Farafina is a music and dance group from
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳ðž¤ðž¤²ðž¤¢ 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
, established in 1978. The eight-member group is Burkina Faso's best known musical group, and one of Africa's most internationally prominent musical groups.
History
The group was founded in the southern city of
Bobo Dioulasso
Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula".
The local Bobo-speaking population (r ...
by the ''
balafon
The balafon is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now ...
'' player, Mahama Konaté, a member of the
Senufo ethnic group and a performer with Burkina Faso's national ballet. The group mainly uses voices and instruments including the ''balafon'',
''kora'',
''djembe'',
''bara'',
''tama'',
''shekere'',_and_Keyboard_instrument.html" "title="shekere.html" ;"title="oum'doum), shekere">''shekere'', and Keyboard instrument">keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
.
The group toured internationally in Europe, Canada, and the United States. In 1985, they played at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and in 1988 performed for thousands at the birthday party of Nelson Mandela in Wembley Stadium, London. In 1993 they toured the United States and Canada. They were one of the groups which played in 1999 during the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the
in Berlin. Later that year, the group played at the
.
*1985 - ''Farafina Live at Montreux Jazz Festival''
*1989 - ''Bolomakote''
*1993 - ''Faso Denou''
*1998 - ''Nemako''
*2001 - ''Kanou''
*2012 - ''Denti Fere''