Griot

Senegalese Wolof griot, 1890
A Hausa Griot performs at Diffa, Niger, playing a komsa (Xalam).

A griot (/ˈɡr/; French: [ɡʁi.o]; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: ߖߋߟߌ,[1] djeli or djéli in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.

The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a leader due to their position as an advisor to members of the royal family. As a result of the former of these two functions, they are sometimes called bards. They also act as mediators in disputes.

  1. ^ Faya Ismael Tolno (September 2011). "Les Recherches linguistiques de l'école N'ko" (PDF). Dalou Kende (in French). No. 19. Kanjamadi. p. 7. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

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