Wassoulou ( bm, Wasolo) is a
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
n
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
named for the
Wassoulou
Wassoulou is a cultural area and historical region in the Wassoulou River Valley of West Africa. It is home to about 160,000 people, and is also the native land of the Wassoulou genre of music.
Wassoulou surrounds the point where the border ...
cultural area.
Wassoulou music is performed mostly by women. Some recurring themes in the lyrics are
childbearing
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...
,
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
, and
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
. Instrumentation includes
soku (a traditional
fiddle sometimes replaced with modern imported instruments),
djembe drum,
kamalen n'goni (a six-stringed
harp), karinyan (metal tube percussion) and
bolon (a four-stringed
harp). The vocals are often passionate and emphatic, and delivered in a
call-and-response
Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...
pattern.
Prominent Wassoulou artists include
Nahawa Doumbia,
Oumou Sangaré
Oumou Sangaré ( bm, Umu Sangare; born 25 February 1968 in Bamako) is a Grammy Award-winning Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the mu ...
,
Coumba Sidibe,
Dienaba Diakite,
Kagbe Sidibe,
Sali Sidibe,
Jah Youssouf, and
Fatoumata Diawara
Fatoumata Diawara ( bm, ߝߊ߫ߕߎߡߕߊ ߖߊ߯ߥߙߊ߫, Fatumta Jawara, born 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France.
Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), '' Sia, T ...
.
[
]
Notes
References
*
Malian music
Women in music
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