griot

gri·ot  (gr-, gr, grt)

n.

A storyteller in western Africa who perpetuates the oral tradition and history of a village or family.

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[French, alteration of guiriot, perhaps ultimately from Portuguese criado, domestic servant, from Latin cretus, one brought up or trained, from past participle of crere, to produce, bring up; see create.]

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griot [ˈgriːəʊ griːˈɒt]

n

(Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology) (in Western Africa) a member of a caste responsible for maintaining an oral record of tribal history in the form of music, poetry, and storytelling

[from French guirot, perhaps from Portuguese criado domestic servant]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

griot - a storyteller in West Africa; perpetuates the oral traditions of a family or village narrator, storyteller, teller - someone who tells a story