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Xalam
Xalam (in Serer, khalam in Wolof, and Mɔɣlo in Dagbanli) is a traditional lute from West Africa with 1 to 5 strings. The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ..., and Western Sahara. The xalam and its variants are known by various names in other languages, including bappe, diassare, hoddu ( Pulaar), koliko ( Gurunsi), kologo ( Frafra), komsa, kontigi, gurmi, garaya ( Hausa), koni, konting ( Mandinka), molo ( Songhay/ Zarma), ndere, ngoni ( Bambara), and tidinit ( Hassaniyya and Berber). In Wolof, a person who plays the xalam is called a ''xalamkat'' (a word composed of the verbal form of xalam, meaning "to play the xalam", and the agentive s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molo (lute)
Molo is the name given to a lute by the Hausa people of Niger and northern Nigeria and the Songhay people of Niger. In Ghana, it is called Mɔɣlo in Dagbanli. ''Molo'' is the name used for a specific type of African lute, one that has a boat-shaped body or soundbox, carved from wood and a round dowel for a neck. The soundbox has an open top, covered by duiker hide or goatskin. ''Molo'' has also has become a generalized term for "any plucked string instrument" among the Hauser people in Nigeria. As the name of a specific type of lute among the Hauser, the instrument is one of at least seven different Hausa lutes, also including the round bodied garaya (2-string. wood body), gurmi (3-string gourd bodied), ''gurumi'' (2-sting calabash bodied), the ''komo'' (2-sting gourd body), the ''kwamsa'' (or ''komsa'', 2-string, gourd bodied) and the '' kontigi''. Relationship to the banjo The instrument found some fame when it identified by Lorenzo Dow Turner as possibly being the i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngoni (instrument)
The ngoni (also written ''ngɔni'', ''n'goni'', or ''nkoni'') is a traditional West African string instrument. Its body is made of wood or calabash with dried animal (often goat) skin head stretched over it. The ngoni, which can produce fast melodies, appears to be closely related to the '' akonting'' and the '' xalam''. This is called a ''jeli ngoni'' as it is played by griots at celebrations and special occasions in traditional songs called ''fasa''s in Mandingo. Another larger type, believed to have originated among the donso (a hunter and storyteller caste of the Wassoulou cultural region) is called the ''donso ngoni''. This is still largely reserved for ceremonial purposes. The donso ngoni, or "hunter's harp," has six strings. It is often accompanies singing along with the '' karagnan'', a serrated metal tube scraped with a metal stick. The donso ngoni was mentioned by Richard Jobson in the 1620s, describing it as the most commonly used instrument in the Gambia. He describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" commonly refers to an instrument from the Family (musical instruments), family of History of lute-family instruments, European lutes which were themselves influenced by India, Indian short-necked lutes in Gandhara which became the predecessor of the Islamic music, Islamic, the Sino-Japanese and the Early music, European lute families. The term also refers generally to any necked string instrument having the strings running in a plane parallel to the Sound board (music), sound table (in the Hornbostel–Sachs system). The strings are attached to pegs or posts at the end of the neck, which have some type of turning mechanism to enable the player to tighten the tension on the string or loosen the tension before playing (which respectively ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kontigi
A kontigi or kuntigi is a one-stringed African lute played by the Hausa, Songhai and Djerma. A 3-string version ''teharden'' is used among the Tamashek. The instrument is used in Hausa music, primarily in northern Nigeria and Niger, and among Hausa minorities in Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cameroon. It is also found among Islamized peoples throughout West Africa (see Xalam). The best-known player of the kontigi is Dan Maraya. Characteristics The instrument uses a calabash gourd as the body of the instrument, covered by skin, with a stick for a neck. Modern instrument have had the gourd replaced by a can, such as a large sardine can. The neck on the Kontigi has "metal disk surrounded by small rings" which make noise as the instrument is moved or played. The tone is high pitched. Performance The instrument is used to perform "praise songs" by professional musicians or by Griots in Nigeria. A well-known musician who used the instrument was Dan Maraya, who recorded album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngoni (instrument)
The ngoni (also written ''ngɔni'', ''n'goni'', or ''nkoni'') is a traditional West African string instrument. Its body is made of wood or calabash with dried animal (often goat) skin head stretched over it. The ngoni, which can produce fast melodies, appears to be closely related to the '' akonting'' and the '' xalam''. This is called a ''jeli ngoni'' as it is played by griots at celebrations and special occasions in traditional songs called ''fasa''s in Mandingo. Another larger type, believed to have originated among the donso (a hunter and storyteller caste of the Wassoulou cultural region) is called the ''donso ngoni''. This is still largely reserved for ceremonial purposes. The donso ngoni, or "hunter's harp," has six strings. It is often accompanies singing along with the '' karagnan'', a serrated metal tube scraped with a metal stick. The donso ngoni was mentioned by Richard Jobson in the 1620s, describing it as the most commonly used instrument in the Gambia. He describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse ecologies, from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 35 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa. The capital and largest city is Accra; other significant cities include Tema, Kumasi, Sunyani, Ho, Cape Coast, Techiman, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were Bonoman in the south and the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. The Asante Empire and other Akan kingdoms in the south emerged over the centuries. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by other European powers, contested the area for trading r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. Previously called the Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), it was Geographical renaming, renamed Burkina Faso by then-List of heads of state of Burkina Faso, president Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its Capital city, capital and largest city is Ouagadougou. The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries. They established powerful Mossi Kingdoms, kingdoms such as Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. In 1896, it was Colonization, colonized by the French colonial empire, French as part of French West Africa; in 1958, Upper Volta became a self-governing colony wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, Algeria to Algeria–Mauritania border, the northeast, Mali to Mali–Mauritania border, the east and southeast, and Senegal to Mauritania–Senegal border, the southwest. By land area Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and 28th-largest in the world; 90% of its territory is in the Sahara. Most of its population of some 4.3 million lives in the temperate south of the country; roughly a third of the population is concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, on the Atlantic coast. The country's name derives from Mauretania, the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It extended from central present-day Algeria to the Atlantic. Berbers occupied what is now Mauritania by the beginning of the third centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is military occupation, occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. It is the most sparsely populated territory in Africa and the list of countries and dependencies by population density, second most sparsely populated territory in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at 618,600. Nearly 40% of that population lives in Morocco-controlled Laayoune, the largest city of Western Sahara. Previously occupied by Spain (Spanish Colony) as the Spanish Sahara until 1975, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after a Moroccan demand. In 1965, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonization, de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurunsi Languages
The Grũsi or Gurunsi languages, also known as the East Mabia languages, Bodomo, Adams. 2020.Mabia: Its Etymological Genesis, Geographical Spread, and some Salient Genetic Features" In: Bodomo A., Abubakari H. & Issah, S. 2020. ''Handbook of the Mabia Languages of West Africa''. Galda Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 400 pages, ISBN 978-3-96203-117-6 (Print) ISBN 978-3-96203-118-3 (E-Book) are a group of Gur languages, comprising about 20 languages spoken by the Gurunsi peoples. The Grũsi languages are spoken in northern Ghana, adjacent areas of Burkina Faso and Togo. The largest language in the Grusi group is Kabiye, a language spoken by approximately 1.2 million people (of which 550,000 are native speakers) throughout central Togo. Languages *Eastern: Lukpa, Kabiyé, Tem, Lama, Delo, Bago-Kusuntu, Chala *Northern: Lyélé, Nuni, Kalamsé, Pana, Kasem *Western: Winyé, Deg, Phuie, Paasaal– Sisaala, Chakali, Siti, Tampulma, Vagla According to Kleinewillinghöfer ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fula People
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide. A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 10 million – are pastoralism, pastoralists, and their ethnic group has the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world., Quote: The Fulani form the largest pastoral nomadic group in the world. The Bororo'en are noted for the size of their cattle herds. In addition to fully nomadic groups, however, there are also semisedentary Fulani – Fulbe Laddi – who also farm, although they argue that they do so out of necessity, not choice. The major ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east, Nigeria to the Niger–Nigeria border, south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the Benin-Niger border, south-west, Mali to the Mali–Niger border, west, and Algeria to the Algeria–Niger border, north-west. It covers a land area of almost , making it the largest landlocked country in West Africa and the second-largest landlocked nation in Africa behind Chad. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its Islam in Niger, predominantly Muslim population of about million lives mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger's south-west corner along the namesake Niger River. Following the spread of Islam to the region, Niger was on the fringes of some states, including the Kanem–Bornu Empire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
