Sex, Drugs, and Female Agency: Why Siramori Diabaté’s Song “Nanyuman” Was Such a Success in Mali and Guinea

Abstract

This article presents the lyrics of the song “Nanyuman” by Mali's legendary female griot (bard) Siramori (Sira Mory) Diabaté (c. 1925–1989). It will demonstrate how a female griot integrates into her songs topical moral discussions on the position of married women in the socialist-inspired nations of Guinea and Mali in the 1960s and 1970s. Through the voice of “Nanyuman,” the protagonist of the song, Siramori, comments in ways a male griot never could, discussing marriage, sex, men's roles as husbands, motherhood, and even the use of stimulant drugs. This source publication shows that the remarkable rise of female griots in West Africa from the 1960s onwards can be explained by new topical debates on West African society, and not only by technological innovations and new aesthetic appreciations of female voices that have received scholarly attention. The performance of “Nanyuman” also reveals Siramori's artistic and comedic talents as an entertainer, thus evidencing why she was elevated to the highest ranks of musicians in Mali.