Gambia
Mandinka / Mande

Gourd, goat skin, antelope-hide, ebony, metal, wood, monofilament line
1999 CE
Length: 43 inches; Resonator Gourd: Height: 16 inches x Width: 18 inches x Depth: 9 inches
Chordophone -Bridge-Harp – Plucked

This Kora (bridge-harp) was made in 1999, by Yacouba Cissoko, the nephew of the renown Kora virtuoso and ‘jeli’ of Birkama (1970’s), “The Gambia Malamini Jobarteh,” and who was also a student of Kora master Dembo Konte. The Kora is found in all Mande cultures. It is played by the Mandinka in Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau, the Malinke or Maninka in Guinée, the Bambara or Bamana in Mali and the Dioula in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).   

The Kora has a centuries-old tradition and has been played at royal courts, where the musicians and griots belonged to the personnel. The Kora was mentioned 1799 for the first time in literature by Mungo Park in Travels in the interior districts of West Africa as ‘korri.’   The Kora has a big hemispherical body, a long neck and two planes with 11 and 10 strings running in notches at the sides of an upright mounted bridge. The playing style resembles the fingerpicking blues guitar, as the placement of the strings allows for the playing of chords and harmonies and fast melodic runs. This Kora has 21 strings, is a professional high quality instrument with a beautiful sound. All the strings were changed in 2001, to high quality monofilament line (the clear kind) with the exception of the lower bass strings.