Griot Mythology via Arthur Jafa
During an episode of Film Roundtable, Arthur Jafa, in a discussion with Akin McKenzie and Shawn Peters, tells the origin of the griot as it was told him by an Angolan filmmaker years ago. He begins the story around 47:53, ending around 53:55. In that time he retells a version of the origin of the griot as one who commits a taboo, cannibalism, and is then alienated from their people as a result of what they have become. This comes despite their necessary and often lauded function in their communities.
Jafa’s takeaway is that doing the work of the/a griot is not necessarily glamorous and it may not necessarily be well-received, but it is necessary nonetheless, regardless of its perception. Therefore in his practice he’s come to an acceptance of the less-than savory elements of his work, elsewhere even going as far as to associate it with the work of an undertaker. An undertaker, of course, is one who deals with corpses, with decaying flesh. An undertaker is one who works through dirt and all that it entails, one who works through that which needs to be unearthed. But an undertaker is also one who serves function that is necessary.
But for us, perhaps there is value in considering the mythology and origin of the griot, in considering how it may differ from our conventional contemporary understanding of it, and how that historical context may or may not complicate or deepen ones own understanding of their role in utilizing and maintaining the archive and, by extension, ones practice as a whole.
For more context and to serve as a corroboration of Jafa’s telling of the myth, bellow are screenshots elaborating a bit on the origin of griots in the African context from the paper NYAMA AND HEKA: AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF THE WORD by Christoper Wise.
Wise, C. (2006). NYAMA AND HEKA: AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF THE WORD. Comparative Literature Studies, 43(1/2), 29
Wise, C. (2006). NYAMA AND HEKA: AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF THE WORD. Comparative Literature Studies, 43(1/2), 30
Wise, C. (2006). NYAMA AND HEKA: AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF THE WORD. Comparative Literature Studies, 43(1/2), 30
Full Citation:
Wise, C. (2006). NYAMA AND HEKA: AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF THE WORD. Comparative Literature Studies, 43(1/2), 19–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25659503