In the previous articles on Mali music, we said something about the kora and other calabash harps, which are the trademark of this culture. Today, I’m going to present the rest of the Malian instruments, used in various parts of the country, and in the neighbouring areas influenced by the Mandinka tradition.
First of all, there is the balafon. It is a kind of a wooden xylophone, with 16 to 27 keys, depending on the type. Originated in Mali, its roots trace back to the 12th century at least, when it was played in the royal courts of the great Mali Empire. Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported the existence of the ngoni and balafon at the court of Malian ruler Mansa Musa. Records of balafon players exist in the chronicles of the Atlantic Slave Trade, which brought some of the players in the Americas. The instrument has seen a resurgence since the 1980s in the growth of African Roots Music and World Music. Most famous of these exponents is the Rail Band, led by Salif Keita. Other notable balafon players are Kélétigui Diabaté, N'Faly Kouyate, Neba Solo, Lassana Diabaté, all from Mali, as well as some western musicians like Bill Summers, Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Liston Smith, etc. A modern festival devoted to the balafon, the Triangle du balafon, now takes place annually at Sikasso in Mali.
Another instrument characteristic for the music of Mali is the ngoni or "n'goni", a string instrument made of either wood or calabash, with dried animal (often goat) skin head stretched over it. It is similar to the calabash harps, but it is smaller and can produce fast melodies. It is used by the griots, and its use is generally ceremonial. It is believed that the banjo evolved from the ngoni when the instrument was brought to America with the slave trade. Most notable players are Banzumana Sissoko, Cheick Hamala Diabate, Issa Bagayogo, Bassekou Kouyate, Baba Sissoko, and others.
Another string instrument is the njarka is a small fiddle made from a gourd (a fruit from Bignoniaceae "calabash tree", Crescentia and Amphitecna), with one gut string. This instrument is native to Mali, with Ali Farka Touré being the most notable njarka player. A variant of this instrument is the soku, used in Wassoulou music, which originated in the Wasulu region of southwest Mali.
African music, in general, is known for the drumming and the percussion instruments used for that matter. Mali music is no exception. But for African people drumming is not only playing of rhythms - it is a spiritual discipline which honours the power of nature, long distance sound communication, the belief of cause and effect. In West African ritualistic traditions, drummers are present to support ceremonies of birth, coming of age and marriage. Rhythm marks nature's cycles, accompanying farmers to sow and harvest crops. Drumming is a communal activity that demands participation from everybody in the form of clapping, singing and dancing. By participating you honour the people being celebrated.
One of the most popular percussion instruments is the djembe (or jembe,) a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum, played with bare hands. Its name comes from the saying "Anke djé, anke bé" which translates to "everyone gather together in peace" and defines the drum's communal purpose. The djembe can produce a wide variety of sounds, making it a most versatile drum, because it is very loud, it can be heard clearly as a solo instrument over a large percussion ensemble. The Malinké people say that a skilled drummer is one who "can make the djembe talk." It is played by men only, and even in modern African societies today, it’s a rarity to see women play the djembe. The instrument first came to the attention of audiences outside West Africa with the efforts of Fodéba Keïta, who, in 1952, founded “Les Ballets Africains.” with whom he toured extensively in Europe and promoted the drum. In the United States, Ladji Camara, a member of Ballets Africains in the 1950s, started teaching djembe in the 1960s and continued to teach into the 1990s. Camara performed extensively with Babatunde Olatunji during the 1970s, significantly raising awareness of the instrument in the US. Notable djembe players nowadays are Soungalo Coulibaly (Mali), Abdoulaye Diakite(Senegal), Yamadu Bani Dunbia (Mali), Mamady Keïta(Guinea), Drissa Kone (Mali), and others.
The djembe is a solo drum, usually accompanied by other drums belonging to the family of percussion instruments called the dunun (also spelled dundun or doundoun.) All together they make up the Mande drum ensemble. A dunun is a rope-tuned cylindrical drum with a rawhide skin at both ends, most commonly cow or goat, and it is played horizontally with a stick. There are three types of dunun drums, depending on the size. The largest is the dundunba (also spelled dununba), which has the lowest pitch of all of the three. The second in line is the sangban, which is typically 50-60 cm in length and 30-40 cm in diameter. The third one, with the highest pitch, is the kenkeni. All of the dunun drums are always played in an ensemble with one or more djembes. There are two primary playing styles for dununs. The traditional style has each player using a single drum resting on its side, either on the floor or on a stand, and striking the head with one mallet and a bell mounted on top with the other. A melody is created across the interplay of the three dununs. For the other style, known as ballet style as it is used in the National Ballets, one player has command of the three dununs standing on the floor, allowing a more complex arrangement for the dance.
The bara (also called bendré) is a spherical hand drum with a body made from a dried gourd or calabash, used in primarily in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Mali. Its single head is made of goatskin. To make the drum, a dried gourd is cut on one end, and a single head made of goatskin is stretched across the opening. Bara drums come in various sizes, some quite large. The instrument is often used to accompany the balafon. The bara has been utilized in the music of the Malian musicians Yaya Diallo and Habib Koité.
There are many variants of these instruments, depending on the region they developed in. There are also other, ritualistically not important, but very prominent percussion instruments like the shekere, an instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads woven into a net covering the gourd. Like the dunun drums, and unlike the djembe, it can be played by women also. In modern Mali music, musicians adopted Western instruments, like the electric and acoustic guitar, the bass, keyboards, etc. But since they are not tightly connected with the tradition, we're not going to write about those.
Next time in the series about the music of Mali, we’re going to start with the modern history of this tradition, in other words, with the revival that happened after Mali gained its independance. For those that are interested in the previous articles, but didn’t have the opportunity to read them, here are the links:
THE MUSIC OF MALI VOL.1 - THE GRIOTS
THE MUSIC OF MALI VOL.2 - THE KORA
THE MUSIC OF MALI VOL.3 - OTHER CALABASH HARPS
