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Before colonization there were important figures, the guardians: they were counselors, masters of ceremonies, and guardians of the people soul and memories. During war times these guardians were important prisoners because there were considered as a source of great powers, those with access to the secrets of the villages from many generations.

Nowadays these guardians known as the Griot still tell stories dated from many centuries past. The stories are not written down, but they flow from the memories of the guardians. They tell the stories with the beat of the drum and other traditional instruments that gives life to the words.

This painting relates the knowledge of the ancients and that is what makes it important to me. The Griots keep the secrets of the art of living and of the philosophies of life. In this painting the guardian shares his knowledge at court at the king’s request. A drummer, as well as an Inzad (a single stringed instrument with a resonance chamber composed of a gourd on which a goat skin is stretched) player, accompany the Griot’s story telling.

The king pictured here is Mbuombuo from the Bamum kingdom; a province in Cameroon who lived around the 14^th century. Mbuombuo became famous because of his many military exploits as well as in success in extending the borders of his kingdom from the Mbam River to the Noun River. The Bamum territory still retains its borders to this day. Mbuombuo along with his counselors, many wives and guards, sit transfixed by the story of the Griot.

With this painting I wanted to portray the intellectual and spiritual powers confronted to the material and military forces.

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This painting, the Griot was used in the book “The Atlantic World”  (1^st Edition, 2007, Harlan Davidson editions)

 

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