mamady keita talks about moribayassa in balandugu

[dununbabe]

while there seem to be several Balandougou's (which means; this is the land where we must last) I know there is only ONE Bankoumana, and that is one of the other villages we played at, so thats why the link to that village should work for this particular Balandouogu. Also to the northeast is the one and only "Koundianakoro" (not to be confused with Kuodianakoro or Koundinanoura) where we played as well.

[michi]

OK, thanks for the clarification. This means that Mamady's Balandougou is at 11° 9'50.43"N, 8°42'48.25"W. That particular Balandougou is north-east of Bankoumana and south-west of Koudianakoro, which matches your description.

However, at least according to Google Maps, the shortest straight-line distance from there to the Mali border is 12km. So, it appears that either the liner notes or Google Maps are wrong.

Cheers,

Michi.

[dununbabe]

I trust google!

[e2c]

From Eric Charry's online essay on jembe (http://echarry.web.wesleyan.edu/jembear ... ticle.html) -

Jembes are sometimes heard as part of urban popular music groups, but they usually have a background role, except during rare solos. When jembes are called upon in this context it often is to evoke the more spiritual aspects of dancing as in Oumou Dioubate's (1993) haunting piece Lancey where she describes a pact she made with Allah (God) after losing her twin infants. If Allah would grant her the ability to bear a child who could survive to call her 'Mommy' she will do the sacred Moribadjassa dance. She gives birth to Lancey and when she hears him call her, she calls upon the women of the world to help her dance the Moribadjassa. Enter the jembe

The song he talks about is available on her CD of the same name (Lancey), issued by Sterns -



* Note: I got the song from emusic.com and noticed that Oumou D. pronounces "Moribadjassa" exactly the way Charry spells it... the "dj" sound is very pronounced. And it's a full-out pop song, with saxes and keyboards as well as touches of kora and, later, djembe. Very haunting.

I checked Charry's book Mande Music and there's a complete translation of the lyrics to Oumou Dioubote's song "Lancey." Here are a few excerpts:

Your friends talk about you behind your back
saying you were throwing away your money
giving it to prostitutes
because I could not bear a child...

Allah is lord of the whole universe
who granted me a pregnancy with twins
they turned out to be boys
but Allah did not allow them to survive...

My mothers, I was ashamed
Allah, I had lost hope
I was devastated
If only I could make a pact...

I made a pact with Allah
I made a pact with the great Allah
If I can give birth to a child who lives to say 'mommy,'
on that very day I will do the jassa dance for Allah.

Moribadjassa, Allah merciful master of the universe.
Lancey called me 'mommy.'
Moribadjassa, all of you answer me,
Lancey called me 'mommy.'

Women of the world, help me with the jassa dance
everyone help me with the Moribadjassa dance.
we made a pact with the great Allah.

My brothers and sisters, dance to the Moribadjassa...

To the women who have children
may Allah grant them long lives.
And to the women who are childless
may Allah grant children to you.
The meaning of marriage is in having children
ahh, the meaning of life is in having children.

[Following are several verses where she calls on various individuals to join her in dancing the Moribadjassa.]

This is deeply moving... no wonder the music for this song is so haunting and powerful.

[michi]

I'm reading about the baradósa in Daniel Giordani's dissertation. I stumbled across a really interesting section, where he describes the third day of the baradósa in Baro.

On the third day, the change of order takes place and the baradomolu move into the dance place and symbolically vanquish the older, now retired baratiilu. The younger ones, who will enter the bara, hide in a corner of the bara to watch their older brothers, who are in their last year as baratii, perform the dance. The great ones finally dance the Moribayassa and leave the bara forever. They dance the Moribayassa to express their joy at having had peace in the bara for the entire time and being able to pass it on that way.

« Ensuit les jeunes qui doivent rentrer dans le bara se cachent dans les coins et guettent. Cela trouve qu’ ils ont sacrifie le beuf et des cola. Après les conversations les grands se changent et les jeunes prennent leur tenue. Les grands dansent alors le moribayassa avec la joie de rentrer et sortir du bara dans la paix. »
(Interview Dansira Laye Keita)

I found this very surprising because the occasion for dancing Moribayassa described by Daniel is entirely different from what Mamady states in his book.

Cheers,

Michi.

[michi]

Looks like he's playing a straight bell to me...

It neither looks nor sounds like a straight bell to me. If you watch carefully (the slow version), immediately after the call, you can see the bell hand hitting the two off-beats.

I don't know what video I was watching at the time (or what I'd been smoking). But the kenkeni for Moribayassa on Akaran Iko Iko is definitely straight. Taylor plays it just like it is notated in the book. Sorry for the confusion…

Michi.