56:, and Massa Makan Diabaté once said that he owed much to his uncle's teaching: "I am what Kèlè Monson wanted me to be when he initiated me into the Malinké oral tradition. And I’ll say that I betrayed him by writing novels. I’m the child of Kélé Monson, but a traitorous child." Diabaté began training as a griot at the age of seven, though his training would later be interrupted to allow him to study in
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norms to eat donkey meat. The butcher is, in this sense, abandoning his traditional role and responsibilities. However, the residents of Kouta benefit greatly from the availability of affordable meat. Diabaté demonstrates that sometimes norms must be broken, and tradition must be betrayed, in order
180:“The griots died before the arrival of the Whites, when our kings, instead of uniting against a common danger, tore each other to shreds. Today’s griots are nothing more than public entertainers who sing the praises of just about anybody… Chief of the Griots!...But griots no longer exist.”
235:, the instinct to compete with and rebel against those models of past times, embodied by the father and paternal lineage… it is this desire to distinguish oneself from one's ancestors that promotes the creation of new forms of expression and the individual discovery of new aesthetics.
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Although a griot himself, Diabaté came to see his contemporaries as parasites and beggars who often perverted history and abused their roles in pursuit of wealth: “After Mali’s independence, griots became, in my opinion, what I would a call a parasite.” The state of griots was a key
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However, Diabaté also believed that the image of the griot was reparable, and he saw literature as a catalyst to achieving that end. While he perhaps derived his initial legitimacy due to his belonging to the
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was dominant. But given Diabaté’s evaluation of contemporaneous griots, it is no surprise that he sought distinction by abandoning the oral tradition, and temporarily his homeland.
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is a centripetal force in that it drives the artist to create within a tradition in accordance with the canons embodied by his father and paternal lineage. The second force is
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is, however, ultimately positive, as competition is a creative force. When he returned to Mali, drawn back by his commitment to the community and country that raised him, his
251:, that which he created was incorporated into the tradition. By introducing the written word to the keepers of the oral tradition, Diabaté effectively changed the canons.
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on
January 27, 1988. The Malian government has named two high schools after him, one in Bamako and the other in his home region of
192:, he sought to return the role of the griot to its former glory by betraying that tradition in favour of the written word.
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Diabaté took on the role of griot as this was assigned to him by his lineage. In his younger years, as is often the case,
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Diabaté’s biographer, Cheick M. Chérif Keïta, views Diabaté’s life, and many of his works, as the result of a
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represents the artist's attachment to the forms and practices that existed in society before his birth…
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is a defining characteristic of the Malian hero, the paradigm of which being the
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48:, Massa Makan Diabaté was the descendant of a long line of West African poets (
122:, bringing Diabaté his first international recognition. His trilogy of novels
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439:"Howard University Libraries - African & Caribbean Literature in French"
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268:, and Diabaté features it prominently in his own novels. For example, in
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60:. He eventually moved to Paris, where he studied history, sociology, and
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Massa Makan
Diabate: Un griot mandingue a la rencontre de l'ecriture
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before working for a number of international organisations such as
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he elucidates his concerns through one of his characters:
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The Eagle and the
Sparrowhawk or the Gesture of Soundjata
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79:, Diabaté settled into an administrative post in
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395:Un Griot mandingue à la rencontre de l’écriture
313:L'aigle et l'épervier ou la geste de Soundjata
97:L'aigle et l'épervier ou la geste du Soundjata
295:Janjon et autres chants populaires du Mali
103:, 1975), were French-language versions of
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32:(June 12, 1938 – January 27, 1988) was a
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16:Malian historian, author, and playwright
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89:Janjon and other popular songs of Mali
308:(Bamako, Editions Populaires du Mali)
290:(Bamako, Editions Populaires du Mali)
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120:Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire
397:. Paris: Editions L'Harmattan, 1995.
359:(Paris, éditions Présence Africaine)
345:(Paris, éditions Présence Africaine)
163:Redefining and reclaiming the griot
36:historian, author, and playwright.
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529:Malian dramatists and playwrights
322:(play) (Paris, O.R.T.F / D.A.E.C)
534:Male dramatists and playwrights
417:Research in African Literatures
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320:Une si belle leçon de patience
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210:between two opposing forces,
151:Massa Makan Diabaté died in
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457:"Lycée Massa Makan Diabaté"
277:to effect positive change.
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579:20th-century male writers
393:Keïta, Cheick M. Chérif.
343:Comme une piqûre de guêpe
419:30.2: (237–240), p. 237.
366:(Paris, Editions Hâtier)
352:(Paris, Editions Hâtier)
338:(Paris, Editions Hâtier)
331:(Paris, Editions Hâtier)
315:(Paris, éditions Oswald)
574:20th-century historians
174:L'assemblée des djinns,
564:20th-century novelists
559:People from Kita, Mali
492:L'assemblée des djinns
383:All books in paperback
357:L'assemblée des djinns
328:Le lieutenant de Kouta
265:Epic of Sundiata Keita
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288:Si le feu s'éteignait
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336:Le coiffeur de Kouta
146:The Butcher of Kouta
544:Malian male writers
482:Keïta 1995, p. 119.
377:Massa Makan Diabaté
350:Le boucher de Kouta
270:Le boucher de Kouta
134:Le boucher de Kouta
30:Massa Makan Diabaté
25:Massa Makan Diabaté
503:Keïta 1995, p.9-10
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389:Other references:
299:Présence Africaine
254:This dialectic of
83:. His early works
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554:Malian historians
411:Hale, Thomas A. "
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297:(Paris, éditions
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130:Le coiffeur
114:. In 1971,
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443:howard.edu
371:References
142:The Barber
494:, p.62-63
306:Kala Jata
208:dialectic
112:folktales
93:Kala Jata
91:, 1970),
40:Biography
401:Notes:
260:Fadenya
245:Fadenya
232:Fadenya
216:Fadenya
201:Fadenya
187:Malinké
105:Malinké
274:Muslim
256:Fasiya
249:Fasiya
241:Fasiya
227:Fasiya
223:Fasiya
212:Fasiya
197:Fasiya
153:Bamako
144:, and
132:, and
116:Janjon
81:Bamako
70:UNESCO
66:UNICEF
58:Guinea
50:griots
34:Malian
362:1986
355:1985
348:1982
341:1980
334:1980
325:1979
318:1973
311:1975
304:1970
293:1970
286:1967
170:theme
157:Kayes
108:epics
54:griot
258:and
214:and
199:and
110:and
77:Mali
46:Kita
68:or
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