Popularizing Islamic Knowledge through Oral Epic: A Malian Bard in a Media Age.
This article explores a rather understudied feature of West African oral epics, namely its role as a channel for the transmission and popularization of Islamic religious knowledge. The documentary basis of analysis is provided by a set of oral texts performed in the Bambara language by a Malian grio...
| Published in: | Welt des Islams Vol. 49; no. 3/4; pp. 367 - 398 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Brill Academic Publishers
2009
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=45230543&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 45230543 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00432539 C6V jtl: Welt des Islams issn: 00432539 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 2009 vid: 49 iid: 3/4 pid: 639 pub: Brill Academic Publishers artinfo: ui: 45230543 10.1163/004325309X12458504137743 ppf: 367 ppct: 31 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 608KB tig: atl: Popularizing Islamic Knowledge through Oral Epic: A Malian Bard in a Media Age. aug: au: Zappa, Francesco affil: Rome su: Islamic education Religious writing Theory of knowledge Public sphere Religious disputations Sub-Saharan Africa sug: subj: Sub-Saharan Africa Islamic education Religious writing Theory of knowledge Public sphere Religious disputations keyword: BAMBARA doctrinal debates epistemology griots MALI MANDE mediatization ORAL LITERATURE popularization SUFISM TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE West Africa ab: This article explores a rather understudied feature of West African oral epics, namely its role as a channel for the transmission and popularization of Islamic religious knowledge. The documentary basis of analysis is provided by a set of oral texts performed in the Bambara language by a Malian griot (i.e. a member of an endogamous bards' lineage) and marketed in audiotape recorded form through the channels of local informal economy. Special attention is devoted to the multiple roles played by the bard in his complex relationship to Islamic knowledge. In spite of his abundant references to learned, sometimes even esoteric doctrines in texts appealing to a broad, undifferentiated audience, at a closer look the main goal of his popularizing attitude appears to be the reassertion of the legitimacy of traditionally trained local scholars and religious leaders, acting as his patrons, through a compelling magnification of their superior knowledge. What is at stake is precisely the defence of a locally rooted epistemological model against the challenges coming from Islamic reformers who promote alternative (and more rationalising) understandings of religious knowledge and authority. Seizing the new opportunities offered by the mediatization of his verbal art, the griot engages effectively in the religious debates that animate an increasingly globalised national public sphere. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Welt des Islams is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Welt des Islams holder: Brill Academic Publishers dt: @attributes: year: 2009 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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