Siramori Diabaté

from the daughter to the mother .....

Siramori was first of all a descendant of the famous Diabaté griots of Kela, a village at the banks of the  Djoliba river (aka Niger), 100 kilometers southwest of Bamako. She was born  around 1925, the daughter of Bintufaama Diabate .

Being a Diabaté from Kela more or less shaped her life. The Diabaté  have long been considered
the keepers of the "true" version of the Sunjata epic and Kela is a so-called "school of oral tradition ". Siramori Diabaté   was  rolled in this tradition, and therefore she stayed in Kangaba but on the other hand  she actively participated in urban life in Bamako.

She appealed to a new generation that derived its identity primarily from being citizens of the nation state of Mali, and less from its ethnic background. Siramori is generally acknowledged as a person who bridged the old and the new and her songs are appreciated by all kinds of people, whatever their age or ethnic background .This is a remarkable achievement, and Y. F. Koné does not exaggerate when hè writes:

Rare are the jaliw who know how to speak to all Malians in their diversity
Siramory Diabaté has managed this....

 Jan Jansen from  this pdf



2 versions of the Tiramagan Fasa with Siramori Diabaté

1988 rec by Jan Jansen  with Sidiki Kouyaté on acoustic guitar

1974 rec by John W. Johnson