Nyama and Heka: African Concepts of the Word

Abstract

Knowledge of the West African griot epic has advanced enormously in the last fifteen years with the publication of volumes by Thomas Hale, Scribe, Griot, Novelist: Narrative Interpreters of the Songhay Empire1 and Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music,2 Stephen Belcher, Epic Traditions of Africa',3 and Barbara G. Hoffman, Griots At War: Conflict, Conciliation, and Caste in Mande.4 Despite the richness of these studies, the concept of nyama, the Mande word for occult "power" or "means," has remained a secondary concern of African cultural criticism.

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