Griots and Griottes (also called bards or jeli) — masters of words and music, have been around for a millennium. Over time, the griots' function has changed as society evolved. Once, the male griots and female griottes were historians, advisers to nobility, entertainers, messengers, praise singers — the list goes on.
Today, they perform on television and radio and record CDs. Many are popular singers who reinterpret traditional songs, giving new meaning to old words. As performers, griots and griottes are in great demand, not only for ceremonies and parties in West Africa, where they have traditionally appeared, but all around the world especially in the West where they give Westerners an insight into African culture.
In ancient Mande society, the jeli was as a historian, advisor, arbitrator, praise singer (patronage), and storyteller. Essentially, these musicians were walking history books, preserving their ancient stories and traditions through song. Their inherited tradition was passed down through generations. Their name, jeli, means "blood" in Manika language. They were said to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers as music is associated as such. Speech is also said to have power as it can recreate history and relationships.
In the Mali empire, each aristocratic family of griots accompanied a higher-ranked family of warrior-kings or emperors, which they called jatigi. In traditional culture, no griot can be without a jatigi, and no jatigi can be without a griot; the two are inseparable, and worthless without the other. However, the jatigi can accept a "loan" of his griot to another jatigi.
Most villages also had their own griot, who told tales of births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs, and hundreds of other things.
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