Women's Songs from West Africa

8 - A Heroic Performance by Siramori Diabaté in Mali

8 j a Heroic Performance by Siramori Diabaté in mali Brahima Camara and Jan Jansen ThE dEBaTE Jelikèw (male griots) and jelimusow (female griots, or griottes) have many roles in the West African societies in which they practice their profession. There are some differences in what they do, however. For example, jelimusow do not normally play the same instruments as jelikèw. In the Mande world, jelikèw play stringed instruments while jelimusow sing songs and strike the karignan (or nege [Bambara] or neoo [Mandinka], which means “iron”), a notched narrow metal tube held in one hand while the other rhythmically scrapes it with a thin metal rod (see Charry 2000, 87). But one of the most widely studied functions of these performers is the narration of epics. In the 1990s, Hale (1994) and Sidikou (2001) raised the question as to whether women are totally excluded from narrating epics. We feel that any answer to this important issue1 will be framed by four analytical dimensions: 1. However “epic” is defined,2 this definition is always based on performances by men, thus implicitly taking men as a standard for the genre.3 2. Local terms for “epic” may analytically conflict with the general definitions that have been inspired by the Eurasian literary corpus. 3. Local terms for “epic” may be context-related rather than text-related. This argument can be illustrated as follows. The jeliw (“griots,” male and female) of Kela—an important “school of oral tradition” famous for its version of the Sunjata epic, which narrates the foundation of the medieval Mali Empire—have a term for their “epic”4 which they might use for a localized A Heroic Performance by Siramori Diabaté in Mali 137 performance rather than for the text that is recited during that performance. Well-orchestrated recitations of Sunjata’s history are a Mansa Jigin (“The Genealogy of the Kings”) if the performance includes a chorus song (with the title Dibi kèlen) and takes place in their own village (Kela) or in Kangaba, the location of the Kamabolon sanctuary, where the Kela jeliw are supposed to perform the Mansa Jigin every seven years during a five-day ceremony.5 If this recitation of Sunjata’s history does not meet these two criteria, people won’t call it a Mansa Jigin, but—for instance—“laudable words” or “stories about ancestors.” On other occasions they might give a quite similar performance , but then classify it as much less prestigious, for instance as “praising names” (matogoliw). A major indication of the status difference between these performances is the fact that recordings of non–Mansa Jigin performances are allowed, while it is strictly forbidden to record Mansa Jigin performances .6 4. The mode of performance may be relevant. Durán (in Hale 1994, 80) witnessed a jelimuso singing an epic, and we feel that, at least among Mande peoples, it might be impossible to consider a sung narrative as an epic since sung words are valued and appreciated differently from those that are recited . Sung words are less prestigious, since (alleged) errors are never the point of discussion; although a serious affair, they are considered to be entertaining and to create feelings of harmony and unity.7 Jelikèw themselves have claimed that only they recount epics, while jelimusow seem to add songs to the performance. Using a case study of the illustrious jelimuso Siramori Diabaté (c. 1930–1989) from Kela and focusing on her relatively well-documented life and works, we wonder if the lines between the sexes can be drawn so strictly. Asking whether Siramori Diabaté could and would perform epics might enable scholars to draw a more nuanced portrait of the jelimuso’s craft. siramori diaBaTé, liFE and doCumEnTs In Mali, Siramori Diabaté is considered one of the most celebrated female artists of the twentieth century. Being born to the famous Diabaté jeli family from Kela gave her the opportunity to grow up in a setting in which she could fully develop her musical and verbal talents. The traditional material of Kela’s jeliw consists of praise songs for the heroes who once founded society, which is called Mande or Manding. These heroes are the ancestors of the present-day population, nowadays labeled an ethnic group called the Maninka or Malinké. The praise songs are part of a wider narrative about the foundation of Mande, a 138 Brahima Camara and Jan Jansen narrative...