Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
an ''
griot
A griot (; ; Manding languages, Manding: or (in N'Ko script, N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicatin ...
te'', a storyteller. Her first name is sometimes given as Sira Mori and Siramory, while her last name is sometimes spelled Jabaté.
Biography
Diabaté was born in the village of Kela, in the
Koulikoro Region
Koulikoro Region ( Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kulikoro Dineja) is a region in western Mali. It is the second administrative area of Mali and covers an area of 90,120 km2. Its capital is the city of Koulikoro.
Geography
The ...
of Mali. The town is famous for the griots born there, and Diabaté was from a family notable for its talents. Her grandfather, Kelabalaba, was said to be the first member of his extended family to be the official reciter of the Sundiata Epic, while her father, Bintu'amma, was well known as a musician, especially for his prowess on the '' ngoni''. Diabaté herself was part of a younger generation, which learned from its roots but which incorporated facets of modern urban life into its performances. She began to develop a regional reputation by the early 1940s, particularly for her song "Sara", about a young woman torn between the
arranged marriage
Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...
her parents desire and her own wish to marry for love.
She also recited the Sundiata Epic; her performances of this and other songs led to interest from
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
ethnomusicologist
Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...
s, and their recordings increased her popularity even further, to the point that she was better known than most male griots, even. The socialist Malian government presented her as a figure of cultural pride and regularly played her music on state radio. She continued to be visited by anthropologists and historians into the 1970s. Diabaté was greatly influential to the next generation of Malian musicians, such as
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta () (born 25 August 1949) is a Malian singer-songwriter, referred to as the "Golden Voice of Africa". He is a member of the Keita royal family of Mali.
Early life
Salif Keita was born a traditional prince in the village of Djolib ...
and
Rokia Traoré
Rokia Traoré (born 24. January 1974) is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist.
She made six albums between 1998 and 2016. ''Bowmboï'' (2003) won the Critics Award category at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2004 and ''Tcham ...
, and she worked with Western scholars such as Barbara Hoffman as well. She was once described as "knowing all the Mandé".
It was often rumored that Diabaté had used supernatural means to affect the quality of her voice. While singing, she sometimes accompanied herself on the
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
. Relatively few of her performances survived on disc, although a handful were recorded in 1974 and others several months before her death. These are still available on compact disc. She was married to
balafon
The balafon (pronounced , or, by analogy with ''xylophone'' etc., ) is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé peoples, Mandé, Bwaba Bobo people, Bobo, Senufo people, Seno ...
player Nankoman Kouyaté; several of their children have also become musicians, and two of her nephews are singers,
Kassé Mady Diabaté
Kassé Mady Diabaté (1949, in Kela, Kangaba, Mali – May 24, 2018, in Bamako) was a Malian singer, musician and griot. His soft and particular voice with deep undertones – an atypical characteristic for a griot – earned him the nickname "T ...
and
Abdoulaye Diabaté
Abdoulaye Diabaté is a singer and guitarist who was born to a griot family in Kela, Mali in 1956.