, have a distinctive musical tradition that, along with the influence of neighboring
Fulani
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
,
Tukulor
__NOTOC__
The Tukulor people ( ar, توكولور), also called Toucouleur or Haalpulaar, are a West African ethnic group native to Futa Tooro region of Senegal. There are smaller communities in Mali and Mauritania. The Toucouleur were Islamized ...
Malinke
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 ...
cultures, has contributed greatly to popular
Senegalese music
Senegal's music is best known abroad due to the popularity of mbalax, a development of conservative music from different ethnic groups and '' sabar'' drumming popularized internationally by Youssou N'Dour.
Senegalese Musical Instruments List
* B ...
, and to
West African music
The music of West Africa has a significant history, and its varied sounds reflect the wide range of influences from the area's regions and historical periods.
Traditional West African music varies due to the regional separation of West Africa, y ...
in general. Wolof music takes its roots from the Serer musical tradition, particularly from the Serer pre-colonial
Kingdom of Saloum
The Kingdom of Saloum (Serer language: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer/ Wolof kingdom in present-day Senegal. Its kings may have been of Mandinka/Kaabu origin. The capital of Saloum was the city of Kahone. It was a sister kingdom of Si ...
. Virtually all Wolof musical terminology including musical instruments comes from the
Serer language
Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum branch of Niger–Congo spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It i ...
.Masters of the sabar: Wolof griot percussionists of Senegal. Page 46. By Patricia Tang
Griot tradition
Wolof musicians were traditionally drawn from 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 ...
s (''géwél''), or of the
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
(''tëgg''), who were masters of drumming. Griots taught history, ethics and religion using their songs and recitations, and were employed by powerful members of the community as praise-singers and historians. Today many modern Wolof musicians still come from Griot families.
After the 19th century conversion of major Wolof kingdoms to Islam, the ''tagg'', or ode song in Wolof, was reused in an Islamic
Nasheed
A nasheed (Arabic: singular ', plural ', meaning: "chants") is a work of vocal music, partially coincident with hymns, that is either sung '' a cappella'' or with instruments, according to a particular style or tradition within Islam.
Nashe ...
tradition—an important integration of pre-Islamic style into the new Muslim paradigm.
Instruments
Wolof folk instruments include the ''
xalam
Xalam (in Serer, or khalam in Wolof) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa with 1-5 strings.
The xalam is commonly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Northern Nigeria, Northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, an ...
'' or ''halam'', which is a five-stringed
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 re ...
, very important in Wolof folk music, the
sabar
The sabar is a traditional drum from Senegal that is also played in the Gambia. It is associated with Wolof and Serer people.drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
, an ensemble of seven different drums, each differently tuned, and the
hourglass
An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...
talking drum
The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pit ...
called a ''tama''. The
Qadiriyyah
The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...
Sufi order
A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking '' haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth".
...
use
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...
drums.
Modern Wolof musicians have incorporated instruments usually associated with the neighboring Serer,
Fula
Fula may refer to:
*Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe)
* Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani)
**The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language
**The Fula variety known as the Pular language
**The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde
*Al-Fula
...
and
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 Ki ...
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 ...
, the
Maures
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct ...
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...
drums, the Mandinka
kora
Kora may refer to:
Places India
* Kora, Bardhaman, West Bengal
* Kora, Bharuch, Gujarat
* Korha, Katihar, also known as Kora, in Bihar
* Kora, Kendrapara, Odisha
* Kora, Wardha, Maharastra
* Kora, Tumakuru, Karnataka
* Toyaguda, Adilabad, Telan ...
(a
West African
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, ...
harp), the riiti (a Fula single-stringed bowed instrument), the Serer instruments i.e. tama, the
sabar
The sabar is a traditional drum from Senegal that is also played in the Gambia. It is associated with Wolof and Serer people.junjung, and the Serer motifs and genres i.e.
mbalax
Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the national popular dance music of Senegal and the Gambia. In the 1970s, mbalax emerged as the distinctive sound of postcolonial Senegal. Derived from a fusion of indigenous Wolof sabar drumming with popular music princip ...
(from Serer-
njuup
The Njuup tradition is a Serer people, Serer style of Music genre, music rooted in the Ndut initiation rite, which is a rite of passage that young Serers must go through once in their lifetime as commanded in the Serer religion. The Culture trip ...
" Rémi Jegaan Dioh Sur un air culturel et cultuel" [in Ferloo), , ''baka'', tassou">n">Sur un air culturel et cultuel" [in Ferloo), , ''baka'', tassou, etc.
The late Serer-diva Yandé Codou Sène was a practitioner of the Tassou (var : ''Tasú''), a "form of sung and chanted poetry central to both everyday and ritual Serer life that is also used explicitly by the Wolof,
Fula
Fula may refer to:
*Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe)
* Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani)
**The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language
**The Fula variety known as the Pular language
**The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde
*Al-Fula
...
,
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 Ki ...
Mbalax
Mbalax (or mbalakh) is the national popular dance music of Senegal and the Gambia. In the 1970s, mbalax emerged as the distinctive sound of postcolonial Senegal. Derived from a fusion of indigenous Wolof sabar drumming with popular music princip ...
Doudou N'Diaye Rose
Doudou Ndiaye Rose (born Mamadou Ndiaye; 28 July 1930 – 19 August 2015) was a Senegalese drummer, composer and band leader, and was the recognized modern master of Senegal's traditional drum, the sabar. He was the father of a musical dynasty ...
: Sabar master and Griot.
*
Mbaye Dieye Faye Mbaye Dieye Faye (born 1 October 1960) is a singer and a Senegalese percussionist.
Overview
Mbaye Dieye Faye is a singer and percussionist in Senegal. Although patrilineally from the noble Serer Faye family, he was born to a modest family of g ...
: Singer and percussionist.
*
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...
: Perhaps the most famous Senegalese singer, from a griot family on his mother's side.
*
Alioune Mbaye Nder
Alioune Mbaye Nder (born April 28th 1969, Dakar, Senegal) is a Senegalese singer. Nder takes his name from the ''n'der'', the drum favoured by his griot father.
Background
A dancer and percussionist in his youth, Nder began his singing career i ...
: Singer, ''the Prince of Mbalax''
* Thione Seck: Famed singer of the 1970s to today.
*
Jimi Mbaye
Mamadou "Jimi" Mbaye is a Senegalese guitarist best known for his work with Youssou N'dour. Mbaye has developed a unique Senegalese guitar style in which he makes his Fender Stratocaster sound like local instruments such as the kora
Kora may re ...
: Guitarist and producer
References
{{Reflist
Sources and external links
* Mbye B. Cham, Islam in Senegalese Literature and Film , Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 55, No. 4, Popular Islam, 1985 pp. 447–464.
*Ali Colleen Neff, "Tassou: The Ancient Spoken Word of African Women." nEthnolyrica Senegalese music