What is it about?
This is a study of West African bards (aka "griots") and their simultaneous roles of diplomats and (hi)storytellers.
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Why is it important?
This study explains how griots produce historical stories and by doing so it challenges common ideas about the griots' memory.
Perspectives
My approach is part of a career-long critical study of the West African epic of Sunjata and the historiography of the medieval sultanate of Mali.
Jan Jansen
Universiteit Leiden
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “At Your Service”: West African Griots in Dialogue with Researchers, October 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004737181_006.
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