Sotigui Kouyaté
Encyclopedia
Sotigui Kouyaté was one of the first Burkinabé
actors. He was the father of film director Dani Kouyaté
and was a member of the Mandinka
ethnic group.
Kouyatés have served as griots for the Keita clan since the 13th century. The Kouyatés guard customs, and their knowledge is authoritative amongst Mandinkas. Keitas have to provide amenities to Kouyatés, who in turn should not hesitate to ask for Keita help. The word Kouyaté translates as "there is a secret between you and me".
Sotigui Kouyaté was born in Mali
to Guinea
n parents and is Burkinabé by adoption. When he was a child, he enjoyed koteba performances. He once played on the Burkina Faso national football team
. Kouyaté began his theatre career in 1966, when he appeared as adviser to the king in a historical play produced by his friend Boubacar Dicko. That year, he founded a theatre company in 1966 with 25 people and soon wrote his first play, The Crocodile’s Lament.
Kouyaté has worked with Peter Brook
on his theater and film projects since they became associated with one another while working on Brook's adaptation of the Indian epic, The Mahabharata, in 1983. Kouyaté has appeared in over two dozen films, most recently as Jacob in Genesis and Alioune in Little Senegal. Kouyaté played the central role of Djeliba Kouyaté in Dani Kouyaté's 1995 film Keïta! l'Héritage du griot
, who was imagined as an old dying man by his son, though was portrayed as more forceful than that. The elder Kouyaté also plays instruments, simple melodies on the kora
or flute
.
From 1990 to 1996 Kouyaté toured the United States and Europe as part of La Voix du Griot ("Voice of the Griot"), a storytelling theater show which he founded. When asked in an October 2001 interview whether he felt he was carrying a message to Africa, he replied:
In 2009, Kouyaté won a Silver Bear at the Berlinale Filmfestival for his acting. He played the male main character in Rachid Bouchareb
's drama London River
, about the 2005 London bombings. On 17 April 2010, he died in Paris
.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
actors. He was the father of film director Dani Kouyaté
Dani Kouyaté
Dani Kouyaté is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".-Biography:...
and was a member of the Mandinka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
ethnic group.
Kouyatés have served as griots for the Keita clan since the 13th century. The Kouyatés guard customs, and their knowledge is authoritative amongst Mandinkas. Keitas have to provide amenities to Kouyatés, who in turn should not hesitate to ask for Keita help. The word Kouyaté translates as "there is a secret between you and me".
Sotigui Kouyaté was born in Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
to Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n parents and is Burkinabé by adoption. When he was a child, he enjoyed koteba performances. He once played on the Burkina Faso national football team
Burkina Faso national football team
The Burkina Faso national football team, nicknamed Les Etalons , is the national team of Burkina Faso and is controlled by the Fédération Burkinabé de Foot-Ball. They were known as the Upper Volta national football team until 1984, when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso...
. Kouyaté began his theatre career in 1966, when he appeared as adviser to the king in a historical play produced by his friend Boubacar Dicko. That year, he founded a theatre company in 1966 with 25 people and soon wrote his first play, The Crocodile’s Lament.
Kouyaté has worked with Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
on his theater and film projects since they became associated with one another while working on Brook's adaptation of the Indian epic, The Mahabharata, in 1983. Kouyaté has appeared in over two dozen films, most recently as Jacob in Genesis and Alioune in Little Senegal. Kouyaté played the central role of Djeliba Kouyaté in Dani Kouyaté's 1995 film Keïta! l'Héritage du griot
Keïta! l'Héritage du griot
Keïta! l'Héritage du griot is a 1995 Burkinabé drama film directed by Dani Kouyaté and starring Sotigui Kouyaté.-Cast:*Seydou Boro: Sundjata Keita*Hamed Dicko: Mabo Keïta*Abdoulaye Komboudri: Drissa Fafana...
, who was imagined as an old dying man by his son, though was portrayed as more forceful than that. The elder Kouyaté also plays instruments, simple melodies on the kora
Kora (instrument)
The kora is a 21-string bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.-Description:A kora is built from a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin to make a resonator, and has a notched bridge. It does not fit well into any one category of western instruments and would have to be...
or flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
.
From 1990 to 1996 Kouyaté toured the United States and Europe as part of La Voix du Griot ("Voice of the Griot"), a storytelling theater show which he founded. When asked in an October 2001 interview whether he felt he was carrying a message to Africa, he replied:
In 2009, Kouyaté won a Silver Bear at the Berlinale Filmfestival for his acting. He played the male main character in Rachid Bouchareb
Rachid Bouchareb
Rachid Bouchareb is a French film director of Algerian descent.From 1977 to 1983, he worked as an assistant director for France’s state television production company, Société française de production . Subsequetly, he worked for broadcasters TF1 and Antenne 2...
's drama London River
London River
London River is a 2009 British drama film, written and produced by Franco-Algerian film director Rachid Bouchareb. Starring Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyaté, it centres on the journey of a Muslim man and a Christian woman as they search for their respective children following the London bombings...
, about the 2005 London bombings. On 17 April 2010, he died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.