From Griots to Grandmothers:
Storytelling in West Afrika
Oral Art
In the culture of West Afrika* storytelling is an oral form of art. From highly trained griots (gree-ohs) recounting epics of kings to relatives telling stories to children around evening fires, oration is an important part of West Afrikan tradition. Far from a stand-in for written language, oral tradition in West Afrika is highly skilled and highly respected. Present before the first European colonizers came to the continent, the tradition lasts even into today’s increasingly modern world. The world, however, is changing. The fast pace of the information age has little time or patience for this type of oral art. As Buchi Offodile states in the preface to his collection of West Afrikan folk tales, “The traditional moonlight storytelling culture of the agrarian society . . . has all but disappeared. In its place, a more urban western-type society has taken root. (7)” This is a change that seems almost inevitable. After all, European bards disappeared long ago. Afrika, however, is reluctant to let go of this vital part of its culture and history. Much effort is being put into the preservation of these traditions, taking advantage of many of the very technologies that threaten to destroy them. If these efforts succeed, just maybe both the scholars and children of tomorrow will be able to experience something of the oral storytelling traditions of old Afrika.
Griots
The existence of griots is something that sets West Afrika apart from the rest of the continent (6). Though other parts of Afrika have orators who serve similar functions, griots are exclusively a West Afrikan tradition. Griots are professional orators whose function is to maintain histories, genealogies, and legends through memorization and recitation. Griots have also traditionally composed songs, sung praises, and served as spokespersons (3). At times they would serve as arbiters in cases between nobles, witnesses between warriors, and counselors to chiefs/kings. In pre-colonization Afrika, griots would follow the kings they served everywhere. They would even join them on the battlefield to incite them to acts of bravery (1). Because they maintained the histories of past actions (both good and bad), griots were to a large degree responsible for preserving the social values of their societies (3). They even had a special freedom to speak their minds (4) and exercised a certain kind of power over kings and nobles by drawing comparisons between the deeds of dead heroes and those of living leaders (3). According to Kaschula, griots today are still observers of and commentators on society, often speaking in a traditional style on current issues (4).
Oral literature is a very complex art form for a griot (4). At times an artist may have to remember hundreds of lines for a performance (2). Because the material a griot must remember can be so long it usually features rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and parallelism to assist in memorization. There are three main modes of oration that griots use. These are speech, recitation, and song. Some pieces (such as the well-known epic of the famous Malian king Sundjata/Sundiata) contain all three modes (4). Griots also often accompany their words with the music of a twenty-one stringed instrument called a kora/cora (5).
Not only is the work of a griot difficult, it is not an easy profession to become a part of. Traditionally, griots held a special place in the caste system (2), and only those from griot families could become griots themselves. Even so, not everyone from a griot family became a griot (3). Doing so usually required training with a family member, formal training, and then an apprenticeship with a master of the trade (5). These apprenticeships could be very long, and sometimes a griot in training served as an apprentice to more than one master artist (1). Hale says that one often does not become a master among the Mande until the age of forty, fifty or even later (3). Though there are women griots or griottes (3), there is some debate among scholars as to whether this is a modern trend or simply one not previously recognized and studied. It seems that in modern times, some of the traditional rules regarding griots may have become more relaxed.
Folklore
While the griot tradition is the aspect of West Afrikan oral literature that is most often studied by scholars, it is not the only one. Offodile, in the introduction to his collection, speaks of a less formal kind of storytelling. He tells us that it was most often family members (usually aunts, uncles, and grandparents) who told folktales to the children of the community, though this varied by cultural group and family. He also says that often, when the daily chores and household tasks were done, the mothers became the storytellers. These less formal folktales were designed to hold the interest of and to entertain the audience. To this end, they were often mixed with games, riddles and songs (7). Entertainment was not, however, the stories’ only purpose. Kashula says that all of the oral art of Afrika is rich in human values (4), and this is very true of these folktales. Often cultural values, beliefs, and religious ideas were taught and advanced through storytelling. Many of the tales are about animals with personified human characteristics and teach very obvious lessons. In a time before organized education came to Afrika folktales were an important form of education (7).
Changes
While many of the above traditions still exist in Afrika today, changes are occurring. Much of the time that families and communities would have spent listening to stories and epics in the past is now devoted to more modern forms of entertainment like television (7). The griot tradition itself has also undergone change. With the European colonization of Afrika the power of the chiefs/kings lessened. With this change in social infrastructure and the addition of written language came a decreased need for the services of the griots. They began to be relegated to traditional ceremonies such as marriages, enthronements, and funerals of chiefs/kings (1). Some pieces of oral literature have even disappeared because the occasions for their performance no longer exists (8). Many griots have had to find alternative means of supporting themselves such as farming or business (1). Some have even taken their traditional work to a more mainstream audience and sell transcripts, recording, and CDs (4). It is becoming more and more common to hear kora music on the radio and to see griots perform in cities across the globe (3). The subject matter of the griots has also begun to change, and many have abandoned the apprenticeship of knowledge of histories and genealogies (1) and instead address social issues such as religion and politics (4).
Preservation
Though the changes in Afrikan oral tradition are real, all is not lost. Many Afrikan governments have taken measures such as the encouragement and sponsorship of traditional festivals to help preserve oral literatures. In addition, the International Society for Oral Literature in Africa (ISOLA) has been formed for the very purpose of preservation (8). As Kaschula says, the written words adapted from these oral traditions, their newfound place in the market economy, and their interaction with modern technologies like the internet will all help to ensure the survival of West Afrikan oral art (4).
Nonetheless, there are some concerns regarding the preservation of these oral art forms. The first is the cultural concern that a griot can by tradition only pass his/her repertory on to another griot (1). Though many griots and cultural groups seem to understand the necessity of breaking this tradition, it is still a deep-seated value among them. Another concern is that putting an oral epic or story into a written or recorded form will destroy some of the original value. No two oral performances are ever the same, and each griot adds something to his/her rendering (4). A transcript or recording can attempt to capture only one performance. As Tierno Bakar has said, “Writing is one thing and knowledge is another. Writing is the photograph of knowledge, but it is not the knowledge itself (1).” A transcript or record of a griot’s knowledge may be a poor substitute for the living record that is an oral historian and storyteller. There are also concerns with translation from one language to another. Oftentimes slang, prose, and traditional sayings are misinterpreted or misunderstood (7). While this problem with translation is one that applies to all translated literatures, the case is unique with Afrikan oral literature. This is because many stories are told both in multiple genres (poetry, recitation, song) and multiple languages (2). This is something that is almost impossible to translate or capture in a written format.
Conclusion
Amadou Hampate Ba, a Malian writer and ethnologist, once said, “In Afrika an old man dying is like a library going down in flames (8)”. Though much effort by both Afrikans and non-Afrikans alike is being put into the preservation of Afrikan oral literature, losses remain a reality. No amount of recording or transcription can compare to the work of a man or woman who has spent a lifetime learning and preserving histories, stories and genealogies. These people are living records of a people and of a culture. This is a rarity that the world would do well to recognize and protect. The international literary community should join fully in the effort to protect these oral literatures so that the knowledge of the griots and grandmothers of West Afrika may be preserved for the education and enjoyment of future generations.
*Afrika with a "K"
I have chosen to spell Afrika with a "k" on this site out of respect for both the culture that I am portraying here and out of respect for the Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble who inspired this work (see the Links page and the TRJE page for more information on them). For an explanation of this spelling by Dr. Kwame Nantambu click here.