Rough Draft #3
Holmes Project 2015
Podcast Transcript
Hello and welcome to the third episode of this podcast series! My name is Harlee Keller,
and in this segment I am going to be discussing the institution of diplomacy in pre-colonial West
Africa. In the first episode, I discussed the relationship between written and oral history in this
region, paying specific attention to role of the griot. In the second episode, I examined
storytelling as a vehicle for cultural identity particularly in Senegal and surrounding areas. If you
are interested in either of those topics, those podcasts are available for listening and reading
through Humboldt State University’s International Studies website. This third podcast will place
the griot in a wider context of diplomacy in precolonial West Africa, more specifically the Mali
Empire, long predating what is often considered the beginning of modern diplomacy. It will then
discuss the griot—a position with many names and forms—in that system. Understanding this
background will demonstrate that, despite the fact that the Mali Empire’s system of diplomatic
relations came before the treaties of Westphalia in 1648, the Mali Empire can and should be
viewed as a functioning state system in pre-colonial Africa.
This episode’s topic is like a set of Chinese nesting boxes—able to nestle snugly inside
each other. It is critical that each piece be unpacked one by one and laid out in succession in
order to give its audience a clear, easy to follow representation of what exactly was going on on
the diplomatic front in West Africa before national boundaries were drawn on maps and modern
state systems were created.
1
The first question—or box to be unpacked—is what exactly is diplomacy? That depends
on your definition. The Merriam Webster dictionary keeps it very general, saying it is “the work
of maintaining good relations between the governments of different countries.”1 The U.S. State
Department says diplomacy is “…a complex and often challenging practice of fostering relations
around the world in order to resolve issues and advance interests.”2 Ragnar Numelin gets right to
the root of it when he says “diplomacy, if by this word we mean the maintenance of official
relations between tribes and peoples, may probably be traced back to primitive beginnings.”3
Simply put, groups of people have formed communities since the dawn of the human era and
interacted with one another, whether in a cooperative or aggressive fashion. Thus the need for a
messenger became necessary as “…a mechanism to convey messages between societies safely
and reliably.”4 This is diplomacy in its crudest form. Choosing to coexist with your neighbor or
choosing to go to battle with them are diplomatic choices. Of course, diplomacy as we have
come to know it, is much more complicated than that. It is negotiation. It is accords. It is signed
treaties. It is alliances.
The Westphalian Peace Accords are generally accepted as a major milestone in the
development of the present state system. Several imperial states existed within the relatively
compact region of Europe, and tensions mounted due to territorial issues and religious conflict.
When it finally came to a head, a congress consisting of representatives from a total of 109
parties convened to discuss the development of sovereignty.5 With the signing of these treaties in
1648, the several imperial states that existed within and around central Europe formed a view
and specific idea of sovereign existence. This meant that each leader, and the territory that they
1
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “diplomacy.”
U.S. Department of State. “Diplomacy Dictionary,” s.v. “Diplomacy.” diplomacy.state.gov.
3
Numelin, Ragnar. The Beginnings of Diplomacy: a Sociological Study of Intertribal and International Relations. (Oxford
University Press, 1950), pp. 124. 4
Langhorne, Richard. “History and the Evolution of Diplomacy.” Diplo.edu. (1998)
5
Gross, Leo (1948). "The Peace of Westphalia, 1648–1948". American Journal of International Law 42 (1): 20–41 pp. 25.
2
2
were in control of, should determine their system of governance without external interference.
This, in turn, created a balance of power that maintained and prevented neighboring nations
intruding in domestic issues. It is at this point in history that the “state,” or at least a closer
cousin to what we have today, was recognized. In many scholarly discussions on international
relations, diplomacy is not a timeless, evolving institution. It is one augmented by pre- and postpeace of Westphalia, the argument being that statecraft only earned its sophistication upon the
signing of these treaties.
This is not to say that inter-state relations were not happening before Westphalia. Quite
the contrary. Sophisticated diplomatic relations were going on in several different areas of the
world predating the common era—including our subject here: the Mali Empire. The Mali Empire
was not the first or only empire in Africa (or the world) to utilize diplomatic tools in order to
interact with others. Though rich in oral tradition, the ancient empires of Africa did not keep
extensive written records. This is an interesting topic of discussion, because documentation has
become the defining element in a peoples’ history—it is how laws and governments are
maintained, education is transmitted and international communication is made possible. This is
one of the factors that made colonization of West Africa possible—a people who could not
provide written records of their society’s progression were deemed in need of civilizing. In the
words of Christopher Prior, who I mentioned in the first episode of this podcast series, “officials
merely studied what went on in front of them and worked out what was good about it,” there was
little to no interest in what society looked like before they arrived.6 It is only in modern times,
through oral-retelling and extensive corroborative, archaeological research that a clearer picture
of pre-colonial African history is coming into focus.
6
Prior, Christopher. “Writing Another Continent’s History: The British and Pre-colonial Africa, 1880-1939.” Durham
University. 2007. 3
If you have listened to, or read either of the other two episodes of this podcast series, or
have a general knowledge about West Africa, you are probably aware of the multi-faceted role of
the griot in West African history and culture. For those without prior knowledge, let me take a
moment to explain the griot. I choose to use “griot” (instead of other terms associated with this
role such as gewel, jali, gawlo, jeli and several other variations depending on the West African
region in question) because this is the term that is widely recognized in academia, the media and
cultural identity.7 The role is widespread but differs from region to region in Africa, and has
evolved over the last thousand years. The term griot has many alleged origins, though the most
widely accepted is a derivative of the French word guiriot. The earliest known written record of
griots comes from within the Mali Empire in 1352, when Ibn Battuta (a Moroccan scholar and
traveler) visited the kingdom’s capital of Niani for the first time and documented everything he
saw. His description of the griot was as a herald: “Dugha, the herald, stood at the door, wearing
zerdkhanan clothes: on his head a fringed turban, typical of the country; he alone had the
privilege of wearing boots on this day; he had a sword in a gold scabbard on his side; and he
wore spurs, two gold and silver javelins with iron tips.”8 (This is an interesting parallel to the
heralds of the European empires of the same time period: the Byzantine Empire had ‘imperial
messengers’ that held a staff and had a certain wardrobe.)9 Griots are most remembered for their
roles as musicians and oral historians, but to reduce their existence to these specific roles is to
deny the preponderance of evidence that places them at kings’ sides as messengers and heralds.
Nyama, a term meaning the intangible power that words are laced with, was believed to live
inside a griot. Nyama is similar to a soul, though it is a singular transcendental soul, one that is
7
8
Hale, Thomas A. Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), pp. 2-10. Diop, Chiekh Anta. Precolonial Black Africa. (Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1987), pp. 84-85.
Numelin, Ragnar. The Beginnings of Diplomacy: a Sociological Study of Intertribal and International Relations. (Oxford
University Press, 1950).
9
4
the power that people exercise and the clarity that comes from expression; it is this intangible
idea that makes the griot’s role so complex, but that best exemplifies their power as diplomats
within the Mali Empire and beyond. They were trusted more than anyone else to carry truth and
reasoning.
Something interesting to consider in regards to statehood is the idea of whether or not the
systems that functioned throughout Africa were indigenous to the continent or were transplanted
from surrounding regions. Chiekh Anta Diop, an anthropologist native to Senegal, writes that
statehood as it exists in Sub-Saharan Africa, is most distinctly related to the state system of
Pharaonic Egypt.10 There is definitive evidence that Sub-Saharan ancient empires, such as
Ghana, Mali and Songhai, all have nearly identical models to that of their Egyptian predecessor.
One case in which similarities are exemplified best is that of etymology. In Wolof (the dominant
indigenous language of modern day Senegal and Gambia), the term for king is bur. Similarly, in
Egyptian, the term for “the house of the Pharaoh” (the king was often identified as his house’s
name) is the phonetically identical word per.11 Diop offers the etymological correlation as a
means of shifting one’s understanding of ancient African empires from that of a “new beginning”
to “a continuation following emigration.”12 Structurally, Pharaonic Egypt’s governance is very
similar to that of the Mali Empire—a Pharaoh was the supreme ruler of the kingdom, usually
succeeded by his eldest son, and each geographical region had its own local ruler—a nome—
who was responsible for their peoples’ grievances. These ideas are important to bear in mind
when considering the governmental system that existed in the kingdom of Mali—though
similarities exist between European/Byzantine systems, the tangible correlation remains on the
continent.
10
Diop, pp. 114.
Ibid.
12
Ibid. 11
5
The Mali Empire’s origins are best summarized in an epic—a long tale that describes the
life of Sundiata Keita, who became the first emperor of the Mali Empire. Before the genesis of
the Empire, the Mandinke king Naré Maghann Konaté was told a prophecy that if he married an
“ugly woman”—Sogolon—that the son they bore would grow up to be a great king. Their son,
Sundiata, was born with lame legs and spent his childhood and most of his adolescent life
disabled and was subjected to cruel treatment by his father’s second wife, Sassouma. After
Sundiata’s father died, Sassouma’s son Dankaran came to power, which was in direct
contradiction to a preexisting mandate stating that when Konaté died, Sundiata would become
the next king. The cruelty intensified, driving Sundiata and his mother into exile for a brief
period. Only after a violent battle against the Sosso Kingdom of Kaniaga in which Sassouma’s
son fled in fear did Sundiata have the opportunity to rise to power.13 Once the Sosso’s empire
was defeated, its territory was absorbed into the Mali Empire. Sundiata Keita’s griot, Bala Fasé
Kouyaté, appointed to him at a very young age, is credited with helping the king create the
Empire that unfolded in front of them.14 This griot is also believed to be the original creator of
the epic of Sundiata, though there is no single person credited as the author of the story. Keita’s
story is important not only because of its historiographic relevance, but also because it provides a
glimpse into the organization of the Mali Empire at its creation. Furthermore, this epic brings
light to the multifaceted role of the griot in the Mali Empire.
Along with the defeat of the Sosso Kingdom, what the epic deems the “Twelve Doors of
Mali” were absorbed.15 This is said to be an alliance of 12 kings from both conquered and allied
surrounding regions; upon relinquishing their power to Keita, they were asked to serve as
13
Ki-Zerbo, Joseph, UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth
Century. eds. Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Djibril Tamsir Niane (University of California Press, 1998), pp. 54-55
14
Poulton, Robin Edward. “What Made Sunjata, The Lion King, ‘Great’?” Virginia Friends of Mali. n.d. vafriendsofmali.org.
15
Niane, D.T. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Trans. G.D. Pickett. (Essex: Longman Limited, 1965).
6
“commanders”—essentially retaining their leadership within the region but getting a new boss.
Below these regional leaders, each village had a chief and each county within the region had a
master.16 This is a critical difference between the Mali Empire and some of those of ancient
Europe—its rulers were not absolute monarchists, they created a coalition between kingdoms
while acting as a federal, overseeing power. This suzerain, or tributary, system is not unique to
West Africa. As mentioned earlier, Pharaonic Egypt’s “administrative centralization” included
provincial governments, or nomes, with local leaders, or normarchs, who reported back to the
empire’s king.17 China held a suzerainty over East Asia between the 200s BC and until China
became a republic in 1912.18 Trade and foreign communication between China and its tributaries
fundamentally differed from Mali’s system in that imperial China held the belief that they were
the “cultural center of the world,” and that all other peoples were to respect that and pay
tribute.19 (This is also similar to the state system of the United States of America today—there is
local, state and federal government. States all over the country have mayors who take care of
local issues. Each state has a governor that oversees all of the cities within the state. And the
federal body oversees each state’s well-being, as well as the country’s international
relationships.) Further, the Empire had a Gbara, or Great Assembly, that was in charge of
delegating inter-clan issues.20 The Assembly had representatives from each clan of the Empire
and worked democratically to achieve peaceful consensus and avoid conflict. During their first
delegation meeting, the Empire’s constitution (named Kouroukan Fouga) was established. It is
referred to as a contract between all of the clans, though an actual physical, first edition of the
constitution did not exist in written form. It was “reconstructed” by historians in Guinea in the
16
The Art of West African Kingdoms. Washington, D.C.: Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1987.
Diop, pp. 100
18
Yu, Ying-shih, Trade and Expansion in Han China, (Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press,
1967).
19
Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. Trans. Samuel Griffith. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963), p. 79.
20
Poulton, “What Made Sunjata, The Lion King, ‘Great’?”. 17
7
twentieth century, and the “reconstructed” version of this constitution is now widely available,
passages available from it through UNESCO.21 Through this Assembly a common exchange rate
within the Empire was established, human rights issues were discussed, and the establishment of
diplomacy between clans came to fruition. Some historians even go so far as to say that this
document was “Africa’s declaration of the rights of man in 1236,” which would predate France’s
similar document by over five hundred years.22 The Great Assembly’s sophisticated form of
diplomatic interaction was in place for nearly four hundred years and was at the heart of the Mali
Empire.
Initially it may be a bit difficult to conceive the griot as a member of the governing body,
as they were best known carrying around an instrument and singing songs and most were trained
to memorize the genealogy of their people. These griots were found inside the villages, their role
essentially being a living, breathing archive of a people. However, beyond the village, alongside
rulers and chiefs, they played the different and critical roles of counselor, spokesperson and
diplomat. A counselor would provide contextual advice, similar in modern times to that of a
“written constitution, legal staff and archival staff…[they] recall what earlier leaders have done
and advise current leaders on how to handle problems.”23 They were needed to explain in an
informational capacity, current and political events, and to keep their leader’s intentions in line
with what society expected and needed from them. This is exemplified in Sundiata’s epic which
says: “…whoever knows the history of a country can read its future.”24 The griot must help his
leader to uphold their empire, because he is the repository of the Empire’s past. Inherently, this
creates a close bond between the king and his griot; the griot holding a “habitual place near the
21
UNESCO. “Manden Charter, proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga.”United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Web. 2009. unesco.org.
22
National Assembly of France. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. National Constituent Assembly. 1789.
23
Jones, Jim. “Background to: the Epic of Sundiate Keita.” West Chester University. (Pennsylvania, 2003).
24
Niane, D.T. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Trans. G.D. Pickett. (Essex: Longman Limited, 1965). 8
Mansa,” or ruler, both in the case of proximity and in trust.25 The role of spokesman captures the
relationship between the griot and his king/chief/ruler, as well as the king/chief/ruler’s
relationship with his people. Leaders never spoke aloud directly to their people, it was custom
that they spoke in hushed tones and their words were “repeat[ed] and embellish[ed]” by the griot
in order to rally the audience.26 In the same passage of Ibn Battuta’s written account of Mali that
was referenced earlier, the herald/griot “served as a mouthpiece, transmitting orders, recovering
the grievance and submitting them to the sovereign, who gave his decisions.”27 Simultaneously,
the griot’s social importance is elevated—he is an “instrument of power, but [he] also influences
the way it is exercised.”28 When acting as a diplomat, griots would perform whatever interregional tasks their leader needed them to do, “whatever diplomatic mission is required be it to
see a local trouble maker, to carry a message of approval, or to visit a distant ruler to negotiate
peace … or war.”29
Dominant narratives on statecraft and diplomacy tend to be extremely Euro-centric,
hindering our ability to understand state systems and the function of diplomacy predating the
creation of the Western states system. The Mali Empire, just one example among many in
precolonial Africa, was very similar, as far as institutional composition, to the Pharaonic
Egyptian Empire, but it lacked written historical documentation, which has made it nearly
impossible (until recently) to accurately compare it to European statecraft. The griot held a
multitude of positions within this empire—an advisor, a spokesman, a diplomat—his exact role
best depicted as a ruler’s right-hand-man. And thus concludes the unpacking of the “Griot and
25
Diop, Chiekh Anta. Precolonial Black Africa. (Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1987), pp. 84-85.
Hale, Thomas A. Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), pp. 31
27
Diop, pp. 85.
28
Kesteloot, Lilyan. “Power and Its Portrayal in Royal Mande Narratives” in Research in African Literatures, vol. 22, no. 1, pp
20.
29
Poulton, Robin Edward. “Griots—Mali’s Historians and Musicians” Virginia Friends of Mali. n.d. vafriendsofmali.org. 26
9
Diplomacy” Chinese nesting box set—the guardian of the word was also the carrier of the word,
the projector of the word and the negotiator of the word.
10
Works Cited
The Art of West African Kingdoms. Washington, D.C.: Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution, 1987.
Diop, Chiekh Anta. Precolonial Black Africa. (Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1987).
Hale, Thomas A. Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music. (Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1998).
Jones, Jim. “Background to: the Epic of Sundiate Keita.” West Chester University.
(Pennsylvania, 2003).
Kesteloot, Lilyan. “Power and Its Portrayal in Royal Mande Narratives” in Research in African
Literatures, vol. 22, no. 1, pp 17-26. Trans. Thomas Hale, Richard Bjornson, 1991.
Ki-Zerbo, Joseph, UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from
the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. eds. Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Djibril Tamsir Niane
(University of California Press, 1998).
Langhorne, Richard. “History and the Evolution of Diplomacy.” Diplo.edu. (1998)
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “diplomacy.”
National Assembly of France. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. National
Constituent Assembly. 1789.
Niane, D.T. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Trans. G.D. Pickett. (Essex: Longman Limited,
1965).
Numelin, Ragnar. The Beginnings of Diplomacy: a Sociological Study of Intertribal and
International Relations. (Oxford University Press, 1950).
Poulton, Robin Edward. “What Made Sunjata, The Lion King, ‘Great’?” Virginia Friends of
Mali. n.d. vafriendsofmali.org.
Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. Trans. Samuel Griffith. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963),
p. 79.
UNESCO. “Manden Charter, proclaimed in Kurukan Fuga.”United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. Web. 2009. unesco.org.
U.S. Department of State. “Diplomacy Dictionary,” s.v. “Diplomacy.” Web.
diplomacy.state.gov.
11
Yu, Ying-shih, Trade and Expansion in Han China, (Berkeley and Los Angeles, California:
University of California Press, 1967).
12