Bako Dagnon (1948
or 1953
– 7 July 2015) was a
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
an
griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
singer.
She is considered to be a popular representative of
Mandinka culture and has released several records in local languages.
Early life
Bako Dagnon was born in the little village of Golobladji, around 20 kilometers away from
Kita in a family of
griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
s and
n'goni players.
The origins of her family can be traced back to the time of
Sundiata Keita
Sundiata Keita ( Mandinka, Malinke: ; 1217 – c. 1255) (also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He is also the great-uncle ...
. In her birth village, she learned the songs from
Ségou
Ségou (; bm, ߛߋߓߎ, italic=no, ) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 i ...
from her grandmother and those from
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
from her mother, while her grandfather who had fought with
Samori Ture
Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day ...
taught her battlefields songs.
Her mother died when Bako Dagnon was seven years old, her father sent her into the care of a childless wife of a griot in Kita.
Because she was badly treated that she finally left her adopted family later on to study the stories of the
Mandinka Empire
The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived (1878–1898) empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Malinke ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army.
In 1864, Toucouleur ...
before its colonisation (the "tariku") with the grand Mandinka griot
Kele Monson Diabate.
Career
First success
In 1966, Bako Dagnon gave her first public concert in Kita during the local edition of the "Youth Week" (''Semaine de la Jeunesse''). This event had been created by the first president
Modibo Keïta
Modibo Keïta (4 June 1915 – 16 May 1977) was the first President of Mali (1960–1968) and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism.
Youth
Keïta was born in Bamako-Coura, a neighborhood of Bama ...
to "boost the cultural traditions of Mali".
She performed a
Fulani
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
song in
Bambara, ''Yirijanko Le'', for which she won an award that allowed her to participate at the regional edition of the "Youth Week" of
Kayes Region
Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja) is one of eight first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of Kayes. The p ...
the following year. There she won again and performed at the national competition, the Bamako Biennale.
Following these successes she performed regularly with the Regional Orchestra of Kita. In Bamako, she sang on weddings and gained popularity.
Work with the Ensemble Instrumental National
On demand of the Minister of Arts, Sports and Culture of the time, in 1974,
Bako Dagnon joined Mali's National Instrumental Ensemble (''Ensemble Instrumental National'' or EIN) which had been established shortly after the declaration of independence in 1961. The EIN was the most prestigious music ensemble in the country and consisted of about forty of the best Malian musicians. Although Bako Dagnon didn't live in Bamako but in Kita with her husband and children, she regularly performed with the EIN. She also joined the EIN on a concert tour in Korea and China, where she played for
Mao.
Her performances led to an increase of her own reputation and the one of the EIN as well. She gained notoriety in the whole of Mali with the song ''Tiga Monyonko'' (meaning "while peeling peanuts") which remains one of her most popular songs.
Career without the EIN
It was only in 1980 that the singer chose to move to Bamako with her children.
After a serious road accident, Bako Dagnon decided to leave the National Instrumental Ensemble of Mali which at the time was also suffering from a lack of funding and the omnipresent government corruption.
In 1990, she was offered a record deal by an Indian music producer from
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
and registered her first cassette record. After the recording of a second cassette, the production company disappeared in the midst of the
First Liberian Civil War
The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997.
President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...
.
In the 1990s, Bako Dagnon continued giving public and private concerts. She did no recordings until the beginning of the 2000s when she also managed in gaining popularity outside of Mali. She participated on the albums ''Mandekalou'' (2004) and ''Mandekalou II'' (2006) of the Mandika griot collective of the same name of
Ibrahima Sylla
Ibrahima Sylla (2 April 1956 – 30 December 2013) was a Senegalese record producer born in Ivory Coast and founder of the African music label Syllart Records. He was an internationally acclaimed musician whose production and music direction defi ...
. She also appeared on the song ''Donso Ke'' on the album ''Electro Bamako'' (2006) by Marc Minelli.
Her first international solo album, ''Titati'', was again produced by Ibrahima Sylla and appeared on his label
Syllart Records in 2007.
François Bréant was the musical director.
''Sidiba'', her seventh album, was released two years later.
The song ''Le guide de la révolution'' was the only song in French and was released as a single.
On 14 January 2009, Bako Dagnon was made a knight of the
National Order of Mali
The National Order of Mali is the highest of honorific orders of Mali.
History
The National Order of Mali was founded on 31 May 1963 to celebrate the independence of the country acquired in 1960 after decades of French colonisation.
As such, ...
.
Death
Bako Dagnon died on 7 July 2015 at around six in the morning at the
Hospital of Point-G in
Bamako
Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...
after a long illness.
Her funeral was organised the following day in the neighbourhood Hamdallaye ACI 2000 where she had been living. The funeral took place in the presence of numerous personalities, including members of the government and
Keïta Aminata Maiga, the
First Lady of Mali
First Lady of Mali (French: ''Première dame du Mali'') is the title held by the wife of the president of Mali, concurrent with the president's term of office. The present first lady is Lala Diallo, wife of interim President Assimi Goïta, who ha ...
from 2013 to 2020.
Discography (incomplete)
* 2004: ''Mandekalou: The Art and Soul of the Mande Griots I''
(Album as part of the griot collective Mandekalou)
* 2006: ''Mandekalou: The Art and Soul of the Mande Griots II''
(Album as part of the griot collective Mandekalou)
* 2007: ''Titati ''
(Solo album)
* 2009: ''Sidiba''
(Solo album)
* 2010: ''Le guide de la révolution''
(Solo single)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dagnon, Bako
20th-century Malian women singers
2015 deaths
Knights of the National Order of Mali
People from Kayes Region
21st-century Malian women singers