Griot

A griot (pronounced "gree-oh") is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral tradition. Griots today live in many parts of West Africa, including Mali, Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal, and are present among the Mande peoples, Fulbe, Tukul?or, Wolof, Serer, and Mauritanian Arabs. The word may derive from the French transliteration "guiriot" of the Portuguese word "criado," which in turn means "servant." In African languages, griots are referred to by a number of names: jeli in northern Mande areas, jali in southern Mande areas, g?wal in Wolof, gawlo in Pulaar (Fula), and igiiw in Hassaniyya Arabic. Griots form an endogamous caste, meaning that most of them only marry other griots and that those who are not griots do not normally perform the same functions that they perform.

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West Africa: West Africa is the region of western Africa that is generally considered to include the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, C?te d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. In addition, the region is sometimes consider...

Poet: Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. Poets are often regarded as imaginative thinkers or writers. Bad poets are called poetasters....

Musician: A musician is a person who plays or composes music. Musicians can be classified by their role in production, including instrument and genre:...