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A griot; one of a class of musicians/storytellers of West Africa. Jelis usually accompany themselves on the kora, a type of harp/lute found in the Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Mauritania, or on the xalam, a one- to five-stringed small lutelike or banjolike plucked string instrument. The female counterpart to a jeli is called jelimuso.
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