[Information about berber music coming soon.]
Berber Music
Countries Archives: Mali
Balafon
The balafon is a West African xylophone that an artisan carefully crafts from particular species of dried wood, 18-21 bars of which are attached to a frame above specific resonating gourds, and strike with special gum-rubber mallets. There are two kinds of balafons — fixed key, in which the bars are attached to a frame above buzzing, resonating gourds, and free-key, in which the bars rest directly on a padded surface.
Calabash
A calabash is a large gourd that African musicians cut in half, hollow out, dry and then strike with their hands to use as a drum. The calabash appears most often in music made in Saharan West Africa, especially among nomadic and semi-nomadic musicians in countries like Mali and Niger who make electrifying music known as “desert blues” or “desert rock
Desert Blues
[Information about Desert blues coming soon.]
Mali–Music
Musicologists and music-lovers alike revere Mali as “the birthplace of the blues.” That it may be, but it’s also much more. Mali’s traditional music draws on the tales of ancient griots, who effectively kept the country’s historical record by singing songs of praise about its nobility. Today Mali’s music is evolving, drawing in more and more international influences as it simultaneously maintains its ancient character.
Mali–Language
While there are 40 active languages in Mali, and while French is the main colonial language, about 80% of Malians are able to communicate in Bambara.
Mali–When you go there
Lonely Planet’s entry on Mali suggests many ways to approach the country as an independent traveler, which still seems possible despite several recent high-profile tourist-nappings, though do be wary of political instability before you take a swing out to the north. Most visitors to Mali do their darndest to get to Timbuktu, and to Djenne to snap a photo of the great mosque, and to Dogon country to cavort with traditional villagers.
Lesson 6: Mali
All Around This World’s exploration of Africa includes sing-along, dance-along classroom and homeschool lessons about Mali for kids . . . Meet the world through music –“come to class” with Jay.
A thousand or so years ago, the Malian Empire was home to the strategically significant and enviably profitable trans-Saharan trade route. A succession of global powers, eager to control the route, conquered Mali, from the Songhai to the Moroccans to the French. Mali became independent in 1960 but fell under the thumb of a series of one-party rulers. A coup in 1991 ushered in the current era of democratic, multi-party elections, and relative political stability, until 2012 when a Tuareg succession and another military coup brought back instability, enabling Islamic Fundamentalists to assert control over the North. Great music remains a constant, and Malians continue to sing, even in the face of persecution by Islamic fundamentalist leaders in the aftermath of the northern rebellion.
START HERE:
— MUSIC: Musicologists and music-lovers alike revere Mali as “the birthplace of the blues.” That it may be, but it’s also much more . . .
— LANGUAGE: While there are 40 active languages in Mali, and while French is the main colonial language, about 80% of Mailians are able to communicate in Bambara . . .
— IMAGES: Flickr’s Malian slideshow features Tuareg nomads traversing the Sahara, devout Malian Muslims bowed in prayer and a funky series of photos of musician Boubacar “Kar Kar” Traore wearing a really funky suit . . .
— WHEN YOU GO THERE: Lonely Planet’s entry on Mali suggests many ways to approach the country as an independent traveler . . .
