N'Faly Kouyate is a Guinean musician. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group of West Africa. His father was the

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 ...

Konkoba Kabinet Kouyate, who lived in

Siguiri Siguiri ( N’ko: ߛߌ߯ߙߌ߲߫ ; Arabic: سِجِرِ ِ) is a city in northeastern Guinea on the River Niger. It is a sub-prefecture and capital of Siguiri Prefecture in the Kankan Region. Its population was estimated at 28,319 in 2008. It is ...

, Guinea. In 1994 Kouyate moved to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and formed the ensemble Dunyakan (The Voice of the World). In 1997, he was invited to join the Afro Celt Sound System providing vocals, playing the kora, and

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 f ...

, collaborating with the others in the band to compose songs that blended music from Ireland with that of West African countries including his native Guinea.

References

External links

N'Faly Kouyate articleDunyakan site

Article by Rachel Laget based on anthropological field research. (www.xpeditions.eu)

References

External links

See also