I have chosen to do my essay on the video about Toumani Diabate who is one of Africa's greatest musicians and is a griot from father to son. His father, Sidiki Diabate who has now passed, was a griot as well. I think this is awesome. I love working with my father at his trade, it’s a special form of bonding, or at least to me. In the olden days, it seemed sons followed in their father's footsteps and learned their trades and took over the family’s business. In many cultures, your fathers class was where you were almost guaranteed to end up. What’s special about the griot tradition is that is that it has been carried on since the thirteenth century in a father to son father to son fashion. This is something fascinating to me about this culture and I think it’s awesome. To me, it would display a sense of a secondary purpose or somewhat of an anchor point in life. I feel very honored and proud to be apart of traditions that stretch just three generations, I can’t imagine how inspiring it would be to be apart of one that has stretched back as far as the griot’s have. What makes Toumani experience even more inspirational is that he didn't have a mentor or a teacher or a master, he taught me himself at the age of 5 by listening to his father and grandfather, Amadu Bansang Jobarteh old recordings. While I’m still developing the skills and knowledge to listen attentively he was able to do this all at such a young age and well enough to fully learn the Kora, which is the instrument griots play. Another thing that is unique about Toumani has he gained inspiration from outside sources and other cultures, something that I’m thinking hasn't been done from generations in his past. He has taken influence from men like Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding. The process of making a kora is so intriguing. It seems they start with laying a hide of maybe a goat or yak or another similar most likely widely common or native. They then place what looks like half a medicine ball in shape and size but looks like a shell of a nut. They then cut out a similar size around the nut with a slight overhang. After this, they sow what seems to be two pieces together to make a bag of sorts and follow by dunking it in water once sewn together. From here they place the nutshell inside and pull the hide up around it and tie it off after rolling out the creases with a wooden pole. Up until this point, it's pretty straightforward but after this things get pretty tricky and Imagine this where most of the skill and craftsmanship come from. They measure out the dimensions, cut a small hole on both sides of the face, and then drive the shaft through. They then stabilize and reinforce it and attach the connection for the strings. In the end, you're left with one of the most beautiful and interesting instruments I’ve ever seen and Toumani play’s it as beautiful as it looks.
Jordan Palmer
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