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The Jeli ( fem. Jelimuso pl. Jeliw) in Mande society was history and tradition personified, a social class whose birthright is the knowledge of the ancestors. Passed down from father to son and mother to daughter, their craft, know as jeliyaa sits at the intersection of song, dance, music and storytelling.
What’s the relationship between the Village and the Jeli? As the student is to the teacher and as the audience is to a performer, the village is the reason for the jeli. Jeliw keeps the knowledge, preserving it with integrity so that the members of the village might know from where they have come, where they are going, and the path to get there.
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