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In many West African countries, the role of cultural guardian is maintained, as it has been for centuries, by griots. Griot—a borrowing from French—refers to an oral historian, musician, storyteller, and sometimes praise singer. (Griots are called by other names as well: jeli or jali in Mande and gewel in Wolof, for example). Griots preserve the genealogies, historical narratives, and oral traditions of their tribes. Among the instruments traditionally played by griots are two lutes: the long-necked, 21-string kora, and the khalam, thought by some to be the ancestor of the banjo.
Examples of griot in a Sentence
Ari Daniel, NPR, 27 Apr. 2025
But that’s not the case, and as the opening prologue showcases, the Irish have their own form of griots, the filidh, poets, and oral history keepers who were successors to the druids.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025
Sinners interrupts its own plot to express that the spirit of African griots will continue to take new shapes in centuries to come.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025
Music is both the subject and mechanism of Sinners, which opens with a voiceover history of how some musicians, dating back to the West African griots, have been seen as conduits between this world and the one beyond.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 22 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Griot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/griot. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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griot
noun
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