives,
nd thers ho
may
r
may
otbemas-
ter
erformers-byistening
o
them,
tudying
ith
hem,
ttending
ere-
monies ith
hem,nd,
t
ome
oint,
articipating,
irst
s
part
f
chorus,
and
nly
ater s
a lead
praise-singer
r
narrator.14
here re
reat
ariations
in
kill,
owever.
ohnson
uggested
n 1986
hat
mong
he
Mande,
t east
intheheartland,nlymen an chieve he tatusfnara,rmastersingerf
narratives.
t sa
title hat
s
usually
btained etween
he
ges
f
orty
nd
fifty,
e
added
25). Duran,
however,
as
assertedmore
ecently
hat
women
an lsobecome ara
r
ngara.
he
explains
hat
ngara
uch s
the
late ira
Mory
iabate
f
Kangaba
s
omeone
ith
gift
or
ords ho
an
sing
istorical
ongs
s well s
praises.
emale
gara
re
generally
ver 0.
What
ounts,
he
dds,
s
not
ender
ut
bility
ith
words
Interview).
he
difference
n
perspective
ere
between
ohnson
nd
Duran n who
can
become
nara
r
ngara
epends
n how
ne
distinguishes
etween
ung
r
spoken istoricalarratives,iewedymale riotssthedomain fmen,15
and
ong
raise
ongs
bout
istoricaleroes
y
oth
men
nd
women.t
s
a
differencehat
equires
uch
more
vidence nd loser
tudy
f
we re o
understand
hemost
ubtle
ariations
n
the
verbal
rt
f
men
nd
women
griots
f
West
Africa.
Other
ariationsn
training
ccur
lsewhere
n
the
Mande
iaspora.
For
xample,mong
he
oninke
ne
finds
onsiderable
ifferencesue
o
class nd
ocation.
Mamadou
iawara
xplored
rom
he
perspective
f
historianvarietyfnuancesnthe oninke illagefJaara,ormerapital
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Thomas
. Hale
I
79
of
kingdomy
he ame
ame. he
way
he
ral raditions eared-for-
mally
r
nformally-epends
n whether
ne s ofnoble r lave
rigin,
male rfemale,eserugriot)rnon-geseru,ndfromnetownr nother.
Althoughpace
imitationsonot
permit
me to delineate ere n detail
these ntricate
ifferences,
wo
spects
f he ransmission
f he
past
eed
tobe
mentioned:
irst,
information
f
ervile
rovenance
emainsfemale
domain
ar
xcellence
Diawara,
Women, ervitude,
nd
History
09),
and
econd,
omen ho ecount
he
past
re ftenhe
rincipal
istorians
of heir
ommunity
because
hey
earn
he
private
estimoniesith
are;
and
hat nsureshem ome
recedence
ver
he
men
nthis omain
Dia-
wara, Women,
ervitude,
nd
History
13).
Iftheres anybasic differenceetweenhetrainingfmenand
women,
t
might
eem
hatmenhave
greater
pportunities
o
travelmore
widely
nd to
ear
from
ther
riots.
ut
this s
a
distinction
f
imited
validity
hat
may
old rue
nly
n
the
most
ocal f ontexts. ell-known
griottes
ravel
idely,
nd
perhaps
ore othanmen.
f newere o sk ele-
brated
alimusow
uch s
Kandia
Kouyate,
ariam
ouyate,
rTataBambo
Kouyate
here
hey
ave
traveled,
hey
would
uickly
ist hecountries
they
ave
visited
s well s the
apitals
ndheads f
tate
orwhom
hey
have
erformed
nAfrica
nd
n
Europe.'6
ut ecause
f he
eneral
ack
f
scholarship
ocussing
nthem,hese
riottes
re oo fteneen romutside
of
West
Africas
simply
art
f n
entourage
ominated
y
men.
One can
only
onclude hat he
geography
f
the
griotte
orld
emains
argely
unmapped.
If
ravel
as
lways
een
mportant
or he
raining
f
griot,
odem
communications
echnology
as
played
n
even
greater
ole
n
helping
o
prepare
ew
generations
fthesewordsmiths.offman
oted
uring
er
own
pprenticeship
hat ome
riottes
ould
ecordn a cassette
layer
ll
the ongst wedding,ake hem ome,ndplayhem ver nd vergain,
singinglong
with hem or
ractice.
It s a
very
iberating
ormf rain-
ing,
he
comments,
because he tudent
s
notat thewhim f
nyone
(Interview).
Anotherource
fmaterialor
raining
s
theradio. oth
riots
nd
griottes
an
pickup
new
material
y
istening
o
regularly-scheduled
ro-
grams
f
raditional usic
n
Niger,
Mali,
nd
Senegal.
utHoffmandds
that
n
Mali
80%
of hemusic n the
adio,
t east
uring
he ime he
on-
ducted
er
esearch,
eaturedomen
s
ead
ingers
Interview).
uran
dds
that 0% of he assettemarketsheldbyfemaleead ingersConversa-
tion).
There
ppears
o
be,
then,
much
more
pportunity
or
women o
recordnd
practice
ongs
y
ther omen han s
the asefor he
pposite
sex.We don't
know f his
s alsotrue or hose
ountriesast nd
west
f
Mali,
ut t s
clear
hat
he
ole
f adio nd
elevision
n
both
he
raining
anddiffusionf
music
erformed
ygriottes
s
an area hat
equires
uch
closer
tudy.
A
more
omplex
ifferencehat
merges
rom
comparison
fthe
sexess nthekinds fnarrativesecounted.nthose ccasionsmportant
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80
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
enough
o call
for
n
epic,
for
xample
he
nstallation
f
chief,
men
may
chantor
sing
n one or more essions
art
r all ofone ofthese
ong
poetic
narratives.
o
date there
s no
published
pic
narrated
y
woman
because,
as Hoffman bserves rom er own fieldwork,t is rarefor womanto
recount
n
entire
pic
Interview).
ohnson
oints
o a traditional ivision
of function
n the
performance
f
the
epic
when he
explains
that
both
women nd men are nvolvedwith
raise-poetry
nd
song....
The
wifewill
often
ing
he
ongs
n
herhusband's
pics.
Also
popular
s
themusician
who
accompanies
is wife's
inging.
full
nsemble,
uchas that fthe
Kuyate
lineage
of
the
village
f
Kela
near
Kaaba,
includes
mastersinger
ho
only
narrates,
woman
who
singspraise-poems
nd
songs,
female
horus,
malenaamu-sayer,nd severalmalemusicians 25). Papa BunkaSusso,
Gambian
griot,
onfirmed
ecently
1993)
that
n his own
country,
n
the
Western
ringe
f
theMande
world,
he
ame
rrangement
olds
rue:
men
and women
ften
erformogether,
he men
recounting
henarrative
art
of
he
epic
and thewomen
inging
he
ongs.
But Duran
reports
hat he has
witnessed
elimusow
inging pics,
nd
gives
s
examples
Ami Koita
singing
Sundiata
or
wohours nd
Mariam
Kouyateperforming
pisodes
f the
same narrative
Interview).
Duran s
not
completely
ure hatBambara
r
Mandinka
griottes
o
not
sing pics,
but she is certain hat thosefrom heManinkaregions o. She cites the
example
f
long
equence
f
woman
inging pisodes
f
heSundiata
pic
for a
documentary
ilm
by
Yves
Billon,
Les Gens de la
Parole,
that
appeared
n
theFrench elevision
hannelLa
Sept
n
1984
Conversation).
Given the belief n the
part
f
researchers,
oth
African nd
non-African,
that
nly
mennarrate
pics,
here
s
obviously great
eedformore
tudy
f
the
ntersectionetween
ender, enre,
nd
ethnicity
efore e
can under-
standmore
ully
heroles fmen nd
women n this
articular
orm f
narra-
tive nWestAfrica.
Both men
and
women
ing
praises
nd
songs
of
great
variety
bout
heroes fthe
past
and
patrons
f
the
present.
hey
compose
new
songs
or
friends nd
important eople.
But
praise-singing,
asa
dali17
mong
the
Bamana,
Maninka,
and
Dyula
(Hoffman, Power,
tructure,
nd
Mande
jeliw ),
s more
han
simply
matter f
voicing
kind
words bout
another
person
n
exchange
for
rewards.
offman
escribes oth the
coolness of
noble
women
beingpraised
y
elimusow
s
well as the
secret
epetition
f
these
praises
by
the
subjects
n
private.
The
words are
like
personal
charms. he noblewomenfeel hepower fthegriots'words, ower hat
moves,
hat
nables
Hoffman,Power,
tructure,
nd Mande
eliw ).
The
concept
f
he
ubiquitous
ccult
orce nown
s
nyama
nd the
verbal
ower
inherent
n
it is
too
complex
o
explain
n
detail
here
see
McNaughton;
Bird;
nd the
forthcoming
olume
edited
by
Conrad
and
Frank),
but the
main
point
s that
there s
much
more o
praise-singing
han
the
sound
of
song.
The
praise-singing
eflects
complex
elationship
etween
wo
differ-
ent
groups
n
society.
t can
cause the
praised erson
o
rush
eadlong
nto
suicidalwar
r
give
way verything
e or
she owns.
The
praises
f
he
griot
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Thomas
A. Hale
I
81
revealboth
a
personal
nd
collective ink
between he
subject
nd
those
who are
inescapably
ound to him or her
for
olitical
nd
social
reasons.
Gitu
Sagado,
one
of the
griottes
f
Yatakala
whom
interviewed
n
1989,chanted orme a
typical
raise
ong
for
cantonchiefwhich
revealed
his
interdependence:
Father
f
he
oor
eople
Husband f eautiful
adies
At
whose
bsence
he
ity
snot
nteresting
Atwhose bsence
eople
renot
happy
Greetings
o
you,
oble
Maiga
descendants
f
Askia
Mohammed)
Be
ourmother
Beour ather
Provide s
with
lothing
Be
the alt
we
need or ur
ravy
Be
the
ilwe
need
or
ur
orridge
Provide s
with obes nd
rousers
Thenwe
would e
proud
The
prince
ho ame
To
provide
s
with
lothing
The
prince
ho ame
To
feed s
The
prince
ho ame
To
provide
swith hoes
You
re ur
yes
You re
ur
mirror
You
re ur
ands nd
egs
Thatwe
use o
walk
Hale,
Griottes
f
he
ahel )
The
distinction
etween
he
well-being
f
ociety
nd that
ofthe
griottes,
who,
during
he
nterview,
xplained
hat
hey
ould
receive
etween
200
and$400ataninstallation f canton hief s well severythinglse n the
home
of
the
honoree,
eems o be
deliberately
lurred ere.
On one
level,
the
griottes
may
be
seeking
ewards
rom
he
new
eader.
But
n
a
broader
sense
hey
re
reminding
he
noble ofhis
responsibility
o
society.
A
prince
who
does
notfulfill
is
duties o his
people,
whodoes
not
measure
p
to the
ideal
of
he
people
and
their
eeds
as articulated
y
he
griottes,
ppears y
implication
ot
to
be a
prince.
In
the
weekly
ound f
weddings
nd
naming
eremonies,
riottes
lso
play
vocal role s
advisors r
ocial
arbiters.n
Niamey,WeybiKarma,
ne
ofthemost
ought
fter
eserey
eyborey,
ikeher
counterparts
nMali and
elsewhere,
ings
ongs
f
dvicefor
he
bride
t a
wedding:
Stop rying,
ride,
Stop
rying,
nd
isten
ome.
If
your
mother-in-law
buses
ou,
Just
ry,
ut
on't
ay
nything.
If
your
isters
r
brothers-in-law
buse
ou,
Just
ry,
ut
on't
ay
nything.
If
your
usband's
other
buses
ou,
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82
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
Just
ry,
ut
on't
ay nything.
But
eaving
our
ouse
snot
crime.
Hale,
Griottesf he
ahel )
The articulation
f woman's
ight
o
escape
from omestic busereflects
n
microcosm he
arger
oleofboth
griots
nd
griottes
s sources fmodels or
appropriate
ocial
behavior,18
hether
xpressed
n a
song
for bride ran
epic
for
chief.
uch
appropriate
ehavior ncludes
ctsof
great
enerosity
by
patrons
f
griots.
ut
there re
differencesoth nrewardsnd in
praises
for
hose who
appreciate
he words f
griots
nd
griottes.
rom
Duran's
recent
work,
t
appears
hat hose
elimusow
ho have becomefamous
nd
have
performed
broad
end o be
exceptionally
enerous
n
praises
or heir
patrons, erhaps
more
o
thanjeli
e,
rmale
griots.
Durangives heexampleof KandiaKouyatewhoseentire epertoire
on
one
recording
s
composed
f
praises
or
particular atron,
abani
Sis-
soko.19
Virtually
ll
of
her
songs,
rom
987
onwards,
re n
praise
f
Sis-
soko,
dds
Duran
Djely
Mousso
38).
Tata Bambo
Kouyate
begins
her
1985
recordingJatigui,
r
wealthy atron,
with
homage ong
to the
same
man,
Babani
Sissoko,
whohad at thetime n international
eputation
for
enerosity
o his favorite
elimusow.
n
the CD
liner,
Duran
explains
that t was
during
ouyate's
ravels n the
1980s o
expatriate
Malian com-
munities
n other
parts
f Africa hat
the talented
elimuso
irst
met
this
wealthy atron, successfulnd well-connected usinessman f ali origin
too.
Duran's
description
f he ncounter lso reveals ow
traditional
usic
can be
instantly einterpreted
o serve
contemporary
nds:
Tata's
turn
came
in
1984.
Sissoko,
hen
iving
n
Libreville,
ad heard
tape
of
Tata's
music nd become o entranced hathe
returnedo Mali to
find
er. earn-
ing
that he was in Pariswith
group
f
musicians,
he followed er... nd
made
a
grand
entrance at
one
of
her concerts.Tata
recognised
him
instantly,
nd
began
mprovising
raise
yrics
o
him,
reciting
is
genealo-
gies, isting ismany ctsofgenerosity.ToutouDiarra,' hetune he was
singing,
as
traditional
elody
edicated o a
great
ighter
rom
egou,
but
she renamed t
homage
o
Baba Sissoko'-now hermost
amous
omposi-
tion
Liner
notes
oJatigui).
The list
f
he
remaining
unes
n
theCD
gives
ome ense f
he lose
relationship
etweenthe
elimuso
nd her
patrons
nd friends: Ainana
Bah-A
closefriend f
Tata's,
Ainana
is her
guide,
xplains
Duran.
Kouy-
ate herself
ddsthat his
woman has taken
he
place
of
my arents.
What
is
nteresting
ere s
that he
homage
o this
emale
riends
set
to
thetune
oftheDouga, thegreatManding ongforwarriors, ne thatreaders f
L'Enfant
oir
will
remember
eing ung
y
he
father
fCamara
aye
o
cele-
brate,
with he
accompaniment
f
griot,
he
creation fa
set of
gold
ear-
rings
or
female lient.
Here there o
not seem to
be
anygender
arriers
between une nd
moder
subject.
Mama
Bathily
s
the
name of one
of
Mali's
powerful
merchants,
man who
helps
me and
gives
me
gifts
very
ime
meet
him,
xplains
Kouyate.
Again,
the
praise
o this
ontemporaryerson
s
based on a well-
known
raditional
une,
ToutouDiarra.
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Thomas
.
Hale
I
83
Aourou
ocoum,
or female riend
hooffers
requent
elp
nd
advice,
s setto
Djarou,
a classic
ulani
une or he
great
warriors
f
Macina
n
Mali,
ddsDuran.
Goundo andja-Another ersion fToutouDiarra sdedicated
to a Serehule
woman
anker...whos not
afraid,
otes he
elimuso,
woman homanifestsnher wnmanner
reat
elf-confidence.
Amadou raore sfor maraboutrom amakowho isdescended
from
iramakhan,
he
great
arrior...I
ray
oGod to
give
im
uccess
nd
long
ife,
ouyate
eclares
Liner
otes
oJatigui).
Not
all
women ave
wealthyatrons
ndthe
desire
rthe alent
o
step
nto he
global
tage.
or hosewhose ontextsmore
ocal
n
nature,
sometimeserformanceswith groupfwomen,n ome ases hewoman
performs
ith manwho ervess the
ccompanist
n the
kora,
nd
occa-
sionally
t s hemanwho akes he ead.For
xample, eybi
arma's
ine-
member
roup
n
Niamey, iger,
s
made
p
of
emale
ingers
acked
pby
male
musicians,
ostly
rummers,
ut he s
clearly
he
ead
singer
nd
directorf
he
roup.
Whateverhe
gender
mix,
he
matter
f
rewardsorwomen n
the
local ontext aises
many uestions. eybi
arma
etermines
he
hare
f
income or hemen nd
women fher wn
roupe.
amata
unna,
mem-
ber fWeybi arma'sroupe,xplainshat ngeneral,inthis rofession,
the
female,
he
esere
weyborey,
oesnot
receive s
much ewards
men,
because
whatever
he
circumstances,
he man s
always
head and
the
woman
omes fter im. hat s
why
whenwomen
hare
omething
ith
men,
men ake
bigger
hare
ndwomen smaller
hare
ecause
hey
re
superior
o
women
Hale, Griottes ).
What
did
Mamata unna
meanwith er
eferenceo male
uperior-
ity?
Neither nor
my
Nigerienne
ssistant issata
Niandou,
who
tran-
scribednd ranslatedhisnterview,ould etermineromitherhe udio
orvideo
ecording
hetherrnot
the
griotte
ctually
elieved
menwere
superior
o
women,
rwas nstead
escribing
he
way
men
perated.
t is
most
ikely
hat
hewas
implyrticulating
n
her
rofessional
ole he
radi-
tional
ocial alues f
onghay-Zarma
ociety.
Interviews
ith wo
ozenmale
riots
n
both he
Gambia,Mali,
nd
Senegal
s well s
data
from
ichel
Guignard
ho
has
conductedesearch
in
Mauritaniaonfirm
hat eems
obe the
eneral
endency
f
men,
spe-
cially
nThe
Gambia nd
Senegal,
o treat
omen s
second-class
artici-
pants61). I asked ach manhowheshared isrewards ith isfemale
singer.
he answer
as ften
hat
hewomen
eceivedar
ess han
he
men,
perhaps
0
to30%.
t seems
nlikely
hat
hereseven
formal
greement
on who
eceives hat.
he
exception
as
Manjako
usofrom
errekunda,
The
Gambia,
whose
emale
artner,
ayengdeh
uso,
lso
his
wife,
as
o
talentednd
so
well-known
hat
he
nsistedn
taking
half
hare f ll
income. he
Gambian
aliexplained
hat t s the
woman
who
opens
he
performance
or
he
man,
nd
therefore
as a
very
mportant
ole o
play
(Interview).
oderic
night eportedhat nother ambianali,Alhaji
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84
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
Suntu
uso,
xpressed
he
hope
hat
fhe could
marry
alimuso
ho
ould
sing
well,
ewould
ecome
ealthy
Women
s Musicians
).
It s
view,
adds
Knight,
hat e
found
mongmany
male
riots:everyali
ke
hopes
o
havea
true...jali
uso or wife 2). He has written ore ecentlyhat
Alhaji
Suntu
uso
has,
n
fact,
ound
wife,
Kankaba,
fine
inger
( Music
ut
fAfrica
2),
andhasbeen
prospering
rom
erformances
or
the
xpatriate
frican
ommunity
f
Paris
Conversation).
Knight's
esearch
sfocussednThe Gambia.
utDuran raws
clear
distinction
etween
hesituation
f
griots
n
that
ountry
nd Mali
by
remarking
hat
he
profession
s moremale-dominated
nThe Gambia.
n
Mali,
where emale
ingers
ave
much
igher
erformance
rofile,
ale
accompanistsonot eel hatheyre eing dequatelyompensatedy he
women
Interview).
n Savannah
ex
Wars,
he
reports
hat the nstru-
mentalists
all
men;
fewwomen
lay
nstruments)
omplain
hat
the
women
ingers
ake he
ion's hare
f he
money
or
hemselves.
he
virtu-
oso
Malian
guitarist
ouba
acko,
resident
f
he
newly
ormed
ssocia-
tion
Amicale es
Artistesnd
regular
ccompanist
o Mali's
op
vocalists,
claims
hat ne
of hemain
motivationsehind
he
orming
f his
rgani-
zation
was o
protect
he nterestsf
he nstrumentalists
43).
Since
the
overthrowf he raoreegimend he ecentnstallationf he emocrat-
ically
lected
overnment
f
Alpha
Konare,
oth
men ndwomenmusi-
cians
have taken
dvantage
f
greater
ocialfreedom
o
organize.
or
example,
hewomen
ingers
ave stablishedheir
wn ssociation
nd
ast
November eld concert
t the tadedes
Omnisports
n Bamako o raise
money
orestorehe
urned-out
arche
uxRoses
Duran, onversation).
The entire
ubject
f
rewards
or
riottes-amounts,
ontext
n
which
rewards
re
given,
ifferencesetweenash ndmaterial
ifts,
ifferences
between hat s
given
o men ndto
women,
ndvariations
y
udience,
ethnic roup,ocationathome,n notherart fAfrica,nEurope)-isa
matterf
onsiderable
omplexity
hat an
neverthelessevealmuch bout
thenuances hat
istinguish
riottes
rom
riots
s well s
help
stounder-
stand
heir
elationship
ith heir
atrons.
ut hedatanow vailable
nly
hints twhat anbe earned romloser
tudy.
Another
uestion
hat awaits
further
tudy
s the
relationship
between
ender
nd
nstruments.
he
21-stringed
ora s
described
y
oth
male
griots
s well s
by
cholars
s
an
exclusively
ale
nstrument
see
Huchard; night).havefoundogriot ho anexplainomewhyhis s
true. utDuran
uggests
wo easonsor
his
ender
ivision,
ne
historical,
the other
ractical.
irst,
rawing
n
Knight's
heory
hat he kora s
descended romhe
hunter's
arp
Mandinka
aliya
5-16),
Duran ees
this ink o
traditionally
ale
roup
s the
ource f he nstrument'sas-
culine
dentity.
econd,
he nstrument
lso akes nmasculine
eaningy
the
osition
nwhicht s
held,
whetherhe
erformer
s
tanding
p,
when
it
uts
orwardromhe
waist t
a
high ngle
hat
s
trikinglyhallic,
r
it-
ting own,
here e
s
obliged
ither
ocross is
egs
r
place
ne
eg
ut o
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ThomasA.
Hale 1 85
the
ide,
positions
hat ontrast ith hose f
women,
who
normally
it
with
their
egs
ogether
nd
pointed
traight
orward
Conversation).
The
only
nstrumenthat
women
griots lay
n
the
Mande
world,
t
seems,
s the metal
pipe
and striker.20t is known
generically
s the
nege,
term o
designate
ny
metal
nstrument,
specially
n The
Gambia,
and
more
pecifically
n Mali as
the
karinya
r
karinyan.21
ut women
n
some
areas n thenorthern
ringes
f heSahel
do
play
nstruments.
or
xample,
in Mauritaniawomen
griots,
r
tigawatan,
lay
the
ardin,
n 11- to
14-
stringed
arp
hat s
very
imilar
o some
of
those
een n ancient
Egyptian
art.22 en
play
the
4-stringed
idinit,
lose to the Wolof
xalam,
he Mande
ngoni
nd the
Songhay
molo.The ardin nd the kora
are
differentnstru-
ments, nd they replayed noppositepositions-the stringsf the kora
facing
he
player,
hose
of
the
ardin
acing
he
audience.
But
they
o share
two ommon lements:
irst,
hey
re
made
of
he amebasicmaterials
cala-
bash,
ong
wooden
neck,
many
trings),
nd
second,
heword rdin
ppears
in
slightly
odified
orm, ardino,
s thenamefor ne of everal
uning ys-
tems or hekora.23
harry xplains
his ink
bytracing
he
term ardino
o
ardin,
n Arabicword ormale
religious
eader hat s also used to describe
the
tuning
dopted
for he ead
koni
or
ngoni)
whentwo
of
them re
being
played t the sametime Charry,MusicalThought 229 andConversa-
tion).
The
significance
f he inkbetween hese wo
nstrumentss wellas
the reasons or
heir
ender-specific
ature s far rom lear from he evi-
dence cited bove.
The
picture
s
further
omplicated
y
he
fact hat ome
women
f
noble
origin
lay
musical
nstruments,
s
we
shall
ee below
n
the
recentresearch
f
Kate Modic. It is obvious
thatwe need to
learn
more
about
the
relationship
etween nstrumentsnd
gender
n both
heMande
world nd n
neighboring
reas.
From he
foregoing
t is
apparent
hat
scholars n a
variety
f
disci-
pines-musicology, thnology,olklore,iterature,ndanthropology-are
onlybeginning
o
understand
he
often ubtle
ifferences
n
verbal rt
nd
socialfunctionshat
distinguish
emale
riots
rommales.
We
need
to take
longer
istorical
erspective
n their
oles
n
society y udiciously
e-read-
ing
more f
he
arly
ravel
ccounts,
task hat
hope
to
complete
oonfor
the
study
mentioned arlier.24
ut there emain ar
oo
many
gaps
n
our
knowledge
f
ther
spects
f
heir ives.The
following
sa
partial
ist f
op-
ics that
may
nspire
thers o
help
us
appreciate
hese
multi-faceted
er-
formersrom more ully-informederspective.
First,
he
world
f
griottes
eedsto be
viewed n the
broadest
ossible
geographic
ontext.
or
ackof
pace
have not
referredo their
ctivitiesn
other reas
where have some
data,
for
xample enegal,
Guinea,
Guinea-
Bissau,Benin,
northern 6te
d'Ivoire,
Burkina
Faso,
eastern
Niger,
nd
northern
igeria.
The
links
etween
eoples
n
these
reas
nd
those n
the
Mande heartlandmust e
explored
n
more etail f
we areto
understand
he
diversity
nd
unity
hatmark
emale
ontributionso the
many
different
forms
fverbal rt n
WestAfrica.
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86
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
Second,
he
griottes'
wnview fthe
origin
fthe
profession,
ong
obscured
y
he ocus n
men,
eedsmore
nvestigation.
or
xample,
here
are
many
tiological
ales bout
he
irst
riot.
hemost
idely
eported
er-
sion sbased n the toryf hehunter ho acrificesleshrom is higho
feed
is
tarving
rother
see
Zemp).
ut
what bout
riottes?
re heir
ri-
gin
ales elatedothose
fmen?
Third,
ariationsnthe
mpact
fmodem ommunicationsechnol-
ogy
n men ndwomen eed obe
examined,
rom
heMauritanian
igiwit
who s
reported
n1936 ohave
ung
ongs
ver he
elephone
o tudentsn
isolated
arts
f he
ountry
ho
had
paid
her
ymoney
rder
Puigadeau,
cited n
Guignard
7)
to the
contemporarypprentice
alimusow
ho
become vernighttars ecause f fewppearancesn Malian elevision
(Hoffman,
onversation),
ndtheveteran
erformers
hose assettesre
sold
n
every
treet
orer.
f,
s
Duran
uggests,
ormost
alimosow
one s
only
s
good
as
one's
most ecent assette
ecording
Conversation),
what
are the
consequences
or he art
nd economics
f
thosewhose
ivelihood
depends
n
part
n the ale of
recordings?
Fourth,
ne must
sk what s the
mpact
fthe
shift
rom
local to a
global
audience on
griottes
s well as
griots.
Duran
reports
hat Oumou
DioubateandDjankaDiabate,bothfrom uinea, havemoved ompletely
away
rom he
tradition,
ntofull lownhi-tech
op-unashamed
music or
the
dance
floor,
change
that
produces
a
wall
of
disapproval
rom lder
membersf he
WestAfrican
ommunity
owards omenwho
become
fully
fledged ublic
perfomers
Savannah
Sex
Wars
44).
Finally,
he
relationship
etween he
verbal rt nd
socialfunctions
f
griottes
nd
griots
nd
those
performers
ho
sing
imilar
ongs
but whose
ancestorswerenot
griots-for
xample
hewomen f
Wassoulou n south-
ernMali-remains an exceedingly omplexpuzzle hatwilltakeconsider-
able
patience
o sort ut. n a
lengthy
eview fOumou
Sangare's
atest
D,
Ko
Sira,
n the
New
York
imes n
February
0,1994,
Milo
Miles,
com-
mentator
n worldmusic or
NationalPublic
Radio,
eaves
he
readerwith
senseof
onfusion bout
ust
how
her
musical
heritage
elates o
that
f
he
griot
radition. ut t s difficulto
criticize im
because
no
scholar o
date
has
explored
he
question.
The
recently
efended
May
9,
1994)
disserta-
tion
by
Kate
Modic
offers,owever,
ome
new
data thatwill
help
delineate
the difference
etween
griottes nd theirnon-griotteisterperformers.
Modic
studiedthe musical
tradition f
the Ben Ka Di
( agreement
s
sweet ),
n
association
f
womenof
noble
origin
n
Bamako,
Mali.
They
sing,
ance,
and
play
the
i
dunun
waterdrum),
he ntamanin
small
hour-
glass
drum),
he
yakoro
gourd
attle),
nd the
karinyan
the
metalrod nd
striker)
s
an ensemble t
most fthe
same events hat
griottes
nd
griots
attend-
weddings,
aming
eremonies,
ircumcisions,
nd
engagements
(see Modic).
ButModic
notes hat
heir
ongs
re
focussedmore n
the
pres-
ent and on
everyday
vents hanon
praise
or
eople
of
the
past.
Also,
the
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ThomasA. Hale
I
87
womanwho
plays
he
karinyan
crapes
twith
hemetal od nstead
f
trik-
ing
t
the
way
griottes
o
(Conversation;
ee also
Modic's
article
orthcom-
ing
n
Africa oday).
These
non-griotte erformers
o
interact, owever,with heir
rofessional
isters,
he
elimusow,
nsome ubtle
ways
hat
rom-
ise to revealmore boutthe social function ffemale
riots
nd their
ela-
tionship
with thermembers f
ociety.
From his imited election
f
vidence
leaned
rom
relatively
mall
number f
ources,
t
s clearthat
griottes-jelimusow,
eserey eyborey,
nd
tigawatan-have
lways
een
important
s
artists,
utthat ocial and
tech-
nological hanges ffecting any
WestAfrican ocieties
oday
re
enabling
them o break nto new areas of
music-making.
he work
f the
scholars
cited above isbeginning oprovide clearer icture f the verbal rt nd
social functions f these female
wordsmiths. ore
research nd more
exchange
f
nformationetween
cholars n the
many
ifferent
isciplines
thatfocus n
griots25
re needed
if
we
are
to arrive t a
balanced view of
thesewomen.26
NOTES
'The
use f he erm
griot
y
ublications
nd
rganizations
nboth
rench
and
English
s
astonishing,
nd
ranges
rom
he U. S.
Embassy
ewsletter
n
Bamako, ali, eGriot,oamagazinenMartinique,eGriotesAntilles,schol-
arly
ournal
n heU.
S.,
The
iterary
riot,
nd
bookstoren
Baltimore,
aryland,
GriotBooksellers.he
term
s
employed
ften
n
the New York
imes,
as
been efined
y
he
ditors
f
Time
n
response
o reader's
uery,
ndhas
ppeared
in
the itles f
books,
ncluding
he
Griots' ookbook
ublished
y
hree
frican-
American
omen
n
Baltimore,
ary
McGill,
Mary
arter
mith,
nd
Elmira
Washington,
ndTheCinematicriot
y
aul
toller.
2Although
necanfind
lear
Arabic eferences
o
alis
hat
ate o
themid-
14th
entury
s well s
late 15th-and
arly
6th-century
eferencesith
ther
descriptorsyPortuguesendEnglishravelers,he irstsage f he ntecedento
the
modem erm
riot,
uiriot,
ates
o St. L6's
Relationu
Voyage
u
Cap
Verd n
1637.
havecome
cross nd
developedight
heoriesor
he
origin
f
griot
hat
range
rom
he
Hassaniya
rabicword
ggiw,
term
f ither
erber
Vincent
Mon-
teil)
or
Wolof
H.
T.
Norris)
rigin
o the
arly
6th-century
ortguese
ord or
Jew,
udeu,
hich
urvives
oday
s
idiu,
he
erm or
riot
nthe
Portuguese-based
creole
anguage
f
Guinea-Bissau.ther
cholars,
or
xample
ric
Charry
n his
extraordinary
hesis n
Mandemusic
see
Chapter
),
have
ddedmore o
the ist
(qawal,
medieval
rabic
word or
musician
nd
inger),
utno
one,
believe,
as
establishedconvincingtymologyor riotootedna languagepokenneither
Africar
Europe.
3Griot
nd
specially
riotte
old
variety
f
negative
onnotations
or
eople
in
many
arts
f
West
Africas
well sfor
ome
esearchersn
he ield
f ral
itera-
ture
both
Hoffmannd
Duran)
ecause
f
heir
mprecision,
heir
rench
rigin
from
ncertain
ourcesn
Europe
r
Africa,
nd,
inally,
he act
hat
very
thnic
group
as
ts wn
wordso
designate
ifferentinds
f
keepers
f
he
ral
radition.
Griot
nd
particularly
ts
ffshoots
riottage
nd
riotique
ave lso
aken
n
negative
meanings
n
France
here,
s n
West
Africa,
he
erms
ften
ignify
mptyraise,
or
praise
or
ay.
One
could
make
strong
ase
for
bandoning
hese
erms.
ut
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88
I
Research
n
African
iteratures
think
hey
reworth
eeping
or everal easons.
irst,
riot
as
pread
utside
he
continentnd
hroughout
heAfrican
iaspora,aking
n
extremelyositive
on-
notations
or hosewho ee the
profession
s a link o their ncestors:
frican-
Americangriots averead xcerptsf heSundiatapic t Kwanza eremonies
each
year
n
December;
istinguished
frican-American
usiciansnd scholars
have ometimeseen
ompared
n
o
griots;
he
City
f
Baltimore
as
n
offi-
cial
griot,
ary
arter
mith;
ndAfrican-American
eenagers
ave
ollected
ral
histories
romheirncestorsnd
neighbors
n
Roxbury,
assachusetts,
s
part
f
recent
roject
ntitled
Griots f
Roxbury.
econd,
he
regional
aturef
the
terms
riot
nd
riotte
nderscoreshe act hat he
rofession
arriesut ome f he
oldest
ndmost
mportant
ultural
ctivities
inking any
iverse
eoples
fWest
Africa. he
wordserve s usefulndicators
f
deep
ahelian ndSavanna iviliza-
tion. hird, yusing oth hese ermsnd hemorethnic-specificords, ecan
more
ffectivelyridge
he
ap
n
knowledge
bout he ral
radition
or
hose
ut-
side
f
West
Africa.
inally,
he se f oth
riot
nd
riotteelps
o
distinguish
ore
clearly
emale
rom
ale
riots
or hose
who,
ike
Alex
Haley,
id
not
know f he
existence
f hesewomen
ordsmiths.
4The
ift
f
he mall
irplane
as
ntended
o
nable andia
ouyate
o
visit
her
atron
more
asily
t
his
irstrip-equipped
ome
Duran, onversation).
5I
usethe erm
ordsmithere n a broad ense hat
ncludeshe
narrating
and
inging
one
by
men
nd
women.
harryChapter
)
divides
riots
nto
hree
categories:hosewho laynstrumentsmen), hosewho peakbout he ast pri-
marily
en,
who
re
viewed
s the
xperts),
nd hosewho
ing primarily
omen,
although
en
an
lso
ing).
6Forthcoming
rom
ndiana P.
7From
West
Africa,
aviesand
Graves
ist,
or
xample,
everly
ack's
'Waka
Daya
Ba
Ta KareNika': One
Song
Will
NotFinish
he
Grinding':
ausa:
Women's ralLiteraturend
Marion ilson's
oyal
ntelope
nd
pider:
est
fri-
canMende
ales
s
examples
f ral
iterature
roduced
y
women
22).
8Jeli
s
both heBamana nd
Maninka
pelling,
hile
ali
reflectsheMan-
dinka
ronunciation
f
he erm. will
ttempt
o
useboth
orrectly
n
this
tudy,althoughhe eader ay indhe ifferenceonfusingtfirst.
9Male
ownership
f
he ral
pic
enre
s view
xpressed
o
me
by
llof he
griots
interviewednd t s
choed n he
esearchf
cholars hohave
workedn
the ral raditionf
men,
or
xample
ohn
William
ohnson
n he
ntroduction
o
Son-Jara
25).
'°The
photos
re n
he ollectionf
he
ociete e
Geographie
oused
t
the
Bibliotheque
ationalen
Paris nd
atalogued
nAlfred
ierro'snventaire
es ho-
tographies
ur
apier
e
a
Societe
e
Geographie
s
part
f
he We.
Afrique
eries.
'
Conversation,
4
Feb.
1994,
with
era
Viditz-Ward,
specialist
n
thehis-
toryf hotographynAfrica.
12See
ote9.
3Oneneednot
ook
far,
f
ourse,
o
find
many
xceptions
o
this
ule n
West
Africa,
anging
romhe
Amazonsf
Dahomey
o
Sarraounia
f
Niger.
n
the
WestAfrican
pic,
or
xample
on-Jara
r
Askia
Mohammed,
ne
discovershat he
hero annot
ucceedn
his
uest
withouthe
nterventionf
women
t
many
tages,
from
rotection
t
birtho
palace
ntrigue
nd
ventually
ictory
n
war.
14For
ore
etail n
the
raining
f
riots,
ee
John
W.
Johnson's
ntroduction
to
Son-Jara,
.
25.
15See ote .
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Thomas
. Hale
I
89
160f
hesewomen
have
only
nterviewedariam
ouyate.
When
sked
about
ravels,
he
nd
many
ther
riottes,
s
well s
griots,
lways
escribed
ith
great ride
heir ravels
nd heir
most amous
udiences.
17Thereremanyther ermsor raising-singingn heMande nd nneigh-
boring
reas. nother
ande
erm,
amu,
or
xample,
sheard cross
he ahel
nd
Savanna
regions
s
zamu
mong
he
Songhay,
ammude
mong
he
Fulani,
nd
jammumong
he oninke
Hale,
1990,
02).
18Oumou
angare,
ho snot
fjelimusorigin,
ings
Sigi
Kuruni
Advice
to new
ride),
song
with similar
essage
nhermost
ecent
D,
KoSira.
'9The
pelling
n
theCD
liners
ctually
Cissoko,
utDuran
xplains
hat
it hould e
Sissoko
conversation,
994).
20See
Ousmane
ow
Huchard's
La
Kora,
bjet-temoin
e
la
civilisation
mandingue:ssai 'analyserganologique'une arpe-luthegro-africaine332).
21I
thank
arbara
offmanor
ointing
ut his istinction.
22Lisa anniche
makes hemusicalonnection
n
her
Music ndMusicians
n
Ancient
gypt
132).
De la Courbe
rovides
detailed,
age-long
escription
f
performance
y tigiwit
as
well
s other
inds f
griottes)
n
his
ccount
fhisfirst
voyage
o
the
enegambian
egion,
685.
23I
hank
ucy
uran
or
ointing
ut his
ink.
24Charryrovides
n
excellent
eries f
excerpts
rom
many
fthese
arly
texts
n
ppendix
of
his
hesis.
25Ihankric harry,ucy uran, arbaraoffman,ohn ohnson,oderic
Knight,
ate
Modic,
Molara
Ogundipe-Leslie
nd
Carole
Boyce
avies
for
heir
generousharing
f
nformationith
me
during
nterviews,
elephone
onversa-
tions,nd,
n
ome
ases,
eadings
f rafts
f
his rticle.
he
experience
f
working
with
hem as
mphasized
ome he
omplexity
f he
griot
henomenon
n
West
Africa.
26Researchhat ontributed
o his rticle as
upportedirectly
r
ndirectly
by
he
United
tates nformation
gency's niversity
ffiliationrant
rogram,
theNational
ndowmentor heHumanities
niversityellowshiprogram,
he
Americanhilosophicalociety,heDepartmentfModemLiterature,nd the
Office
f
he
Deanof he
aculty
f
ettersnd ocial ciences
t
the
University
f
Niamey,
nd,
t The
Pennsylvania
tate
University,
he
Comparative
iterature
Department,
he
French
epartment,
he
nstitute
or heArts nd
Humanistic
Studies,
heLiberal rts esearch
ffice,
heOfficef
he
Deputy
icePresident
for
nternational
rograms,
he
Office
f
he xecutive icePresident
or
esearch
andGraduate
tudies,
ndAudio-Visualervices.
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