Sentence:  <WSD>Griots</WSD> may be the chroniclers of an important family or of a group of people — like the Bambara hunters' <WSD>griot</WSD> — or itinerant poets and musicians who extol the praises of the person who has hired them for a special festivity. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A West African storyteller who passes on oral traditions; a wandering musician and poet.