The Griot
Saturday, July 24th, 2010All words are a symbol. Symbols structure behavior, basic feelings and thoughts of human beings. A fully developed community is a composite of complex and systematized organizations of symbols.
The word Griot is an archetypal polyglot out of which many symbols emerge. It symbolizes Black thought, Black communication, Black education, and Black religion. It symbolizes that part of our mind which contains all of the accumulated knowledge of our ancestor’s, past, present and future… bridging time and space… connecting the ancient Twa people, the Homo Erectus (who originated in the Great Lake region of Africa at the head of the Nile Valley) and us today. Embodied in the word Griot is the philosophical concept of the oneness of ALL, and the ability to identify with and tap into any fraction of that oneness. To meditate on the word Griot is to begin to unearth its obvious and not so obvious meaning. This turning in process will connect us with our ancient African roots along the Nile valley. This self-definng step helps to reconcile and reunite the opposites within our psyche.
The ultimate purpose of the rivercityGriot is to activate this self realizing process by projecting more light.
The Sankofa” Bird’ is sometimes called the bird of passage and transformation. Its underlying message represents our need to go back to our roots inorder to move forward. The need to reach back and gather the best of us. What has been lost, forgotten or has been striped from us can be reclaimed, preserved and perpetuated.