"" ( fuc, 𞤐𞤁𞤋𞤃𞤓, italic=no; "Freedom") is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of Guinea. Adopted upon independence in 1958, it was arranged by

Fodéba Keïta Fodéba Keïta (January 19, 1921 in Siguiri – May 27, 1969 at Camp Boiro) was a Guinean dancer, musician, writer, playwright, composer and politician. Founder of the first professional African theatrical troupe, Theatre Africain, he also arrange ...

and is based on the melody of a

Maninka Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family. It is the mother tongue of the Malinké peopl ...

praise song by Korofo Moussa for 19th-century

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the ...

king Alpha Yayo Diallo.

History

Korofo Moussa's song

The music of the anthem is derived from a praise song for the late-1800s king of

Labé Labé (Adlam script, Pular 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪:𞤂𞤢𞤦𞤫) is the main city and administrative capital of the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea. It has a population of about 200,000. It is the second largest city in the country after the capit ...

, in

, Alpha Yaya Diallo (or Alfa Yaya). Alpha Yaya is, along with

Wassoulou 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, Toucouleu ...

founder Samory Touré, considered central by Guineans to the foundation of the modern Guinean nation, in part because of his fierce attempts to resist colonisation. In 1904, Alpha Yaya was one of many traditional chiefs and kings summoned to a doctrinal conference with French colonists, who were still in the process of consolidating his territory. The chiefs each brought along a retinue for the journey; in Alpha Yaya's retinue was

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 ...

Korofo Moussa, from

Kissidougou Kissidougou ( N’ko: ߞߛߌ߬ߘߎ߯; pronounced like Kiss-eh-dow-goo) is a city in southern Guinea. It is the capital of in the Kissidougou Prefecture. Following intensified conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia during the fall and winter of ...

in the south of the country. Alpha Yaya arrived to the conference on its sixth day, and Korofo Moussa is said to have spontaneously improvised, along with his troupe of dancers and kora players, a praise song for Alpha Yaya after he arrived. The song began with the line "" ("Alpha Yaya, mansas (kings) are not the same"). According to Fodéba Isto Keira, former Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the performance took place in the building of the modern Directorate of the Judicial Police in the

Kaloum Kaloum is an urban sub-prefecture in the Conakry Region of Guinea and one of five in the capital Conakry. Kaloum includes the city centre of Conakry. As of 2014 it had a population of 62,675 people. When Air Guinée existed, its head offi ...

sub-prefecture of Conakry. Korofo Moussa's

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

quickly became popular; it was sung and played by all the griots for the rest of the conference, and within a few days it was known throughout Conakry. Alpha Yaya's personal griot immediately trained to play the song. Upon the return of the kings and their retinues to their regions, it spread throughout the country.

Modern anthem

Upon approaching independence in 1958, the lyrics of Korofo Moussa's song were reworked and written in French by artist, choreographer and politician

and Jean Cellier for the national anthem of Guinea. Korofo Moussa's melody was retained for the anthem. According to Keira, Keïta used the

solfège In music, solfège (, ) or solfeggio (; ), also called sol-fa, solfa, solfeo, among many names, is a music education method used to teach aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the tw ...

method when working with the music. Keira stated that the national anthem had to be inspired by something from

for the sake of avoiding frustrations and preserving national unity. The anthem was adopted upon independence on 2 October 1958 and included in article 1 of the constitution of 10 November 1958. A translation of the anthem into

was made by

Djeli 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 repo ...

Mamoudou Kandé (c. 1935 – 2008) from the Instrumental Ensemble. According to Kandé, while Minister of the Interior, Fodéba Keïta had in fact asked him to write the lyrics for the anthem some months after independence. The anthem is played on national television at the close of every broadcasting day.

References

External links

Guinea: ''Liberté'' - Audio of the national anthem of Guinea, with information and lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberte Guinean music National symbols of Guinea African anthems Liberty symbols National anthem compositions in F major