The Kouyate family is a dynasty of

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

s that is native to

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

. It has been prominent since the 13th century, when its founder took part in the founding of the

Mali Empire The Mali Empire (Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl� ...

History

According to the

Epic of Sundiata ''Sunjata'' [] (also referred to as ''Sundiata'' or ''Son-Jara'') is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita (died 1255), the founder of the Mali Empire. The epic is an instance of oral tradition, goi ...

, Balla Fasséké was assigned to serve as a griot by King

Nare Maghann Konate A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called t ...

to his son Prince

Sundiata Keita Sundiata Keita ( Mandinka, Malinke: ; 1217 – c. 1255) (also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He is also the great-uncle ...

in the latter's youth. He then went on to aid the prince in his subsequent quest to liberate his homeland from the despotic rule of the Sosso monarch King Soumaoro Kantè. He advised him during the war, telling him tales of the glory of his ancestors, and aided him in establishing a powerful state after the war's conclusion. Balla Fasséké then became the founder of the Kouyate family thereafter. Griots were the "present" each king gave his successor; they were the

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

oral historians that attended kings, recording and recalling the legacies of kings and kingdoms. Griots are said to have existed "since time immemorial". Kouyates in particular have served as griots for the Keita dynasty since the 13th century. The Kouyates guard customs, and their knowledge is authoritative amongst

Malinke Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family. It is the mother tongue of the Malinké peopl ...

s. Keitas have to provide amenities to Kouyates, who in turn should not hesitate to ask for Keita help. The word ''Kouyate'' translates as "There is a secret between you and me". The family

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

the Sosso Bala, a

balafon The balafon is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now ...

that Sundiata is said to have given Balla Fasséké after the latter stole it from Kanté, is still played every year by the family's leader.Ed. Senghor, Léopold Sédar, ''Éthiopiques'', Issues 21-24, Grande Imprimerie Africaine, 1980, p. 79.

Members

* Balla Fasséké *

Bassekou Kouyate Bassekou Kouyaté (born 1966) is a musician from Mali. His band is known as Ngoni ba. He was born into the Kouyate family in Garana, Barouéli Cercle, 60 kilometres from Ségou, in 1966.Frank Bessem's Musiques d'AfriqueBassekou Kouyate/ref> At ...

Dani Kouyate Dani may refer to: People * Dani people, a people living in the central highlands of West Papua * Dani (surname), a surname * Danes (Germanic tribe), a tribe in southern Scandinavia * Dani (footballer, born 1951) (Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa), Sp ...

* Kandia Kouyate * N'Faly Kouyate * Sotigui Kouyate

References

African dynasties Mali Empire History of Mali

Sources

* * Mamadou Kouyaté (performer) &

Djibril Tamsir Niane Djibril Tamsir Niane (9 January 1932 – 8 March 2021) was a Guinean historian, playwright, and short story writer. Biography Born in Conakry, Guinea, his secondary education was in Senegal and his degree from the University of Bordeaux. He was ...

(novelization): ''Soundjata ou l'Epopée Mandingue'' (Paris: Présence Africaine, 1960). Trans. G.D. Pickett: {{citation , year=1965 , title=Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali , place=London , publisher=Longmans