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. A griot's 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!