I’d love to invite some actual Griots for a Q and A one day so stay tuned! And maybe I'll also take you on my journey to learning to speak Igbo fluently. If you know of any good Igbo language learning resources, please share!
Shout out to my sister Chi, who helped compile all of this information. Image at right, courtesy of Wikimedia.
Resources to learn Igbo:
Umu Igbo Unite
@Igbopodcast
Igbo language-Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_language
Ibo-Language Information &Resources https://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Ibo
Igbo language, alphabet and pronunciation-Omniglot https://omniglot.com/writing/Igbo.htm
Igbo About World Languages
https://aboutworldlanguages.com/Igbo
Igbo Ethnologue
https:www.ethnologue.com/language/Igbo
Igbo- languagesgulper.com https:www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Igbo.html
Igbo culture and Igbo language
https://www.igboguide.org
Igbo People, Tribe, Language, Culture,Religion,Food,Women,Facts https://buzznigeria.com/5-things-everyone-should-should-know-about-Igbo-culture
Igbo-Introduction,Location,Language,Folklore,Religion,Major holidays, Rites of passage-World Culture Encyclopedia
https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Igbo.html
Igbo people
https://www.britanica.com/topic/Igbo
By the way, a female Griot is a Griotte (funny similarity to the GrioTees company name).
There are many Griots among us. If you are a poet, you’re a Griot. If you are a storyteller and write, you are a Griot. If you are a teacher, you're a Griot. If you are a musician and you use music to convey a story, you are a Griot. If you are a rapper, you are a Griot. I’ve come across many links of rapper MosDef (now Yasiin Bey) connecting him to being a modern day Griot. In my opinion, a griot could be that family member that knows all the traditions, and knows about every member of the family.
So combine that concept of a Griot with the concept of communication, connection, and language. That is the purpose of these tshirts—it tells a story about the person wearing the shirt, whether it is the language that they themselves speak, or a language they appreciate, or a language that they themselves want to learn. The shirts are the educators, the ambassadors of language and cultural connection—and helps to expand interest in African languages. And hopefully that reinforces cultural pride and worth that can hopefully lead to overall wellness. There you have it. GrioTees.
p.s. There’s a Griot connection to Wakanda, the land of Marvel’s Black Panther Movie from 2018. I’m not a comicbook head but if you are, please provide more info. Apparently Shuri, King T’Challa’s tech-savvy sister, met with some Wakandan Griots. I would even go as far to say that Forest Whitaker’s character in the Black Panther movie, Zuri, was a Griot in Wakanda. (Funny enough, I wonder if they based Zuri off of the Swahili name for beautiful which is Nzuri, which is a part of the GrioTees collection. Hmmm, some body get Chadwick Boseman on the line…I have some questions. Lol)