Griot biography

Storyteller, singer, or musician of oral tradition in West Africa

For other uses, see Griot (disambiguation).

"Praise singer" redirects here. For other uses, see Praise singer (disambiguation).

A griot (; French:[ɡʁi.o]; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: ߖߋ߬ߟߌ,^[1]djeli or djéli in French spelling); also spelt Djali; Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.

Instead of writing history books, oral historians tell stories of the past that they have memorized. Sometimes there are families of historians, and the oral histories are passed down from one generation to the next.

Griot biography wikipedia

Telling a story out loud allows the speaker to use poetic and musical conventions that entertain an audience. This has contributed to many oral histories surviving for hundreds of years without being written down.

The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is oft