The Mandinka are an ethnic group that live in
West Africa, primarily Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, but some also live
in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Cote d'Ivoire. Their culture is rich in tradition,
music, and spiritual ritual. Many Mandinka are rural subsistence farmers who
rely on peanuts, rice, millets, and some goats for their livelihood. Because
the Mandinka rely on their crops for food, little profit is made from them.
This causes many men to take part time work in small businesses. However, even
with a part time job, the average annual income is only $130. The oldest male
is the head of the family and marriages are commonly arranged. Small mud houses
with thatch or tin roofs make up their villages which are organized on the
basis of the clan groups.
During the 1800’s, Islam was introduced
to the Mandinka people. Today the Mandinka still practice Islam but have
infused much of their own culture into the religion. For example, a Mandinka
may practice salat, Islamic prayer five times a day to Allah, but may also
recognize and even sacrifice to a village god or spirit.
Only 10% of
the Mandinka are literate. Because of this, the Mandinka have a rich oral
history that is passed down through praise singers or griots. This passing down
of oral history through music has made music one of the most distinctive traits
of the Mandinka. They have long been known for their drumming and also for
their unique musical instrument, the kora. The kora is a twenty-one string
harp-like instrument made out of a gourd covered with cow skin. The strings are
made of fishing line. It is played to accompany a groitÕs singing or
simply on its own.
Information kindly provided by
Emuseum - Written by
Kathy Gfeller
Music
The Mandinka are especially famous for their jalis
or griots, traditional historians, praise singers and master musicians. Among
the instruments they play to accompany their epics and songs is the 21-string
kora.
Mande Music: Traditional
and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa
focuses on the four major spheres of Mande music—hunter's music, music of
the jelis or griots, jembe and other drumming, and guitar-based modern
music—exploring how each evolved, the types of instruments used, the major
artists, and how each sphere relates to the others. (amazon.com) - USA(amazon.co.uk) - UK
