After a good evening
meal, with the moon shining down, the people of a village in ancient
Africa might hear the sound of a drum, a rattle, and a voice that shouted,
“Come hear, come hear!” These
were the sounds of the griot, the storyteller.
When they heard the call,
the children knew they were going to hear a wonderful story, with music
and dancing and song! Perhaps
tonight the story would be about Anansi,
the little spider! Everyone loved Anansi. Anansi could
weave the most beautiful webs. He was the one who taught the people of
Ghana how to weave the beautiful Mud cloth. Anansi had a good wife, strong
sons, and many friends. He got into many a mess, and used his wits and the
power of humor to escape.
There were other stories
the people loved to hear over and over. Some stories were about the
history of the tribe. Some were about great wars and battles. Some were
about everyday life. There was no written language in ancient Africa. The
storytellers kept track of the history of the people.
There was usually only
one storyteller per village. If one village attempted to steal a
storyteller from another village, it was cause for war! The storytellers
were that important. The griots were not the only people who could tell a
story. Anyone could shout, “Come hear, come hear!”
But the griots were the
"official" storytellers. The village griot did not have to work
the fields. Their job was to tell stories well.
A thousand years later, new
stories about new triumphs and new adventures are still being told by the
village griots today!
African
Stories and Fables
The
Griots
