 the Mande "ngoni", the Wolof "xalam", the Fula "hoddu", the Soninke "gambare", and the "kora" (the 21-string harp-lute of the Mandinka griots).Griots are male members of hereditary music and word artisan castes found in certain West African Islamized peoples with similar tripartie caste systems.The griot phenomenon is limited to the various peoples of the Mande language family - some 53 related ethnic groups, such as the Bamana (or Bambara), Mandinka, Malinke, Susu, Soninke, and so on - as well as the non-Mande Wolof, the western Fulas or Fulani (; ), Songhai (also Songhay), Sereer, Lebu, and Tukulóor.)