Southern Mali, eastern Guinea and northern Ivory Coast
Mandinka

Goat hair, calabash, wood, leather strings, cloth
ca. Mid-20th century
Height: 39 inches Calabash Resonator Diameter: 15 inches
Chordophone – Harp – Plucked

This savanna instrument is a Bolon (bow-LONE, also nbolon), a kind of (bass/hunter’s) gourd harp/lute, from Guinea/Mali. This traditional Mande harp consists of a large open-top gourd covered with goat skin and hair, fretless neck, upright bridge, and 3 tunable leather laced strings, which are turned by sliding up and down the neck. The bolon is lower pitched than the other West African harps like the ngoni or kora and is said to have association with the warrior class. It is used to accompany other instruments such as ngoni or kora, and/or to provide a mellow acoustic bass sound.

The Mandinka (also known as the Mande, Mandingo and Malinke – “People of Mali”, among other names) are a West African people who are spread across parts of Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau.  Some of the most well-known Mande groups are the Bambara, Malinke, and Soninke.