All African music is emotional and full with vividness, but somehow the music of Mali mesmerized me from the first contact I had with it. My fellow citizens and I have had the blissful opportunity to see some of the greatest musicians from West Africa in our hometown of Skopje, on several occasions (usually in concerts organized by the Skopje Jazz Festival.) Salif Keita, Vieux Farka Toure, Tinariwen, Tamikrest - all of them made a great impact on my musical taste, my musical interests, and my understanding of music. Up until my meeting with the Mali cultural tradition, West-Indian classical music was my synonym for cosmic music. But, as I said earlier, the encounter with the musicians from Mali changed my personal inclinations. It sounded (and still sounds) to me like the heartbeat of the world, or shall I say, Earthbeat?! With the hypnotic, trance-like grooves, this music will open your heart, broaden your visions and fill your soul with universal love and appreciation of life.
There are many great and worldly renown musicians that come from West Africa, especially from the 80’s onward, when the interest in “other” cultures grew intensively, together with the popularity growth of the World Music genre. However, the roots of this cultural milieu are deeper than some would think. The music of Mali and the wider region of West Africa influenced by the Mande (aka Mandinka or Malinke) peoples is inseparably and substantively connected to the Griot tradition.
Griot is an equivalent of the European bards. They are storytellers, advisors to court, singers, musicians, and oral historians. The griot keeps records of all the important events in a village, a family or the kingdom in whole. As masters of the oral traditions and collective knowledge, they play a fundamental role in West African society. The European word ‘griot’ comes from a Portuguese word meaning ‘troubadour’ but that is not what the griots are. The original Malinké word for these professional bards is ‘jeli’, which is close to the word for ‘blood’, something that tells us how are they perceived by the ordinary people - as the lifeblood of culture. Through their words and music, the clans of the Mali Empire learn who they are and what their ancestors achieved. Long after the fall of the Malian Empire in 1468, a Manding family would have their own griot to advise, arrange the terms of marriages and mediate disputes, always relying on their understanding of each family's history.
The Abidjan-based griot Bakary Koita explains what does it mean to be a griot: “First of all, a griot’s first job is to be serious. In all that you do, you need to be professional. When there are family problems in your neighbourhood, it’s the griot that intervenes. When there are arguments, the society calls on a griot, so a griot has a big role to play. He shouldn’t be false; he should have a good behaviour, he’s a guide – others look to see how he lives and how his family live. That’s a start on what griots are – they’re do-gooders… You can’t make yourself become a griot. You’re born that way. Being a griot is an art. You’re born with it, and you need to exercise it at any moment.”
Griots originated in the 13th century in the Mande empire of Mali. For centuries they have told and retold the history of the empire, keeping their stories and traditions alive. They tell their stories to music, using instruments such as the ngoni, the kora or the balafon. To become a griot isn’t possible if you’re not a descendent of griots. Even then, it is really hard to gain such a title. The training itself is extremely rigorous. It takes years and years of listening and memorising. The children in griot families are taught to build koras (West African harp) by the age of seven or eight, and only after years of study acquire the skills necessary to perform the repertoire of hundreds of songs and stories that make up the griot’s heritage.
Some of the most celebrated pop music stars of Mali, Guinea, Senegal and the Gambia are griots, who have transformed traditional compositions to create modern music. Guinea's Mory Kanté has built an international career with his music that is firmly rooted in his griot past. Although West Africa's most celebrated pop star around the world, Salif Keita of Mali, does not have griot ancestry, as a noble descendant of the first king of the Malian Empire, his songs draw heavily from griot tradition. The world of the griots is not strictly reserved for men. In Mali, female griot singing stars include Ami Koita, Kandia Kouyaté, and Tata Bambo Kouyaté, even though female griots tend to specialise in singing and generally do not play more than simple percussion instruments.
In the series to follow, dedicated to the music of Mali, we’ll have a chance to get acknown with this culture closer and more detailed. In the meantime, enjoy some of the best modern-day griot musicians that come from Mali or the wider region of West Africa, where Mandinka peoples still live and keep their tradition alive.
