Balafon
Other names | balafo, bala, balaphone, balaphon, balaphong, balani, gyil, balangi |
---|---|
Classification |
West African wooden Percussion idiophone with up to 21 keys |
Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 111.212 (Sets of percussion sticks) |
Developed | 12th century or earlier |
Related instruments | |
Builders | |
Claude Luisier |
The balafon (pronounced /ˈbæləfɒn/, or, by analogy with xylophone etc., /ˈbæləfoʊn/) is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone.[1] It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa,[1][2] particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group,[3] but is now found across West Africa from Guinea to Mali.[2] Its common name, balafon, is likely a European coinage combining its Mandinka name ߓߟߊ bala[4] with the word ߝߐ߲ fôn 'to speak'[2][5] or the Greek root phono.[1]
History
Believed to have been developed independently of the Southern African and South American instrument now called the
Records of the balafon go back to at least the 12th century CE. In 1352 CE, Moroccan traveller
European visitors to West Africa described balafons in the 17th century largely identical to the modern instrument. The
The balafon has seen a resurgence since the 1980s in the growth of African
Etymology
In the Malinké language balafon is a compound of two words: balan is the name of the instrument and fô is the verb to play. Balafon therefore is really the act of playing the bala.[5]
Bala still is used as the name of a large
Construction
A balafon can be either fixed-key (where the keys are strung over a fixed frame, usually with
The balafon is generally capable of producing 18 to 21 notes, though some are built to produce many fewer notes (16, 12, 8 or even 6 and 7). Balafon keys are traditionally made from kosso rosewood, dried slowly over a low flame, and then tuned by shaving off bits of wood from the underside of the keys. Wood is taken off the middle to flatten the key or the end to sharpen it.
In a fixed-key balafon, the keys are suspended by leather straps just above a wooden frame, under which are hung graduated-size calabash gourd resonators. A small hole in each gourd is covered with a membrane traditionally of thin spider's-egg sac filaments (nowadays more usually of cigarette paper or thin plastic film) to produce the characteristic nasal-buzz timbre of the instrument, which is usually played with two gum-rubber-wound mallets while seated on a low stool (or while standing using a shoulder or waist sling hooked to its frame).
Regional traditions
As the balafon cultures vary across West Africa, so does the approach to the instrument itself. In many areas the balafon is played alone in a ritual context, in others as part of an ensemble. In Guinea and Mali, the balafon is often part of an ensemble of three, pitched low, medium and high. In Cameroon, six balafon of varying size perform together in an orchestra, called a komenchang. An Igbo variation exists with only one large tuned key for each player. And while in most cases a single player hits multiple keys with two mallets, some traditions place two or more players at each keyboard.
The Susu and Malinké people of Guinea are closely identified with the balafon, as are the other Manding peoples of Mali, Senegal, and the Gambia. Cameroon, Chad, and even the nations of the Congo Basin have long balafon traditions.
Often, balafon players will wear belled bracelets on each wrist, accentuating the sound of the keys.
In some cultures the balafon was (and in some still is) a sacred instrument, playable only by trained religious caste members and only at ritual events such as festivals, royal, funerial, or marriage celebrations. Here the balafon is kept in a temple storehouse, and can only be removed and played after undergoing purification rites. Specific instruments may be built to be only played for specific rituals and repertoires. Young adepts are trained not on the sacred instrument, but on free-key pit balafons.
Gyil
The gyil (English:
The gyil's design is similar to the balaba or balafon used by the
Cameroon
During the 1950s, bars sprang up across Cameroon's capital to accommodate an influx of new inhabitants, and soon became a symbol for Cameroonian identity in the face of colonialism. Balafon orchestras, consisting of 3–5 balafons and various percussion instruments became common in these bars. Some of these orchestras, such as Richard Band de Zoetele, became quite popular in spite of scorn from the European elite.
The middle of the 20th century saw the popularisation of a native
Balafon orchestras had remained popular throughout the 50s in
Guinea
The balafon, kora (lute-harp), and the ngoni (the ancestor of the banjo) are the three instruments most associated with griot bardic traditions of West Africa. Each is more closely associated with specific areas, communities, and traditions, though all are played together in ensembles throughout the region. Guinea has been the historic heartland of solo balafon. As griot culture is a hereditary caste, the Kouyaté family has been called the keepers of the balafon, and twentieth century members of this family have helped introduce it throughout the world.
The Sosso Bala
The
Regardless of the truth of this story, the Sosso Bala is an instrument of great age, and was named by UNESCO as one of the Nineteen Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.[10]
Senegal
The title of the
Mali
A modern festival devoted to the balafon, the Triangle du balafon, now takes place annually at Sikasso in Mali.[11]
Famous players and ensembles
Famous balafon players have included:
- Madou Kone, Balafon Master from Burkina Faso, living in Vienna, Austria
- Richard Bona, Cameroonian jazz musician
- Abdou Karim Diabate "Tunkaraba" King of Balafon, from the village of Tabatto, Guinea-Bissau
- Djiby Diabaté
- Kélétigui Diabaté, playing for Habib Koité's Bamada group
- Mamadou Diabate, Knight of the National Order of Burkina Faso (2016), Winner of the "Grand Prix" & "Prix de la Virtuosite de Festival Triangle du Balafon" in Mali (2012), Winner of the Austrian World Music Award (2011)
- Afrocubism
- Modibo Diabaté, from Mali
- Zerika Djabate, Bissau-Guinean musician
- Djiguiya, percussion band from Burkina Faso
- Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo
- Les Freres Coulibaly, Burkina-based balafon ensemble
- Stefon Harris, American jazz musician
- Dominic Howard of Muse used a balafon on the band's second album, Origin of Symmetry
- Mory Kanté, early in his career
- Aly Keita, Aly Keita and the Magic Balaphone, Malian balafon player
- Gertrude Kilian, DVD "The Balafon with Aly Keita & Gert Kilian", "Balafon Beat" / Verlag Zimmermann
- Lawrence Killian, American jazz musician
- Mahama Konaté of John Cena, Burkina-based balafon ensemble
- Balla Kouyate, from Mali/Guinea, whose father, Sekou "Filani" Kouyaté, is the current guardian of the Sosso Bala
- Mamadi Kouyate, from Mali/Guinea, (Germany since 2015), whose grandfather Sékou "Filani" Kouyaté, is the current guardian of the Sosso Bala
- El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyaté
- N'Faly Kouyate of the Afro Celt Sound System
- Adam Malik, Burkina-based balafon ensemble
- Dave Mann, jazz percussionist, played with the Dave Brubeck Group
- Neba Solo (Senufo balafon group, led by Souleymane Traoré) from Sikasso
- Mama Ohandja, Cameroonian composer and performer to his country
- Qasim, Burkina-based balafon ensemble
- Pharoah Sanders, American jazz musician
- Saramaya, Burkina-based balafon ensemble
- Raheel Sharif, British band leader originally from Senegal
- Bill Summers, American jazz musician, performing with Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Los Hombres Calientes
- Lonnie Liston Smith, American jazz musician
- Rokia Traoré, Malian singer, guitarist, and band leader
- Le Troupe Saaba, Burkina-based balafon ensemble
- Momo Werner Wevers, German balafon player, plays solo and with the "Ensemble M.Pahiya" (balafon and classical guitar)
- N'Camara Abou Sylla (Guinea; Les Ballets Africains)
See also
- Balafon was the name of the
- Music of Guinea
- Music of Mali
- Marimba, covers the modern instrument which developed independently in both South America and southern Africa.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
- ^ ISBN 9780916421045.
- ISBN 9780226101620.
- ^ Faya Ismael Tolno (September 2011). "Les Recherches linguistiques de l'école N'ko" (PDF). Dalou Kende (in French). No. 19. Kanjamadi. p. 7. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ a b Network, Canadian Heritage Information. "The Balafon by N'Gafien, Age 16". www.virtualmuseum.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
- ^ Cootje Van Oven. "Music of Sierra Leone", in African Arts, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Summer, 1970), pp. 20-27+71.
- ^ cited in Dena J. Epstein. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War. University of Illinois Press (1977). [ISBN missing].
- ^ S2CID 59623412. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- ^ "Preserving the Sosso Bala Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine", Jumbie Records: a charity record to raise funds for preserving this instrument.
- ^ "The Cultural Space of 'Sosso-Bala' in Niagassola, Guinea", UNESCO.org.
- ^ Mali Ministry of Culture. Le Triangle du Balafon: Projet de Festival du Balafon, Troisieme Edition, Sikasso – 02 au 05 Novembre 2006, (2006). Archived March 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Why this in-flight magazine is the fashion industry's new must-read". 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Meet the Parisian Art Collective Reviving a Defunct West African Airline". 9 September 2022.
Sources
- "BALAFON BEAT" by Gert Kilian, edition Zimmermann / Germany http://www.gert-kilian.com/bb/index.html
- "The Balafon with Aly Keita & Gert Kilian", edition "improductions" / Paris http://www.gert-kilian.com/DVDbalafon.html
- "Das magische Balafon" by Mamadi Kouyaté, Ursula Branscheid-Kouyaté, http://www.djembe-kora.de/mamadi.html
Further reading
- Lynne Jessup. The Mandinka Balafon: an Introduction with Notation for Teaching. Xylo Publications, (1983) ISBN 0-916421-01-5.
- Eric Charry. Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa. Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology. University Of Chicago Press (2000). ISBN 0-226-10161-4.
- Adrian Egger, Moussa Hema: Die Stimme Des Balafon - La Voix Du Balafon. Schell Music, ISBN 978-3-940474-09-4.
- Gert Kilian "Balafon Beat", Verlag Zimmermann, Germany
- Gert Kilian "The Balafon with Aly Keita & Gert Kilian", édition "improductions" / Paris
- "Das magische Balafon" by Mamadi Kouyaté, Ursula Branscheid-Kouyaté / Germany / LEU-Verlag, Neusaess DVD
External links
- Cora Connection: What is a balaphone?
- Gallery of balafon photos, including the construction process.
- The Making of a Mofu-Gudur Balafon An article with photos and illustrations on the construction of a balafon in northern Cameroon.
- http://www.djembe-kora.de/trommelbau.html a clip about the making of a balafon in Niagassola / Guinea