Jaliya: From Orality to Literacy
On the Language Diversity of Africa
Before we delve into an examination of Jaliya and the oral troubadours that they were, we must first establish their setting in a linguistic context. The intersections of languages worldwide have historically paved way for cross-cultural diffusion (based in trade, war, colonialism, etc.), but have also established borders of kinship. We can clearly see, as far as Europe goes, the tendency for sovereign peoples and states to be conjoined by common (or rather institutional) language and culture, particularly in the West. For comparison however, while the 286 extant languages originating from Europe are the first language of 26% of the world, the 2,138 living languages from Africa are spoken by less than half of that, and almost entirely within Africa itself (exceptions primarily being Swahili, Bantu, etc.). The huge array of languages, organized hierarchically into clusters, families, and dialects, is importantly a result of the lack of standardization that one would expect from an orally-based region. Obviously these languages are also markers of the ethnic groups that speak them -- among them, the Malinke people of West Africa who will prove of great relevance in the upcoming sections. Before we move further west though, let us begin the story of the Jali at the beginning, in 13th century Mali.
A Short Origin Story
One day Naré Maghan made Mari Djata come to him and spoke to the child as one speaks to an adult. 'Mari Djata, I am growing old and soon I shall be no more among you, but before death takes me off I am going to give you the present each king gives his successor. In Mali every prince has his own griot.... Be inseparable friends from this day forward. From his mouth you will hear the history of your ancestors, you will learn the art of governing Mali according to the principles which our ancestors have bequeathed to us.... May your destiny be accomplished, but never forget that Niani is your capital and Mali the cradle of your ancestors.
(Niane, 17)
The Epic of Sundiata, quoted from its novelistic form above (more on that later!), serves as both the nucleus and origin of the griot oral repertoire. Compared with the likes of Homer's Odyssey by Kwasi Ampene, the work is a historical epic depicting the rise of the Mali Empire under Sundiata Keita (also celebrated as 'the Lion King'), whose Keita Dynasty continued its reign for three centuries. The story is particularly of import to the Jali tradition for two reasons: (1) it includes within it the first-ever mention of a jali, who Sundiata's father, King Naré Maghan Konate offers to his son as an adviser, and (2); it provides an origin story for those descendants of the Mali empire (henceforth known as the Malinke) which continues to be perpetuated to this day, primarily in oral form. Over the course of the empire, the patrilineal jalis continued to act as advisers to the emperors, and as the empire spread largely westward along the Niger river, so too did the jalis.
While I have only provided cursory reference to the advisory and oratory nature of the griot, the following section will expand on the true breadth of their position after the fall of the Mali empire. For unlike the bards of medieval Europe, the griots outlasted the courts.
Mali Jali, what's your function?
To provide context for the jali's role, I will refer to Sparks' analysis of the three traditional 'status categories' or ranks of Malinke society. These are:
Jali are grown. From a very early age and on for as many as 30 years. They are apprenticed and educated (generally by their fathers, though any patrilineal jali can and will do) in the traditions of the Malinke past, as well as the histories and genealogies of their villages and locales.
Once active as established jalis, their roles and duties become numerous- more than just oral historians, they are storytellers, musicians, praise-singers, and intermediaries par excellence. When tribal chiefs would come together, their jelis would often speak on their behalf, being well versed in the 'right words.' They act as masters to various rites of passage including marriages and naming ceremonies, and play these roles centrally. (Sparks, 46)
- The tontigi, who are farmers, warriors, and tribal chiefs. Together they make up the majority of the populace.
- The dion and wuloso, who were slaves prior to its abolishment in 1906.
- The nyamakala are, simply, the artesian class. This includes the griots, who could be considered artisans of orality, as well as other discrete and distinctive occupational groups. They make up around 5-10% of society.
Jali are grown. From a very early age and on for as many as 30 years. They are apprenticed and educated (generally by their fathers, though any patrilineal jali can and will do) in the traditions of the Malinke past, as well as the histories and genealogies of their villages and locales.
Once active as established jalis, their roles and duties become numerous- more than just oral historians, they are storytellers, musicians, praise-singers, and intermediaries par excellence. When tribal chiefs would come together, their jelis would often speak on their behalf, being well versed in the 'right words.' They act as masters to various rites of passage including marriages and naming ceremonies, and play these roles centrally. (Sparks, 46)
They appear every time the spoken word needs to be repeated, given heightened value, remembered, presented in a special manner as in music or praise, or used as a social lubricant. If the numu [smithies] transform nature to culture, the jeli may be said to transform culture to superculture. Above all, they are performers. (Sparks, 46)
As musicians, griots provide music on both casual and ceremonial occasions. Their oration however is practically inseparable from their musicality, as when they recite epics and other stories they are almost always accompanied by music. Often there will also be another individual present to provide extra panache by helping bring rhythm and balance to the words. It is this, in combination with the fluidity of longstanding oral tradition that truly elevates their words to the art of poetry and makes them such a unique form of artisan. (Hale,
Griots have also historically had exclusive right to a number of instruments, among them the ngoni, the balafon, and of course our own topic: the kora, the most renowned of them all (Hale, 161). For an impressively full analysis of the instrument and its music, see Ryan's page, appropriately titled The Music of the Kora.
Colonialism and the Triangular Trade
One cannot speak on the long durée of African history, particularly West African history without inevitably speaking on or referring to the far-reaching effects of colonialism. Before I examine the outsider/insider dichotomy of colonial historiography and ethnography, I feel obligated to provide historical context.
In the early part of the 15th century, the first Portuguese expeditions set sail to explore and trade along the west coast of Africa, and actually succeeded in doing so rather amicably for a time. Their primary trade of interest of course was the slave trade (which was only in its very beginning stages at this time), but they maintained a mutually profitable (i.e. taught them Portuguese literacy, intermingled and occasionally Christianized them) and peaceable relationship until later ruptures.
The Portuguese inspired others though, all guided by a perverse sense of mercantile manifest destiny, and soon the European encroachment would begin. By the late 16th century, Portugal had lost their monopoly on West Africa and a slow boil squabble started as the French, English, and Dutch each tried to establish spheres of influence on the coast. It was at this point that the true horridness of the slave trade institution and the process of stripping a people (truthfully many peoples) of their history began to take shape. The Malinke people in particular were enslaved in heavy numbers, and as such their descendants have come to represent a significant portion of the modern African American population. In fact, according to Martha Jones' lecture, prior to the United States abolishment of the trade, the ratio of influx to the Americas between Africans and Europeans was 4:1 (Jones, lecture). To understand the African diaspora that follows more clearly, particularly in reference to griot culture and music, refer to Jaykob's section.
Ultimately though, the end of the slave trade came about through the efforts of abolitionist movements and lawmakers in the Western European countries that had begun the process in the first place. Britain lead the pack in 1807 and, as a method of maintaining their presence, began to actively pressure other countries to abolish the trade as well through instituted patrols of the West African coastline.
In the early part of the 15th century, the first Portuguese expeditions set sail to explore and trade along the west coast of Africa, and actually succeeded in doing so rather amicably for a time. Their primary trade of interest of course was the slave trade (which was only in its very beginning stages at this time), but they maintained a mutually profitable (i.e. taught them Portuguese literacy, intermingled and occasionally Christianized them) and peaceable relationship until later ruptures.
The Portuguese inspired others though, all guided by a perverse sense of mercantile manifest destiny, and soon the European encroachment would begin. By the late 16th century, Portugal had lost their monopoly on West Africa and a slow boil squabble started as the French, English, and Dutch each tried to establish spheres of influence on the coast. It was at this point that the true horridness of the slave trade institution and the process of stripping a people (truthfully many peoples) of their history began to take shape. The Malinke people in particular were enslaved in heavy numbers, and as such their descendants have come to represent a significant portion of the modern African American population. In fact, according to Martha Jones' lecture, prior to the United States abolishment of the trade, the ratio of influx to the Americas between Africans and Europeans was 4:1 (Jones, lecture). To understand the African diaspora that follows more clearly, particularly in reference to griot culture and music, refer to Jaykob's section.
Ultimately though, the end of the slave trade came about through the efforts of abolitionist movements and lawmakers in the Western European countries that had begun the process in the first place. Britain lead the pack in 1807 and, as a method of maintaining their presence, began to actively pressure other countries to abolish the trade as well through instituted patrols of the West African coastline.
Despite having done away with the trans-Atlantic slave trade, by the end of the 19th century European imperialist interest and influence in Africa as a whole had intensified and entered an entirely new stage. By this time, Europeans had largely charted and explored much of the continent and understood the wealth of resources there. Following the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, a top-down partitioning of Africa began to take place, with France taking West Africa (and thereby establishing the federation of French West Africa) almost entirely to itself. As might be expected, the French instituted law not through traditional established leaders, but rather those chiefs that were most loyal to them with the expectation that they would foster French culture at the expense of native customs, institutions, and language. They propagated similar paternalistically racist ideas as the Americans did in suppressing the Philippines with their tale of the "Little Brown Brother" (Sullivan, lecture). Those individuals who did largely adopt French culture were given the adoring title of "native citizens," while everyone else were simply "native subjects" whom the French largely saw as fuel for colonial propaganda (Latham, 72-73).