For the majority of West Africans, music is at the heart of their culture. In much of the region, including The Gambia, Senegal, and neighbouring countries such as Guinea Conakry and Mali, traditional music is the province of a particular social group - the griots. This is a French word, the closest English equivalent is 'minstrel'.
Wandering troupe of Griots in Bakau
Many of the musicians we met in The Gambia are, in fact, of the Sousou tribe from Guinea Conakry. They have emigrated to The Gambia as they are unable to earn a living at home, where the main industry is diamond mining. This includes our teacher, Libon Traore, and many of the musicians who are featured in photographs on this website. The exceptions to this are our good friend Mariama Jarjue and her family who live in the community of Kotu-Eranjang which our charity Afrikaya supports. Mariama and her daughters are dancers, her son Sainey is a djembe player and are part of the African Cultural Group 'Nimba'. Mariama is the widow of Kebba Jaina who founded the nursery school in Kotu-Eranjang. For more information, click here.
Many West African societies, including the Mandinka, Wolof and Fula people of The Gambia, continue to be stratified into a class sytem, with the nobility at the top and the descendents of slaves at the bottom. The artisans - blacksmiths and other craftsmen, are classed second from the bottom. Griots are part of the artisan class. Despite their low social rank, they fulfill many important social functions. Historically they held a close association with royality, acting as translators and diplomats. More importantly perhaps, they are the historians of West Africa. History was, and still is, carried to the people by the griots using the oral tradition of narratives and songs - an essential feature of West African traditional music. Dance is also an intrinsic part of traditional music, each dance telling a particular traditional story.
African Cultural Group 'Tamala' from
Guinea Conakry performing in The Gambia.
Griots are also geneologists. They are always present at weddings and naming ceremonies and other such important events. Here they are called upon to recount the names and deeds of the host's ancestors.
Traditional musicians only use instruments that they make with local materials, such as wood, gourds, leather, cow horns and shells. Information about drums and other percussion instruments can be found in the descriptions on our drumshop. Some other traditional instruments are described below.
The Balafon is a traditional wooden xylophone which is played by griots throughout West Africa. The slats are suspended on a frame made of sticks, string and hide. The slats are bound at the nodes of the slat in such a way that their vibration is not hindered by the structure. Beneath each slat is a gourd of a specific size to the tone being resonated. Small holes are punched in the gourd and covered with light paper, similar to a kazoo resonator. These give the balafon a warm buzzing tone as the slats are struck with mallets.
Balafon player with 'Tamala'.
The Kora is a cross between a harp and a lute and is often called the African harp. It has 21 strings divided into 2 row, supported over a long neck with an ornately carved wooden bridge. Kora players are extremely talented musicians who start to learn their craft from early childhood.
Griot playing the Kora
at Makasutu, The Gambia
Another tradional instrument which is widely used by the African Cultural Groups in the Gambia is the Gongoma, a type of thumb piano from Guinea. It produces sound by plucking a series of thin plates or keys with a finger. The keys are arranged in the manner of a piano and are small enough to play with individual fingers.The Gongoma is made from a hollowed half-gourd, which acts as a large resonator to amplify its sound.The Gongoma is built right into the gourd, with a plywood top fitted with 3 - 8 metal keys (which are now often old fret saw blades). A hole in the plywood allows the beautiful resonant sound to escape. Other than the drum, it is thought to be the oldest type of musical instrument in the world. Below is a photograph of our Guinean friend, Mohamed, playing the Gongoma. Mohamed currently lives in the Gambia and plays the Sanbang with the African Cultural Group, Badia, from Guinea Conakry.
Other than the djembe and dunduns, the drum most often played by Gambian musicians is the traditional Wolof drum, the Sabar. Unlike the djembe which is found throughout West Africa, the sabar is unique to Senegal and The Gambia. It is played by a hand and a stick. Our master drummer, Libon, from Guinea, dislikes the "tap tap tap" sound of the sabar but it is much loved by Gambian musicians. Most sabar drumming is accompanied by dancing and usually takes place for special occasions and festivals including births, baby naming ceremonies, weddings, holidays and other special celebrations. In addition, sabar drumming is often played for wrestling matches with each wrestler having his own special rhythm. A photograph of the sabar being played at the street party, (given in our honour in 2009), can be seen by clicking here.
Ancient sabar drums displayed in museum.
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