The kora: West Africa's 21-string harp of the griots
Made from a gourd, cow skin and hardwood, it is played by jali families who keep history alive in song.
Lire cet article en français →
Banjul — Few sounds are as distinctive as the kora. Played across Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, this 21-string instrument sounds like a harp but, played in the traditional way, can recall a flamenco or blues guitar.
How it is made
A kora is built from a large gourd cut in half and covered with cow skin to make the sound box, with a long hardwood neck. Its 21 strings, each playing a different note, run in two rows over a notched, free-standing bridge. Because it has features of both, scholars class it as a "double-bridged harp-lute".
How it is played
The player holds two handles on either side of the strings and plucks with both hands. Skilled players weave a repeating pattern called kumbengo together with improvised runs called birimintingo, at the same time.
Keepers of memory
Kora players traditionally come from jali families of the Mandinka, hereditary historians, genealogists and storytellers who pass their skills from one generation to the next.
Although the instrument is played across the region, tradition holds that it was first found in The Gambia. Today it is heard on concert stages around the world.
Background: Wikipedia).
