CONTEMPORARY DIRECTIONS OF GAMBIAN KORA PERFORMANCE PRACTICES DEAN ANDREW DAMIAN CRONE ATHESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FORTHEDEGREEOF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN MUSIC YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO SEPTEMBER 2009 Library and Archives Bibliothéque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de 1'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Yourfile Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64998-5 Ourfile Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64998-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- Uauteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant å la Bibliothéque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Clnternet, préter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and seil theses monde, å des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright Uauteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette thése. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thése ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent étre imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément å la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thése. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada iv Abstract My goals for this study include a desire to expand upon the research put forth by other authors regarding Gambian kora performance practices. I explore the social and cultural dynamics that surround the patronage of kora music by the contemporary tourist industry in The Gambia. Chapter One of this thesis, "Introduction," begins by articulating some of the main academic figures in the area of West African studies and an introduction to kora music. Chapter Two, "Tradition From the Early Twentieth Century," presents and discusses performance practices of traditional musicmaking, known a&jaliya, that is believed to have existed about a century ago. West African musical practices have undergone considerable change as a result of interaction with Western colonialism, independence-era governments in West Africa, and the growth of tourism. Chapter Three, "Changes and Influence of Media," will address the impact of technological devices of musical reproduction and the effect that they appear to have on the cultural production of West African musicians. These changing cultural contexts have also affected the types of music that audiences in West Africa want to hear. Chapter Four, "Contemporary Repertoire, Technique, and Structures", examines contemporary performance practices, repertoires, and performers in order to give an idea of what is currently happening in this artform. Other academic studies of instruments related to the kora, such as the balafon, will offer examples of changes to performance practices that are comparable to those of the kora. Some of the conclusions l have drawn are that West African music in general has beeji greatly affected by interaction with v Western music and culture. Gambian kora music in particular has been affected as the main system of patronage, that was at the heart of the kora tradition, has been disrupted and altered by the mechanisms of colonial rule in The Gambia. Tourism has provided new and different patronage opportunities for Gambian musicians while also contributing to the creation of various social problems. vi Acknowledgments My koras have always been built by the family of Alieu Suso of Bakau Newtown, The Gambia. Alieu and his family provided me great hospitality while I resided at their family compound in Bakau Newtown. Alieu had been crafting some of the finest koras for the past sixty years and had built untold numbers of koras as well as other instruments. I must also thank and acknowledge two of Alieu's sons Lamin Suso and Mamudou Suso. Lamin and Mamudou both looked after me and were my friends. We shared many funny and dramatic moments, as well as a few card games and concerts. These three individuals were involved in my attempts to learn to play and understand the kora. After living in Alieu's compound and sharing too many early morning cigarettes with him, I had the sad misfortune of hearing that Alieu had suddenly passed away. It happened while sitting in his favourite chair at his workshop at the Bakau craftmarket about ten days after I had left The Gambia. Alieu Suso was well known and respected among Gambians and International travelers. He in fact appears on the cover of Charry's book, Mande Music (2000). Alieu Suso's kindness and encouragement of my efforts to learn about the kora is something I will not forget and I am often filled with sadness that a man who gave so much of what he had to his family, is now gone. Alieu was also greatly responsible for my safekeeping while in The Gambia and I will cherish the memories our many long conversations over morning tea, cigarettes, a meal, or attia (green tea brewed Gambian style). I was pleased to hear that Lamin Suso took over vii Alieu's business and continues to make high quality koras that are still being sold all over the world, including Canada. I want to thank everyone else I can think of and if I missed a nåme, I still thank you. Mohammed Badjie, Lamin Kuyateh, M Badjie, Modou Boy, The Suso Family of Bakau Newtown, Alieu Suso, Mamudou Suso, Lamin Suso, Manding Culture Band, The Holy Family Band, Kaykuta (Kex Republic) Kouyate, Lamin (L Body) Drammen, Jansaba (Baby J) Suso, Ablie Chorr, Jalex, Ramis Touray, Yankuba Suso, Alahji (Alah) Najie, Doudou (Taty) Gaye, Lamin Njie, The Boys on The Border, Lamin Kinteh, The good people of Barry Kunda in Bakau Kachikaly, For those whom have already come and left, Hasan, Taylar, The People of The Gambia, Senegal, Ghana, The Cassamance, My Morn, Dad, Gma, Josh, Paul, all my family and friends around the world. Everybody that had me as part of their life while I was in The Gambia, The Cassamance, Dakar, Mbour, and Ghana. I extend a very heartfelt thanks to all the teachers and musicians with whom I have shared the experience of sound. Lamin Kuyateh, Cherno Suso, Mustapha Jobateh, Lamin Kouyateh, Alieu Suso, Manding Culture Band, The Holy Family Band, Mory Ba Jobateh, Tåta Dindin, and, Rob Simms. My beautiful wife Maimuna and baby Isha. Vill Table of Contents Abstract iv Acknowledgments vi List of Figures x Parti Chapter One: Introduction 1 Intro 1 Review Literature 3 Terminology 4 Pre-Colonial Performance Practices 6 Chapter Two: Tradition From the Early Twentieth Century 11 Colonialism 11 Post-Independence Era 15 Chapter Three: Changes and Influences of Media 22 Radio and West African Music 22 Tourism 26 The Work of Marshall McLuhan 30 Part II Chapter Four: Contemporary Repertoire, Technique, and Structures 37 The Gambia: An Overview 37 Guinea and the Balafon: The Gambia and the Kora 44 The Image of a Jåli 55 Chapter Five: On the Ground 61 Field Experience in The Gambia 61 Transcriptions 70 Tablature 74 Allah La Ke 83 Kaira 86 Kelefaba 90 Masani Cisse 91 Kura Bissan 94 Bani Lay 96 IX Jarabi 97 The Importance of the Sauta Tuning 99 Conclusion 106 Appendix I: My renditions of kora pieces using my tablature method 109 Kelefaba 109 Masani Cisse (in tomora ba/silaba tuning) 110 Masani Cisse (in sauta tuning) 111 KuraBissan 112 Jarabi 113 Allah La Ke 114 Kaira 115 BaniLay 116 Appendix II: My renditions of Kaira and Allah La Ke in 117 duple and triple Western notation Appendix III: A representation of Charry's six transcription of 119 the kora kumbengo for Allah La Ke Bibliography 121 Discography 125 Video Examples 127 List ofFigures Figure 1. Map of West Africa. xii Figure 2. Figure 2. Diagram of a kora. xiii Figure 3. Picture of the hand positioning while playing the kora. xiv Figure 4. Example of Knighfs triple-pulsed notation. 72 Figure 5. Example of the same transcription in duple-pulsed notation. 73 Figure 6. Example of combined kora notation and tablature. 75 Figure 7. Example of my tablature method. 77 Figure 8. Breakdown of my tablature method. 77 Figure 9. Charry's transcription of Amadu Bansang Jobarteh's version 84 of "Allah La Ke" in Western notation. Figure 10. My rendition of "Allah la Ke" in tablature. 85 Figure 11. My rendition of "Kaira"in tablature. 86 Figure 12. Examples of the comparable lengths of my renditions of "Kaira" 87 and "Allah La Ke" in Western notation. Figure 13. Birimintingo pattern that works for both "Kaira" and "Allah La Ke." 88 Figure 14. My rendition of "Kelefaba" in tablature. 90 Figure 15. My rendition of "Masani Cisse" in tablature using tomora ba/siliba 92 tuning. Figure 16. My rendition of "Masani Cisse" in tablature using sauta tuning. 92 Figure 17. My rendition of "Kura Bissan" in tablature. 95 xi Figure 18. My rendition of "Jarabi" in tablature.