Like birds in a nest we would squeeze ourselves together
Together in a circle, in the middle of which burns a great fire
Amongst us is our Grandfather who tells us great stories of our ancestors, histories and myths.
Captivating our minds and hearts as the fire warms our bodies.
Astonishing stories make us wish we could see our ancestors as they lived, spoke and fought
Stories whose impact brought to us the meaning of life and explanation of our origin.
In the story, our ancestors had gods, gods who provided for everything
They conquered the lands of their enemies as great warriors.
Great warriors, who also brought great knowledge and gifts.
Our lives changed each night as we heard these stories,
The stories of heaven and people, gods and man
The stories of Earths’ beginning and the creation of our land, stories of love and peace
These stories all became part of us.
Stories promising a positive tomorrow each time they crossed our minds
Each night before we would finally retire to our beds these stories became ritual.
The stories were like our final prayer
Sometimes we skipped meals, replacing them with these great stories
We would scramble for a seat next to Grandfather, the Griot.
Once we were all settled, he would start with our first ancestors
The ones before them and conclude with the ones after them
Each story came with a song, which we would recite or sing to ourselves.
Singing the songs while pondering Durra
The great stories of our history which I hope Griots shall forever tell
by Nyibol Magok
