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Xalam (in Serer, or khalam in Wolof) is a traditional stringed
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
from
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 ...
with 1-5 strings. The xalam is commonly played in
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. Ma ...
,
Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, Northern
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
,
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 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 t ...
,
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
, and
Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...
; it, and its variants, are also known in other languages as bappe, diassare, hoddu (
Pulaar Pulaar (in Adlam: , in Ajami: ) is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known a ...
), koliko (
Gurunsi Gurunsi or Grusi may refer to: * Gurunsi people, a people of northern Ghana and south and central Burkina Faso ** Gurunsi languages The Grũsi or Gurunsi languages, also known as the East Mabia languages,Bodomo, Adams. 2020.Mabia: Its Etymologic ...
), kologo ( Frafra), komsa, kontigi, gurmi, garaya (
Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...
), koni, konting (
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...
), molo ( Songhay/ Zarma), ndere, ngoni ( Bambara), and tidinit ( Hassaniyya and
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–19 ...
). In Wolof, who plays the xalam is called a ''xalamkat'' (a word composed of the verbal form of xalam, meaning "to play the xalam", and the agentive suffix ''-kat'', thus meaning "one who xalams"). In Mande, this is ''ngonifola'' or ''konting fola''. In Hausa, this is ''mai gurmi'' or ''mai kontigi''.


Construction and tuning

The xalam, in its standard form, is a simple
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
chordophone with one to five strings. The wooden body (soundbox) membranophone of the instrument is oval-shaped and covered with the hide of
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
. The strings of the xalam are typically made of two or three tightly wound strands of low-gauge
nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pet ...
fishing line; these strings are fixed to the instrument's wooden neck by long and narrow
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
strips and to its wooden bridge by cotton strings. By moving these strips, the instrument's tune can be adjusted. The xalam usually has two main melody strings that are fingered by the left hand (like the strings of a guitar or banjo) and two to three supplementary strings of fixed pitch. Most xalam players construct their own xalams, although they usually call on woodworkers (lawbe) to carve the body, neck, and bridge for them. In most Wolof-speaking parts of Senegal, the xalam has three principal tunings, all of which involve tuning the two main strings a perfect fourth apart. In the first tuning (''ci suuf'' or low), the main strings are tuned 1 and 4 ( 1 being the fundamental of a major scale), with three supplementary strings being tuned an octave higher to 1´, 2´, and 3´. The second tuning (''ci kow'' or high) uses the same string intervals but the fundamental is placed a minor second above the higher melody string, meaning that the open main strings now play the role of 3 and 6, with the supplementary strings acting as 3´ and 4#, the highest supplementary string usually being ignored. In the third tuning (''ardin''), the fundamental is a minor third above the lowest main string and the main strings are tuned 6 and 2, with supplementary strings tuned to 5 and 1´. The third supplementary string is either ignored or is tuned to 6 or 2´. If playing in an ensemble, the ''ardin'' xalam's main strings are tuned a minor third below the ''cu suuf'' xalam, and the ''ci kow'' xalam is tuned a major third above the ''ci suuf'' xalam to ensure that the fundamentals of each xalam coincide. (Thus, if the ''ci suuf'' xalam's lowest note were C, the ardins lowest note would be a low A and the ''ci kow'' xalam's lowest note would be E.)


Players

In most areas the xalam is played by male
griots 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 ...
, or praise singers who are born into the profession. It most often acts as a solo or duo instrument to accompany praise songs and historical recitations, and in some areas it may form part of a larger group including kora, drums, and calabashes. It is traditionally heard at weddings, infant naming ceremonies, and (always with amplification) is now a common member of folklore ensembles, popular '' mbalax'' groups, and ''ndaga'' variety shows.


See also

*
Akonting The ''akonting'' (, or ''ekonting'' in French transliteration) is the folk lute of the Jola people, found in Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. It is a banjo-like instrument with a skin-headed gourd body, two long melody strings ...
* Cheick Hamala Diabate *
Kora (instrument) The kora ( Manding languages: ''köra'') is a stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa. A kora typically has 21 strings, which are played by plucking with the fingers. It combines features of the lute and harp. Description The kora ...
*
Ngoni (instrument) The ngoni (also written ''ngɔni'', ''n'goni'', or ''nkoni'') is a string instrument and a traditional West African guitar. Its body is made of wood or calabash with dried animal (often goat) skin head stretched over it. The ngoni, which can pro ...
*
Rubab (instrument) Rubab, robab or rabab (Pashto/ Persian: رُباب, Kashmiri : رَبابہٕ, Sindhi: ( Nastaleeq), रबाब (Devanagari), Azerbaijani/ Turkish: Rübab, Tajik/ Uzbek ''рубоб'') is a lute-like musical instrument.David Courtney, 'Raba ...


References


External links


Cosaan: Senegalese Culture—Xalam and Virtual Xalam

Video of Cheick Hamala Diabate performances
from Kennedy Center Millennium Stage site {{Authority control Arabic musical instruments West African musical instruments Drumhead lutes Gambian musical instruments Malian musical instruments Sahrawi musical instruments Senegalese musical instruments Nigerien musical instruments Nigerian musical instruments