Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Sunjata)

Multiple griots are mentioned throughout Sundiata. These include the narrator of the epic, Djeli Mamadou Kouyaté; Naré Maghan’s griot, Gnankouman Doua; and Sundiata’s griot, Balla Fasséké, who is Gnankouman Doua’s son. The griot is a crucial cultural position in Mandinka society, a professional poet-historian “who served a ruler much in the same way that modern rulers are served by written constitutions, legal staff and archival staff” (xiv). The griot is a repository of Mandinka history and is responsible for passing on this history by instructing and advising sovereigns. As Kouyaté explains in Chapter 1, “I teach kings the histories of their ancestors […] listen to my word […] by my mouth you will learn the history of Mali” (1).

In addition to serving as advisor and historian, the griot is also the king’s “press secretary,” responsible for transmitting the king’s words to any subject or group, as well as for composing songs and poems that commemorate the king’s exploits for future generations. Fasséké’s “Hymn to the Bow,” composed after Sundiata stands for the first time in Chapter 6, is an example of such a song. Acting as the king’s mouthpiece, the griot is integral to the Mandinka political process; as Fasséké says to Sundiata upon their reunification, “I am the word and you are the deed” (58).