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Mbalax
Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the urban dance music of Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia. The musical style is rooted in the indigenous instrumental and vocal styles accompanied by polyrhythmic sabar drumming of the Wolof, a social identity that includes both the original Wolof people of the Greater Senegambia region and the urban panethnic identity that arose during colonialism. A cultural value proved by Wolof is their one's and respect of other cultural and musical practices. Therefore the origins of mbalax include a fusion of Wolof, Soce, and Serer music, rhythms, and instrumentation. The Wolof ability to include the diverse styles from Senegambian groups has allowed the sabar and its modern music formation to thrive. It is not uncommon, for example, for a sabar event to include music of the Serer such as the njuup, which is connected to sacred ndut rite ceremonies.Sturman, Janet, ''The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture'', SAGE Publications (2019), p. 1926 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Njuup
The Njuup tradition is a Serer style of music rooted in the Ndut initiation rite, which is a rite of passage that young Serers must go through once in their lifetime as commanded in the Serer religion. The Culture trip "Youssou N'Dour: An Unlikely Politician"(Retrieved : 28 June 2012) History Njuup songs are religious in nature. For a large part of its history, Njuup was only used within the Ndut ritual. The history of Njuup comes from the older Ndut style of teachings. Young Serer boys in the ndut (nest) were required to create religious tunes during their rite of passage to take their minds off the transitional experience, build their aesthetic skills, and enhance their spirituality. The veneration of Serer Pangool influenced the songs of the Ndut, including Njuup. Gravrand, HenryLe Ndut dans « L'héritage spirituel sereer : valuer traditionnelle d'hier, d'aujourd'hui et de demain » n''Éthiopiques'' n° 31 Modern Senegambian artists who sing the purest form of Njuup in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tama (percussion)
The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, which can be used as a form of speech surrogacy by regulating its pitch and rhythm to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitch of the drum by scraping the cords between their arm and body. Originating from the 18th century, talking drum players used tones to disseminate messages, such as news of ceremonies and commands, over 4-5 mile distances. A skilled player is able to play whole phrases. Most talking drums sound like a human humming depending on the way they are played. Similar hourglass-shaped drums are found in Asia, but they are not used to mimic conversation, although the idakka is used to mimic vocal music. Five varieties of ''dùndún'' pressure drums of the Yoruba and the ''atumpan'' and ''fontomfrom'' of the Asante (Ashanti) are especially notable. They send messages up to , where other drumme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabar
The sabar is a traditional drum from Senegal that is also played in the Gambia. It is associated with Wolof and Serer people. The drum is generally played with one hand and one stick or "galan". There are many different kinds of sabar, each with a different sound and a different role in the ensemble. Some common forms of sabar are Nder, Thiol, Goron, Mbeng Mbeng, Tungone, and Xiin. The sabars are made from the wood of the dimb tree from the Senegambia region. They are carved by the laobé, or carvers, and generally skinned by the griot. The skinning process involves using goat skin and securing it with 7 pegs, cord, and "mes" or webbing. Among its most renowned exponents was the Senegalese musician Doudou N'Diaye Rose. Sabar is also recognized as a type of dance and the style of music played while using this drum. It is commonly performed at weddings and festivals, and other events. Men will play the drum (Saba) and the women will dance. See also * Jung-jung *Mbal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the most famous singer alive" in Senegal and much of Africa and in 2023, the same publication ranked him at number 69 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. From April 2012 to September 2013, he was Senegal's Minister of Tourism. N'Dour helped develop a style of popular Senegalese music known by all Senegambians (including the Wolof people, Wolof) as ''mbalax,'' a genre that has sacred origins in the Serer people, Serer music njuup tradition and Ndut initiation rite, ndut initiation ceremonies.Sturman, Janet''The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture'' SAGE Publications (2019), p. 1926, . Retrieved 13 July 2019.Connolly, Sean, ''Senegal'', Bradt Travel Guides (2009), p. 27, (Retrieved 13 July 2019) He is the subject ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super Diamono
Super Diamono was a ten-member band from Dakar, Senegal. It was formed in 1974 or 1975.Senegal 7, ''Anniversaire : Omar Pène souffle sur ses 63 bougies ce 28 décembre'', by Ibrahima Ka (December 28, 2019(retrieved February 13, 2020) Omar Pene was a founding-member, and the group was alternately led by the singers Mamadou Lamine Maïga and Musa Ngum. It started with traditional West African music, but quickly turned to an Afro-Cuban and pop-influenced sound. From 1977 they called their music "Mbalax-blues".Mazzoleni, Florent, ''L'épopée de la musique africaine: rythmes d'Afrique atlantique'', Hors collection (2008), p. 81, In 1979, Ismaël Lô, a co-founder of the group, rejoined the band as a guitar player, but soon left again for his solo career.Hardy, Phil, ''The Da Capo Companion to 20th-century Popular Music'', Da Capo Press (1995), p. 682, Appiah, Anthony, Gates, Henry Louis, ''Encyclopedia of Africa, Volume 1'', Oxford University Press (2010), p. 562,/ref> According ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thione Seck
Thione Ballago Seck (March 12, 1955 – March 14, 2021) was a Senegalese singer and songwriter in the mbalakh genre. Seck came from a family of griot singers from the Wolof people of Senegal. He first performed with Orchestre Baobab, but he later formed his own band, Raam Daan, of which he was a member until his death in 2021. Early life Seck was born in Dakar on March 12, 1955. He was of Wolof descent and was raised Muslim. He first joined Orchestra Baobab in the 1970s. After a decade of performing with the group, he established Raam Daan. Career Seck's album ''Orientation'' was one of four nominated for BBC Radio 3's World Music Album of the Year in 2006. In much of his music, and notably on this album, Seck experiments with the use of Indian & Arabic scales. This supplements his laid back vocals and the band's intense sabar driven rhythms, and displaces the band's more usual guitars, horns, and synthesizers. This album was made in collaboration with a range of mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serer People
The Serer people (''Serer language, Serer proper'': Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious groupGastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Petit traité de matrilinarité. L'accumulation dans deux sociétés rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest'', Cahiers ORSTOM, série Sciences Humaines 4 (1985) [in] Gastellu, Jean-Marc, ''Matrilineages, Economic Groups and Differentiation in West Africa: A Note'', O.R.S.T.O.M. Fonds Documentaire (1988), pp 1, 2–4 (pp 272–4), 7 (p 277/ref>Marguerite Dupire, Dupire, Marguerite, ''Sagesse sereer: Essais sur la pensée Ndut people, sereer ndut'', KARTHALA Editions (1994). For ''tim'' and ''den yaay'' (see p. 116). The book also deals in depth about the Serer matriclans and means of succession through the matrilineal line. See pp. 38, 95–99, 104, 119–20, 123, 160, 172–74,/ref> They fought against jihads in the 19th century, and subsequently opposed French colonial rule - resulting in Serer victory at the famous Battle of Djilass (13 May 1859), and the Fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolof Language
Wolof ( ; , ) is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Unlike most other languages of its family, Wolof is not a tonal language. Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, spoken natively by the Wolof people (40% of the population) but also by most other Senegalese as a second language. Wolof dialects vary geographically and between rural and urban areas. The principal dialect of Dakar, for instance, is an urban mixture of Wolof, French, and Arabic. ''Wolof'' is the standard spelling and may also refer to the Wolof ethnicity or culture. Variants include the older French , , or , which now typically refers either to the Jolof Empire or to jollof rice, a common West African rice dish. Now-archaic forms incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is about 23.29 million, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara language, Bambara is the most commonly spoken. The sovereign state's northern borders reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, Sahara Desert. The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in the Sudanian savanna and has the Niger River, Niger and Senegal River, Senegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most promine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of cities in Ivory Coast, city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the Guinea–Ivory Coast border, northwest, Liberia to the Ivory Coast–Liberia border, west, Mali to the Ivory Coast–Mali border, northwest, Burkina Faso to the Burkina Faso–Ivory Coast border, northeast, Ghana to the Ghana–Ivory Coast border, east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 31.5 million inhabitants in 2024, Ivory Coast is the List of African countries by population, third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French language, French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété languages, Bété, Baoulé language, Baoulé, Dyula language, Dyula, Dan language, Da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
