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Griots and the kora
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Genre
Griots and the kora · In the Mali Empire, which Sundiata Keita founded around 1235, the jeli or griots became the memory of society. These hereditary families of singers and musicians know genealogies and heroic tales by heart and pass them on orally, accompanied by the balafon, the ngoni lute and the kora, a harp with 21 strings. The balafon that, according to tradition, already belonged to Sundiata is still kept by the Kouyaté family in Niagassola.
Listening
Listening tip. Foday Musa Suso, a griot from Gambia, sings and plays the story of Sunjata, the founder of the Mali Empire. Listen to how the kora repeats and varies a short pattern while the voice above it tells the tale.
Sunjata · Foday Musa Suso, 1976
Jarabi · Toumani Diabaté, 1988
Ngoni fola · Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, 2006
See also
Categories: Genres