THINGS THE GRIOT SAID

A presentation of all things Mandé: history, culture, arts, music... An ode to my people. “No matter how long a log stays in water, it does not become a crocodile.”

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Wallin Eleazar Riebel, postcard titled: “Mohammedan Pupils, Sierra Leone”

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Mandingo family, Sierra Leone" by Wallin Eleazar

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Liberia, Mandinka Men 

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FEMME BAMBARA - Bambara Woman.

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THE GRIOTS OF WEST AFRICA

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FEMME MALINKE 

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Numbers in Mandinka

1 – kiliŋ

2 – fula

3 – saba

4 – naani

5 – luulu

6 – wooro

7 – worowula

8 – sey

9 – kononto

10 – taŋ

11 – taŋ niŋ kiliŋ

12 – taŋ niŋ fula

13 – taŋ niŋ saba

14 – taŋ niŋ naani

15 – taŋ niŋ luulu

16 – taŋ niŋ wooro

17 – taŋ niŋ worowula

18 – taŋ niŋ sey

19 – taŋ niŋ kononto

20 – muwaŋ

30 – taŋ saba

40 – taŋ naani

50 – taŋ luulu

60 – taŋ wooro

70 – taŋ worowula

80 – taŋ sey

90 – taŋ konoto

100 – keme kiliŋ

1,000 – wuli kiliŋ

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Photographed and edited by Konate Primus

My brother and I took these photos March 15, 2017, my Grandma Flossie’s 93rd birthday. I was just a few months fresh from my 2016 trip, still feeling like my heart was in Senegal. 

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ALMAMY SAMORI TOURE 

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FEMME MALINKE 

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AHMED SEKOU TOURE 

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THE GRIOTS OF WEST AFRICA 

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THE GRIOTS OF WEST AFRICA

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Samory Touré (1830-1900) of the emergent Mandinka Empire in Guinea/Mali/Sierra Leone and northern Côte d'Ivoire was born in Guinea. As his new empire was taking off, Touré began to forge a new political order and ran up against the French imperialists who were also trying to extend their territories inland from their base in Dakar, Senegal.

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Time Hetherington, Libera (Mandinka Man)

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Fa, if we were in Juffure, could I be a Mandinka warrior? No, a woman cannot be a warrior in Juffure.

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For a Mandinka warrior, one horse is worth 20 men in battle. I know you have been taught to ride by your family, but not a horse like this. He is a king of a royal line that goes back to the great kings of Mali.