Griot

wondered how this pathetic child become a great king. Honoring the hunter's prophecy, the dying king gave his seemingly crippled son a gift that signified his desire that the boy should become king after all. That gift was a griot named Balla Fasséké, the son of the king's own griot. After a spat with Sassouma, Sogolon’s grief made Sundiata walk. Sundiata was fit to claim the throne as his

first chapter of Niane’s “Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali,” the reader is introduced to a “griot” who explains his role and his ancestor’s knowledge on ancient Mali. “The art of eloquence has no secrets for us; without us the names of kings would vanish into oblivion,… by the spoken word we bring to life the deeds and exploits of kings for younger generations.” (Page 1) In a humble but guaranteed tone, the griot assures the reader that he is the keeper of all. His knowledge expands beyond what is now

Although no one doubts that a griot is a professional in his storytelling, some parts that are mentioned would make many people scratch their head today. The so-called “sorcery” that occurs in the story should make many people question the validity of it. For example, the griot says, “Sundiata snatched up his spear and with his head bent charged at Soumaoro, but as he raised his arm to strike his enemy

Balla was there to help Sundiata whenever he got put into bad situations. The father of Sundiata ,Maghan Kon Fatta, also had a griot who went by the name of Gnankouman Doua (Sundiata, xvii). An interesting fact about griots is that their position moves down to their child. Balla basically was to teach and pass on the traditions of the Mali culture. Balla also played a major role in how Sundiata began to walk. Sundiata was

Sundiata has quite a few main themes throughout the book. During the core of the book the griot makes clear that man does not have power nor control over his own life. Sundiata's rise is predicted by soothsayers even before he is born, and a lot of his way towards the founding of the empire is basically a step towards grasping his destiny in life. The griot giggles at people who would challenge to disrupt or work against fate, for it happens to be something that is permanent. Among countless other

Throughout the history of mankind, almost every culture has an epic poem, a poetic narrative about significant event, often featuring a luminary. The epic of Sundiata is a story that was memorized orally and passed by griots for centuries. Mamadou Kouyate the original griot who tells the story explains that Sundiata’s father Maghan Kon Fatta was the king of a city called Niani. A soothsaying hunter tells the king that he produce an heir that would become a significant leader through impregnating

are instruments. West Africans have contributed instruments such as the balafon, kalimba, mbira, shekere and more. The balafon was an instrument make with wood and had a bamboo frame. Balafaons were the instruments that griots used. “The balafon probably was the original griot instrument” (15.3 West African Music). Another instrument is the ngoni, it is an instrument made out of wood and a fishing line. This is a popular instrument in West Africa. “The ngoni is the most popular traditional stringed

are familiar with rap music, most of us don’t know its origin. Rap music began in West Africa. It started out as a story that was turned into rhymes. All they had for a beat were drums and made up instruments. In Africa, griots began telling stories about their home and family. Griots were the West African historians and storytellers who kept all the records throughout the village. In the 1970s, rap music started becoming popular in the U.S as street art among African American teenagers. A popular rap

The Evolution of Rap Rap music is undeniably one of the most popular music genres today. What is rap? Rap is really a very old word. You can find the term popping up as early as the 15th and 16th century in Britain. The word rap actually meant to strike or to hit. After a few centuries a slight variation of this definition appeared which meant to speak or talk. In America around the 1960’s it began to pop up in the black community and was used as a slang word to mean that someone was talking or

In a time of both social and political tension in the United States, Gil Scott Heron left a massive impression as a musician and poet. Later earning the nickname, “The Godfather of Rap,” Heron played a major role in producing soul, jazz, and blues music that was associated with social and political issues in the United States during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Heron studied at Lincoln University, following in the footsteps of other prominent African American individuals such as Langston Hughes and Melvin