Performance Styles
The principal musical instruments of the griot are the Kora,
a 21 stringed harplute or bridge-harp; the ngoni, a
plucked / strummed lute; and the bala, a wooden frame xylophone
with gourd resonators, typically possessing 19 slats. These
instruments are played only by men. A griot may accompany his
own singing on one of these instruments, though often will
act as an instrumentalist for their wife, or for another
griotte. The strings of both the kora and the ngoni are made
from nylon fishing line of different gauges. Often a single
strand is doubled in thickness so it will produce the
particular pitch required. Nylon is preferred over the
traditional mediums of gut, leather or horsehair, as it has
greater durability and gives a brighter and more resonant
tone. Drums do not play a major role in a typical
performance, as they are not an instrument restricted to the
caste of the griot.
Percussive rhythms may be supplied by hand-claps,
finger-clicking, and/or the use of the né. A kora player may
also be accompanied by another musician who sits next to the
instrument and uses a large cast iron needle, a loyo, to
tap out a counter rhythm (konkondiro) on the gourd resonator
of the kora. The incorporation of drums is commonly found in
urban performances, where it is usually associated with those
griots who are entertainers for the public at large. Drums
are often integrated into modern ensembles which incorporate
western-style electric instrumentation. A drum kit, of a
manner found in electric ensembles all over the world, is
used in these groups.
Musicians usually make their own instruments. A kora player
will enlist the help of a blacksmith who forges the cast iron sune (to which the strings of the kora are affixed at the
base of the neck). Other than this, all of the construction
is carried out by the musician, though they may seek the
assistance of several apprentices. There are also recognized
master instrument makers who sell their wares to other
musicians.
Of the three main melody instruments of the griot the kora is
the most recognisable and also the most recent. In literature
it was first described by Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer who
travelled to West Africa in 1799. References to other Mande
instruments, however, predate this by several centuries. The
kora’s current form is generally believed to have evolved
from smaller versions over the last 300 years, and it is
thought that the instrument originated in the Casamance
region of Senegal and Guinea Bissau. The
instrument is classified as a harplute. The Sachs-Hornbostel
system of the classification of musical instruments ascribes
the kora the indices of 323,38 with King. The instrument’s smooth
cylindrical neck is made of rosewood and is about one metre
in length. The neck passes diametrically through a
hemispherical gourd (a mirango, in
Mandinka) which is covered with cow hide, though the skin of
a male antelope was the traditional material. The hide is
affixed to the gourd by metal studs. Musicians arrange the
studs to form patterns around the rim and main body.
The kora commonly has 21 strings which are arranged into two
parallel planes. These are aligned vertically to the sound
table via a notched bridge which is supported by the tension
of the hide. There are 11 strings on the left plane and 10 on
the right, all of which are attached to the neck via tuning
collars made of leather (konso). Two posts, also made of
rosewood, are inserted through the leather sound table and
serve as handles. The musician plays the kora in a sitting
position, with the instrument at a near vertical angle. Sound
is produced by plucking the strings using the index fingers
and thumbs of both hands. There are three standard tunings
for the kora – hardino, sauta, and tomora; with other
musicians adding the tomoraba.
While the kora is arguably the most ubiquitous of the griots’
musical instruments it is not the sole string instrument. The
ngoni, for example, is a plucked lute of three to nine
strings. Commonly it has either four or five strings. It is
nearly identical, though slightly larger, than its
counterparts in Senegal, where the Mandinka griots know the
instrument as the konting and the Wolof gewels call it the
xalam. The instrument bears structural similarities to the guimbri, a lute played by Gnawa musicians in Morocco. The
resonator is carved from the trunk of a tree and is usually
boat-shaped, though may also be waisted to produce a
peanut-shape. It is covered with a piece of
cow skin which is nailed to the back of the instrument, with
wooden nails often substituted for metal. A smooth
cylindrical wooden neck pierces the leather sound table. The
strings, originally made from horsehair but now more commonly
from nylon, pass over a small bridge made of calabash near
the base of the neck, and are affixed to the upper end by
leather tuning rings. Only two strings of a five-stringed
ngoni are stopped, the remaining three being unfretted.
The instrument is plucked and strummed using hammering and
pulling techniques, methods of playing which are utilised by
blues guitarists and banjo players in the United States. The
instrument shares marked similarities to the banjo: both
commonly have four or five strings, and the closest string to
the player is fretted to a high position on the neck.
Approximately half of the slaves sent to the southern states
of the USA in the late 18th century were from the Senegambia
region of West Africa. However,
Daniel Jatta has
demonstrated the Banjo originated from another stringed
instrument.
In his account Travels in Asia and Africa: 1325-1354, Ibn
Battúta, an Arab traveller, refers to an instrument “made
from reeds and gourds, which are struck with sticks and make
a pleasant sound”. He is describing the bala,
an instrument widely held to be the first used by griots. A frame xylophone with between 15 and 19 wooden
keys, the bala (balaphon) is played both solo and in ensembles.
The instrument's keys are supported over a wooden frame with
a gourd resonator suspended under each key to amplify the
sound. The keys are struck with two mallets, the ends of
which are coated in rubber or covered in cloth. Much of the
kora and ngoni repertoire is derived from pieces originally
written for the instrument. As
with the kora and the ngoni, a bala player is usually seated
during a performance. Balas can be played in groups, though
it is usual for a solo bala to accompany a singer. Its
amplitude is quite hard, and the instrument is not usually
played alongside softer-toned instruments such as the ngoni.
A bala's amplitude and percussive tone lend the instrument to
dancing, and ensembles of balas can provide a dynamic and
energetic platform from which dancers find inspiration.
All of the instruments thus described are the province of
male griot musicians. In Mauritania, however, female griottes
play the ardin, a harp of between ten and thirteen strings.
Of the melody instruments griottes are restricted to the
ardin, though during a performance they provide rhythmic
support through their use of a né, a tubular iron bell,
which they scrape and strike with a thin metal rod. The role
of the né is to provide the basic rhythmic backing to a song.
While a thorough examination of all the Mande musical
instruments that are played by musicians outside of the griot
caste is beyond the scope of this article, a brief survey of
several of the chordophones is pertinent. Research has looked
at the instruments associated with the griots and such research invariably leads to instruments associated with
the hunters’ societies, for as, the
true origin of the griots’ instruments is found there.
Interviews conducted with griots suggest that musical
instruments such as the ngoni and kora evolved from earlier
types that are still used today in the ceremonies of the
hunters’ and warriors’ societies.
The molo, which the griot Sidi Suso refers to above, is a
one-stringed chordophone most commonly played by the Fulani,
though some scholars also attribute it to
the Tukulor of north-eastern Senegal. The single string is
made from horse-hair and is plucked. A metal idiophone is
attached to the neck, and it helps amplify the sound. It
serves a similar function to the nyenyemo, which can be
affixed to the bridge of a kora. The instrument's resonator,
partially covered in stretched hide, is circular. The molo
was used to incite warriors into battle, and it also
accompanies historical narratives.
The riti riti is a single-stringed bowed lute, also known
by the Fulani as the nyanyaur. Both the bow and the string
are made from horse-hair.
The Mande bolon (also known as the bolombato) is an
arched harp with three or four strings. A whole calabash is
used as a resonator, unlike the kora which employs a
hemispherical gourd. Some scholars suggests that the
bolon is the oldest of the calabash harps. Like the molo, its
function was to incite warriors into battle.
The simbing is a large arched harp with between four to
nine strings. It is also associated with the hunters’
societies and is similar to the donsongoni of the Wassoulou
region in south-western Mali. The large gourd resonator can
be struck by an apprentice using two sticks. This provides a
counter rhythm in a manner similar to the way in which a kora
is played.
With regards to the structure of Mande music, two
important stylistic elements are of key interest. The first
is the kumbengo, which is a short ostinato50 pattern which
recurs throughout the performance. It often employs the
intervals of fifths and octaves. The term translates as “head
meeting”, and is the basic unit of the
instrumental part. The meaning of the term is also related to
the tuning of the kora, as in sauta kumbengo, which is a
standard tuning for the instrument. The kumbengo is often played for long periods, with only subtle
variations to its “theme” occurring. Kumbengos are closely
associated with particular traditional narratives, making a
piece quickly recognizable by the audience after the musician
has played only a few bars.
The second important aspect of the instrumental music is
the birimintingo. This term refers to the ornamentation,
variation and improvisation which a musician incorporates
into a performance. Its purpose is to create interest through
the exposition of musical passages which expand upon and
augment the kumbengo. It is also used to highlight the
musician’s ability. A musician may, for example, insert
passages of birimintingo that gradually increase in length
until, near the end of the piece, a long passage of complex
and virtuosic improvisation is produced which showcases the
musician’s talent.
The music of the griot is, essentially, strophic. The
narratives which a griot learns are usually performed to the
accompaniment of one of the aforementioned instruments,
though ensemble performances are not uncommon. A distinctive
melody is often associated with each narrative, as in the
case of Malisajo, Duga, Chedo, and others. The short ostinato
patterns of many narratives (the kumbengo) are well known,
and a good musician will be able to create interest through
the interpretation and exposition of them in the birimintingo.
As with the instrumental structure of a performance, the
vocal section also consists of two major elements. The first
is the donkilo, which is a fixed vocal melody. It bears
similarities to the role played by the kumbengo, in that it
is a relatively short, clearly defined and readily
identifiable melody. It is the part that a chorus of singers
will perform. It is also that which a vocalist will introduce
a song with, returning to it at various stages in the
performance. Several lines of text can be sung to the donkilo.
The other major element of the vocal performance is the
sataro. Like the birimintingo, it is improvisatory. Often
unmetred and generally exhibiting a descending melodic
contour, the sataro sections embody the main bulk of the sung
text. In them are found the exclamatory praises to a patron,
or the extemporaneous details that a griot will use to bring
colour and insight to a familiar tale. It is generally
thought that the exposition of the sataro reveals the true
abilities of the singer.
A further component of the vocal section is that which
forms a specialist category, one that has been termed “namu-sayer”.
Namu, which translates as somewhere between “yes” and “that
is so”, is a word which is used frequently during a griot’s
recitation. It is usually uttered by the namu-sayer after
each line of the griot’s recitation. Occasionally, the
namu-sayer may offer other terms of affirmation, though their
role is usually restricted to this supportive function.
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