Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between griots and political leadership in precolonial West African societies, and the lessons this relationship provides for contemporary statemedia relations in Africa. The griots were a caste of oral historians and musicians who served many social and cultural functions within their communities. They enjoyed, amongst other things, the patronage of traditional political leaders who, in exchange for support and counsel, became the source of subsistence for the griots. This research finds that the mutual co-dependency that characterized the griot-patron relationship is a model for state-media relations in Africa today. Amidst the rising consolidation of control over the media by governments and calls for the largescale privatization of media institutions, the griot-state relationship reveals the possibility of a third option, characterized by productive coexistence. Thus, the griot-state relationship is evidence of the wealth of lessons available in precolonial African history for African governance today.

Keywords: Griot, Mass media, State-media relations, Postcolonialism, Griot patronage