Hunters/Balandougou

[dununbabe]

the hunters from around the area come to visit Balandougou. Dec 2007

[bops]

My older brother (actually the elder brother of my good friend and band mate) is a donso n'goni player in the area, but he wasn't in that video. He's from Kolomalila, between Balandugu and Yanfolila, and his name is Joumen Diakite. Here's a clip of him playing in his village. I love donso music. Great video!

The recording quality isn't perfect... ancient technology.

Joumen Diakite_5.mp3

(15.55 MiB) Downloaded 56 times

[e2c]

VERY cool, both of you! many thanks for the vid and audio.

Just wondering... what is the significance of the wide stripes on some of the shirts, and on the donso ngonis? (or is that something that only hunters are supposed to know?)

am a big fan of donso ngoni and bolon myself - wish I had some way of learning more. (And getting a good instrument! Love the buzzing sound from the metal plates.)

Edited to add: Impressive variety of hats and textiles, too. I'm really taken by the white with black (or is it blue?) robe worn by the tall donso ngoni player who comes in at the end.

[dununbabe]

WOW bops thats beautiful!

[bops]

WOW bops thats beautiful!

Thanks, I can post some more if you'd like.

Just wondering... what is the significance of the wide stripes on some of the shirts, and on the donso ngonis? (or is that something that only hunters are supposed to know?)

I'm not sure if the stripes have any particular significance, but it's quite possible. There's a lot of sorcery involved in the donso tradition (that's basically the purpose of the music), and almost all of the elements of their dress have some magical or mystical properties - the flyswatter, the mirrors, the patches, pouches, and fringe, etc.

[e2c]

hey bops - thanks so much for the info.; will join dununbabe in her request for more music.

what little I know about hunters and donso ngoni music comes mainly from Banning Eyre's book In Griot Time. (Definitely worth reading for any fan of Malian music and Mali-style guitar in particular: http://www.banningeyre.com/pages/igt_index.html ) It would be interesting to know the significance of those wide stripes, but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to live with the fact that my question will likely never be answered.