WHI-Chap19-griots
Griots are professional singers and storytellers who transmit Africa's history, stories, and epics through oral traditions. As the keepers of Africa's history and records, they also acted as historians, genealogists, messengers, entertainers, and advisers to nobility. Kings of Africa have used griots to understand and learn of their past for centuries and even now in modern times. It is a hereditary position in which the father teaches his son the stories of Africa. Griots preserve Africa's history and culture through songs, for the majority of their past was never written down. The instrument they use is called a kora and before beginning each tale, they tell whose perspective the story comes from by starting with "According to the ______ tradition..."
T&E Page: 483
Created by: Hannah Worscheh
