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« In recent years one of the most
exiting developments in French Studies has been the growing interest in the
Francophone world that exists outside the borders of France. French departments
are responding to this interest by adding Francophone topics to existing courses
and by creating new courses in Francophone studies. The challenge for teachers
is to find compelling yet informative ways to introduce these topics in the
classroom. Within this broader context of Francophone studies, the
French-speaking nations of Africa present a particular interest due to its
cultural vitality and diversity. The present paper will suggest that one way to
introduce Francophone Africa to students is through its music, especially that
of the West African griots. It will focus on the griots of the Mande cultures
(The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, and Ivory Coast), their social roles both in
traditional society, their adaptation to the modem world, the instruments they
play and their unique style of singing.
The
Griot Tradition
A good way to
begin is by pointing out to students that French is spoken is regions within
Africa that were once colonies of France and that these Francophone countries of
Africa are multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic nations: French language and
culture is one ingredient (though an important one) in a rich linguistic and
cultural mix. It is often the case that French is the language of instruction in
schools, the language spoken by politicians and government agents and it is the
language used to communicate with the outside world. However, in the streets and
in the home, people speak Banama, Maninka, Woloof or a variety of other African
languages.
Moreover, each
nation is home to several different linguistic groups and quite often the
speakers of a given language are split up among two or more different nations.
For instance, speakers of the Mande languages are distributed among the present
nations of Guinea, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
The term “griot” (and its feminine form “griotte) are derived from the
French; the origin of this term is holly contested with no single version
obtaining a consensus; in the Mande languages the term is “jali” or “djeli”.
The areas inhabited by the Mande peoples constitutes the heart of the griot
region but this region stretches north into Mauritania and Niger and south into
Ghana and Nigeria and includes a large number of different ethnic groups. In his
landmark work Griots and griottes, Hale uses the term “wordsmith” to
describe griots for two reasons. The first is that they are distinguished by
their ability to use words in a variety of socially important ways and the
second is that, within the social structure of Mande culture, they belong to the
general group of artisans (nyamakalaw), such as blacksmiths, potters, weavers
and leather workers. Moreover, the griot tradition has a hereditary component in
that only members of certain families can become griots and the knowledge and
skills that griots possess are passed on only within these families (Diabaté,
Kouyaté, Sissoko) Finally, within the traditional social structure, griots
could only marry other griots and, although, this principle of endogamy is not
as strict as it once was, griots still tend to marry among themselves.
For a literary
illustration of these themes, one can turn to a passage from D.T. Niane’s, “Soundjata
ou l’épopée Mandingue”. Niane is a Guinean historian who has transcribed
and translated the story of Sunjata, the founder of the Mali empire, as told by
a griot, Mamadou Kouyaté. « Je suis griot. C’est moi
Djéli Mamadou Kouyaté, fils de Bintou Kouyaté et de Djéli Kedian Kouyaté,
maître dans l’art de parler. Depuis des temps immémoriaux les Kouyaté sont
an service des princes Kéita du Manding; nous sommes les sacs a paroles, nous
sommes les sacs qui referment des secrets plusieurs fois séculaires. L’Art de
parler n’a pas de secret pour nous; sans nous les noms des rois tomberaient
dans l’oubli, nous sommes Ia mémoire des hommes; par Ia parole nous donnons
vie aux faits et gestes des rois devant les jeunes générations. (I am a griot. I am Djeli
Mamadou Kouyaté, son of Bintou Kouyaté et Djeli Kedüm Kouyaté, master of the Art
of speaking. From times immemorial, the Kouyaté have worked in the service of
the Kéita prices of Manden, we are containers of words, we are containers that
hold secrets that are several times secular. The Art of speaking has no secrets
for us, without us the names of kings would fall into oblivion, we are the
memory of mankind; though speech we give life to the deeds and exploits of kings
for the new generations. (My translation) »
This passage is
a succinct summary of several important characteristics of griots: their
specialization in the verbal arts, the secret nature of their knowledge, their
role as historians for the Mande peoples, the heritary transmission of their
art. Let us now take a closer look at the roles griots assume in Mande society.
Their most familiar roles are as musicians and orals historians, but their
actual roles are much more varied. Hale summarizes the functions of griots in
the following terms: “recounting history, providing advice, serving as
spokesperson, representing a ruler as a diplomat, mediating conflicts,
interpreting the words of others into different languages, playing music,
composing songs and tunes, teaching students, exhorting participants in wars and
sports, reporting news, overseeing, witnessing or contributing to important life
ceremonies, and praise-singing.”
The power of
griots to use words is a common feature of most of these roles. Another
important charactistic is the notion of mediation: as oral historians griots
mediate between the past and the present, as teachers they mediate between
learns and the tradition, as interpreters they mediate between different
languages, as diplomats, they mediate between leaders. When we consider this
broad range of functions, we can conclude that griots play an indispensable role
in maintaining the social coherence of their communities. Griots have a long
history in West Africa. When Ibn Battuta, a North African chronicler who
traveled throughout the Muslim world, arrived in the court of the Mali Empire in
the 14th century, he encountered griots and commented on their importance. Hale
argues that the griot tradition has been in existence long before that and
perhaps dates back as far as two thousand years ago. Despite its long history,
it should be noted that political and social changes have modified this
tradition somewhat. Traditionally, griots were at the service of a particular
patron or family. The period of colonization, however, undermined the social
standing of their traditional patrons and has forced griots to seek out other
sources of income. While still carrying out traditional functions such as
performing at weddings, griots also make recordings and have embarked on
international tours, which have created new audiences for their art. Guardians
of the past, griots nonetheless live in the present and have demonstrated a
remarkable ability to adapt to change.
Griot Music
Turning now to
some of the characteristics of griot music, it is fair to say that when most
Americans think of African music, drums immediately come to mind. While drums do
play an important role in the various musical traditions throughout Africa, one
should be aware that many other instruments are also played. Griot music
illustrates this point quite nicely: the three primary instruments played by
Mande griots are the kora, the balafon, the ngoni
and more recently the guitar. The kora is a 21 -string harp, the balafon is a
xylophone with wooden keys and the ngoni is a small luth that has three or four
strings. These instruments were traditionally played by griot men; women would
play the karinya (a type of bell). Another important point concerns the
geographic distribution of these instruments: whereas the kora is played
primarily by the Mande peoples, differents forms of the balafon and the ngoni
are found in other regions of Africa. Griots do sometimes play a bass drum
called the dunun and small talking drums, they generally do not
play the djembe ‘,and the most popular drum in the region,
which is linked to the blacksmith class.
Mande griot
music is noticeably distinct from the music played by the ethnic groups in
adjoining areas: whereas the majority of the musical traditions in the region
uses a five-note pentatonic scale, griot Mande music uses a seven-note
heptatonic scale which also differs from the heptatonic scales used in Western
music. Thus the rather unique scale used by griots gives their music a very
distinct sound, one that subjectively can evoke certain musics from the Far
East. Griot songs often depart as well as from the call and response pattern
that is so prevalent in African music. Songs usually begin and end with the
basic melody being sung by the chorus; during the middle part, the lead singer
generally launches into extended improvisation. The song pattern of griot music
is, thus, quite similar to the head-solos-back to the head pattern found in
jazz.. This pattern allows griots singers to showcase their remarkable
virtuosity. In their improvisations, griots
draw on the genealogies, praise for people past or present and the
history of the Mande people. »
Author:
Thomas C. Daddesio
Department
of Modern Languages and Cultures
Slippery
Rock University of Pennsylvania
Slippery
Rock PA 16057
[Source:http://ted.freehosting.net/djembemande/francophone.html] du 22 Juillet
2004.
LA
CHARTE DU MANDINGUE: LA NAISSANCE OFFICIELLE
DU GRIOT
Les
représentants du Mandé Primitif et leurs alliés, réunis en 1236 à Kouroukan
Fouga (actuel cercle de Kangaba en République du Mali) après l’historique
bataille de Kirina ont adopté la charte suivante pour régir la
vie du grand ensemble mandingue.
I - DE L’ORGANISATION
SOCIALE:
Article 1er: La société
du grand mandé est divisée en seize (16) porteurs de carquois, cinq (5) classes
de marabouts, quatre classes (4) de nyamakalas. Chacun de ces
groupes a une activité et un rôle spécifiques.
Article 2:
Les nyamakalas se doivent de dire la vérité aux Chefs, d’être leurs
conseillers et de défendre par le verbe les règles établies et l’ordre
sur l’ensemble du royaume.
Article 3:
Les morikanda Lolu (les cinq classes de marabouts) sont nos maîtres et nos
éducateurs en islam. Tout le monde leur doit respect et considération.
Article 4:
La société est divisée en classes d’âge. A la tête de chacune d’elles
est élu un chef. Sont de la même classe d’âge les personnes (hommes ou
femmes) nées au cours d’une période de trois années consécutives.
Les Kangbès (classe intermédiaire entre les jeunes et les vieux)
doivent être conviés pour participer à la prise des grandes décisions
concernant la société.
Article 5:
Chacun a le droit à la vie et à la préservation de son intégrité physique.
En conséquence, toute tentation d’enlever la vie à son prochain est punie de
la peine de mort.
Article 6:
Pour gagner la bataille de la prospérité, il est institué le Kön¨gbèn Wölö
(un mode de surveillance) pour lutter contre la paresse et l’oisiveté.
Article 7:
Il est institué entre les Mandenkas le sanankunya (cousinage à
plaisanterie) et le tanamanyöya (forme de totémisme). En conséquence,
aucun différent né entre ces groupes ne doit dégénérer, le respect de l’autre
étant la règle.
Entre beaux-frères et belles-soeurs,
entre grands parents et petits-enfants, tolérance et le chahut doivent être le
principe.
Article 8:
La famille KEITA est désignée famille régnante sur l’empire.
Article 9:
L’éducation des enfants incombe à l’ensemble de la société. La
puissance paternelle appartient en conséquence à tous.
Article 10:
Adressons-nous mutuellement les condoléances.
Article 11:
Quand votre femme ou votre enfant fuit, ne le poursuivez pas chez le voisin.
Article 12 :
La succession étant patrilinéaire, ne donnez jamais le pouvoir à un fils
tant qu’un seul de ses pères vit.
Ne donnez jamais le pouvoir à un mineur parce qu’il possède des liens.
Article 13:
N’offensez jamais les nyaras.
Article 14:
N’offensez jamais les femmes, nos mères.
Article 15:
Ne portez jamais la main sur une femme mariée avant d’avoir fait intervenir
sans succès son mari.
Article 16:
Les femmes, en plus de leurs occupations quotidiennes doivent être associées à
tous nos Gouvernements.
Article 17:
Les mensonges qui ont vécu 40 ans doivent être considérés comme des vérités.
Article 18:
Respectons le droit d’aînesse.
Article 19:
Tout homme a deux beaux-parents: Les parents de la fille que l’on n’a pas
eue et la parole qu’on a prononcé sans contrainte aucune. On leur doit
respect et considération.
Article 20:
Ne maltraite, pas les esclaves, accordez leur un jour de repos par semaine et
faites en sorte qu’ils cessent le travail à des heures raisonnables. On est
maître de l’esclave et non du sac qu’il porte.
Article 21:
Ne poursuivez pas de vos assiduités les épouses: du Chef, du voisin, du
marabout du féticheur, de l’ami et de l’associé.
Article 22:
La vanité est le signe de la faiblesse et l’humilité le signe de la
grandeur.
Article 23:
Ne vous trahissez jamais entre vous. Respectez la parole d’honneur.
Article 24:
Ne faites jamais du tort aux étrangers.
Article 25:
Le chargé de mission ne risque rien au Mandé.
Article 26:
Le taureau confié ne doit pas diriger le parc.
Article 27:
La jeune fille peut être donnée en mariage dès qu’elle est pubère sans
détermination d’âge. Le choix de ses parents doit être suivi quelques soit
le nombre des candidats.
Article 28:
Le jeune homme peut se marier à partir de 20 ans.
Article 29:
La dote est fixée à 3 bovins: un pour la fille, deux pour ses père et mère.
Article 30:
Venons en aide à ceux qui en ont besoin
II - DES BIENS:
Article 31:
Il y a cinq façons d’acquérir la propriété: l’achat, la donation, l’échange,
le travail et la succession. Toute autre forme sans témoignage probant est
équivoque.
Article 32:
Tout objet trouvé sans propriétaire connu ne devient propriété commune qu’au
bout de quatre ans.
Article 33:
La quatrième mise-bas d’une génisse confiée est la propriété du gardien.
Article 34:
Un bovin doit être échangé contre quatre moutons ou quatre chèvres.
Article 35:
Un oeuf sur quatre est la propriété du gardien de la poule pondeuse.
Article 36:
Assouvir sa faim n’est pas du vol si on n’emporte rien dans son sac ou sa
poche.
III - DE LA PRÉSERVATION
DE LA NATURE:
Article 37:
Fakombè est désigné Chef des chasseurs. Il est chargé de préserver la
brousse et ses habitants pour le bonheur de tous.
Article 38:
Avant de mettre le feu à la brousse, ne regardez pas à terre, levez la tête en
direction de la cime des arbres.
Article 39:
Les animaux domestiques doivent être attachés au moment des cultures et libérés
après les récoltes. Le chien, le chat, le canard et la volaille ne sont pas
soumis à cette mesure.
III - DISPOSITIONS FINALES:
Article 40:
Respectez la parenté, le mariage et le voisinage.
Article 41:
Tuez votre ennemi, ne l’humiliez pas.
Article 42:
Dans les grandes assemblées, contentez vous de vos légitimes
représentants et tolérez-vous les uns les
autres.
Article 43:
Balla Fassèkè KOUYATE est désigné grand Chef des cérémonies et médiateur
principal du mandé. Il est autorisé à plaisanter avec toutes les tribus en
priorité avec la famille royale.
Article 44:
Tous ceux qui enfreindront à ces règles seront punis. Chacun est
chargé de veiller à leur application.
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