De quelle tradition vient Gassire?

Il appartient à l'épopée soninké du Wagadu, ancien empire ouest-africain aussi appelé Ghana. Le récit a été recueilli et publié par l'ethnologue allemand Leo Frobenius en 1921, dans le cycle du chant Dausi.

Pourquoi le luth de Gassire ne chante-t-il pas?

Un sage lui révèle que l'instrument ne s'animera qu'après avoir été porté au combat et imprégné du sang de ses fils. Plusieurs de ses fils meurent avant que le luth ne chante enfin.

L'histoire de Gassire est-elle historique?

Les chercheurs la tiennent surtout pour une légende étiologique expliquant l'origine du griot. C'est le seul récit rapporté par Frobenius qui n'a pas été confirmé par d'autres sources, ce qui a suscité des doutes sur son authenticité.

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GASSIRE

ally

Hero

☥ SpiritSoninké →Soninké — SoninkéElder

Gender: MasculineSign: musique

Gassire is the central hero of Gassire's Lute, an epic attributed to the Soninke people of West Africa and associated with the empire of Wagadu, the old Ghana. The narrative was collected by the ethnologist Leo Frobenius and published in 1921, then attached to the cycle of the Dausi, the song that tells the history and destiny of Wagadu. A prince, son of Nganamba, Gassire renounces ruling because his father refuses to die and yield him the throne. A sage foretells that he will become not a king but a diari, the Soninke equivalent of the griot. Gassire obtains a lute that remains mute: the instrument will sing only after being carried into battle and stained with the blood of his sons. Over the course of the battles, several of his sons perish, until the lute at last comes alive. Driven out for his violence, Gassire ends by singing in the desert. Specialists note that this narrative, the only one of Frobenius's not corroborated elsewhere, probably belongs to the aetiological legend on the origin of the griot.

Powers & Attributes

music

Role in the ROHO universe

Weaver of the currents. GASSIRE watches over the flow of the waters and the fluid memory that binds the worlds within the Mabioni. Bound to the Soninke pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of music, embodiment of the power of Gassire

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

From which tradition does Gassire come?

He belongs to the Soninke epic of Wagadu, an old West African empire also called Ghana. The narrative was collected and published by the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius in 1921, in the cycle of the Dausi song.

Why does Gassire's lute not sing?

A sage reveals to him that the instrument will come alive only after being carried into battle and steeped in the blood of his sons. Several of his sons die before the lute at last sings.

Is the story of Gassire historical?

Scholars hold it above all for an aetiological legend explaining the origin of the griot. It is the only narrative reported by Frobenius that has not been confirmed by other sources, which has raised doubts about its authenticity.

Related spirits

MAHALBIYA MAKERI NANDI PHEBELE

Sources and references

Wikipedia: Gassire's Lute (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gassire's_Lute)
Leo Frobenius, African Genesis (1937)