jeliya

English

Etymology

From Bambara jeliya (literally “being a jeli; 'jeli-ness'”).

Noun

jeliya (uncountable)

1. The traditional music of the jeli (or griot) caste of the Mande people.
   • 2013, Lucy Durán, “POYI! Bamana jeli music, Mali and the blues”, in Journal of African Cultural Studies, volume 9, number 25, Routledge, →DOI, →JSTOR, page 231:

     In the absence of Bamana music on the scene in Bamako, some foreign scholars even concluded that all jeliya, the music of the Mande jeliw, is essentially heptatonic.

Bambara

Noun

jeliya (uncountable)

1. (literally) The state or quality of being a jeli.
2. The essential traditions, practices and art of the jeliw.
3. The traditional music of the jeliw.