A socio-political perspective on Griot culture in West African societies

The colonial policies that Africa has been subjected to for centuries and the economic and social phenomena that result from those policies have had a profound impact on African art, especially music and narratives accompanied or integrated with music. In this regard, the Griot culture, the very focus of this study, deserves a special case: It is approached and examined in the context of politics ruining West Africa and social turmoils thereupon, based on the colonial background and consequent drawbacks and deadlocks in economics and politics henceforward, disabling or at least delaying the integration of Africa with the rest of the World. The subject matters of the study's subsections are the interpretations of how the influence of West African sociality shapes Griot culture and how music is instrumentalized within this context. With the example of Griot music, the functionality of music is explored along with critical readings of the processes that operate through the cultures of "marginal" and "peripheral" societies. It has also been discussed how the dichotomy between traditionalism and modernity and postmodern paradigms impacts the culture of Griots in West Africa and farther afield—besides, recent developments in the global dimension are also considered. Additionally, the narratives and audial structures of Griot music were examined concerning the stratification system in West African societies where this culture was born and continues to exist. Music's functions, instrumentality, and critical position, etc. were discussed within the realms of phenomena, such as identity discourses, belief systems, capital structures, and gender inequality, a.o. Based on all of these considerations, mentioning one of the world's most "eccentric" music genres, it can be argued that music considered "peripheral" is at least as worthy of consideration as common, "dominant" music. As an alternative to the "reception" processes developed based on "Eurocentric" ideologies due to their political agendas, this study focusing on Griot culture as an example for all cultures and music seen as "marginal" and living through similar processes, is based on a field work done in the very source-environment of Griot music and trying to spot its political and artistic connotations in a social-scientific perspective, aims to be a modest but motivating contribution to the literature.