In the heart of Guinea-Bissau, archaeologists and griots-counters of traditional West African stories-are uniting forces to unravel the forgotten history of the Kaabu kingdom.
The powerful Empire of West Africa prospered from the mid-fifteenth century to the nineteenth century, extending to Senegal and Gambia.
It is a legacy that has survived largely thanks to the oral traditions transmitted by griots over generations. In Councilorformer Kaabu capital, new archaeological evidence aligns with some of these stories told in the region.
In the one that is the largest archaeological movement ever made in Guinea-Bissau, led by the National Council of Research in Spain, traces of trade with Europeans were found, such as bottles of Dutch Gin.
Archaeologists are also finding signs of the kingdom’s dramatic fall in the decade, allegedly in the year 1867, triggered by an explosion of gunpowder triggered by Kaabu’s last ruler during a siege of the prolonged religious war against the Fula, known as the Kansala war.
For centuries, the griots played a vital role in maintaining the memory of Kaabu’s rulers and events. Their narratives, often executed with the koraan instrument of traditional ropes, continue to be fundamental to the cultural identity of the region.
Among those who continue this tradition is Nino Galissa, musician and descendant of the griots who once served the court of Kaabu. His latest song, inspired by archaeological works, serves as a bridge between the oral past and the scientific present. “The griots have already sang it, but now we know it’s real.”
