Khassonke dunun's bell

[Michel]

My experience is only based on what I saw in Bamako a few times. I think 8aardav8 is more credible because for what I understand he has travelled the Kayes/Khassonke region, which I am planned to do hopefully this or next winter. And (I think it's him) he has a nice website:

http://khassonke-music.yolasite.com/

Great stuff to learn all about!

[Afoba]

thanx for infos and the link, Michel!

[Michel]

I take every occasion to spread the word about this exciting style of playing! Last sunday we organized a beautiful performance with Malian style dancing and playing, including 2 khasso/jelidununs, great dancing and singing in Amsterdam, but it's such a pity just a few people are really interested! When I'm looking at your posts you have great knowledge of Upper Guinea style of playing. In the Netherlands the majority is interested in the same region, but hard to motivate to look in the direction of West-Mali.But that's another discussion.... Luckily you give another example.
Thanks for being interested.

[Afoba]

You know, one can't do and play everything (at least that's my idea). But the cultures (musically and in general) are quite close, and I'm very interested in relations, links, parellels, differences, functions of music...
And here, too, the most interesting stuff for me is more or less pure kasonka fêtes, some videos I saw on youtube featuring 1-2 konkonis, 4 djembés and 2 kasonkas just get on my nerves.

I took this from the site behind your link, Michel:

"Jali" or Bard caste, commonly known by the french word "Griot". Members of this caste play music, sing words of praise, and are entrusted with knowledge of the Khassonka's oral history. Originally, only Jali played the dundun, and even today, it is only jali who play the Tamandingo drum.

This fits exactly my question. I am still wondering why today the talking drum should only be played by dyelis (as in Guinea) and the bigger drums (kasonka dununs, well: the musico-cultural equivalents of djembé and dunduns in Guinea and some regions in Mali) should have been played by dyelis, too, in earlier times, but not nowadays.
Who should use the name "jeli dunun" for the kasonka dunun, if there is other drums that are very clearly only played by dyelis???
This makes no sense to me.

At least there's one clear benefit for me in duscussing this problem: If the kasonka dunun is no "numunkèla drum" according to the three of you, we can finally forget about the legend that the djembé is a numunkèla drum originally. The arguement being that only balcksmiths had the possibility to build djembés (not logical: who could produce the daba for the field workers? well, blacksmiths) and building a kasonka dunun being as difficult as building a djembé or maninka dundun, we see that this can't be true, if the kasonka dundun was played by dyelis (or others).

And there's much more interesting stuff in the comparison aproach: I saw the discussion concerning Dansa and Madan on the site. Madan is the malian or north-eastern (from the Kouroussa/Kankan point of view) version of Dyagba. I've heard that dance steps are the same in Madan as in Dyagba regions (I only know it for Dyagba, but for different Dyagbas, so why not). It would be very nice to have a closer look on southern malian Madan versions, kasonka-dansa (or "Sandagoundo"???) versions, Upper Guinean Dyagba versions and on Bamako-Dansa versions ("traditional" versions, so no concerts, repetitions or classes) and to compare the dance!
Structurally said: on which rhythm and how do women (of all social classes) danse in circles, if it's neither a marriage, nor a circumsicion (and therefor most probably Mamaya/Dyagba/Madan/...).

Josh, I saw you were involved in some of the discussions on that site, too. I would be very interested in your pov as well!

Greets and thanx again!
Daniel

PS: If one of you gives kasonka dunun workshops somewhere in Europe from time to time, don't hesitate to let me know (per email). Germany is a developing country of the last rang concerning kasonka music. So just as for some special djembé and dundun events, there might be some fools ready to go on trips in neighbouring countries to get something rare and authentic!

[e2c]

Good questions, Afoba!

But I wonder if the answers are available... sounds like we might have to actually go to Kayes to get them.

And maybe there is no "answer," other than what has already been told to us Westerners. Khassonka has its particular culture and "flavor," just as Wassoulou (Wasulu) does, and so on...

(All speculation on my part, of course! )

Edited to add:

And here, too, the most interesting stuff for me is more or less pure kasonka fêtes,

Very much agreed - but then, I really love the "minmalist" instrumentation in a lot of the Mali djembe recordings I've heard. (1 djembe, 1 konkoni - maybe 2 djembes at most.)

I like the sound of 1 djembe, 1 jelidunun, 1 konkoni - and 1 tama - a lot, since there's a nice mix of pitches and timbres. It reminds me a bit of some Nigerian percussion in that respect (in that the Nigerians also have drums ranging from high to low, nicely balanced in sound quality).

[Afoba]

And here, too, the most interesting stuff for me is more or less pure kasonka fêtes,

Very much agreed - but then, I really love the "minmalist" instrumentation in a lot of the Mali djembe recordings I've heard. (1 djembe, 1 konkoni - maybe 2 djembes at most.)

I like the sound of 1 djembe, 1 jelidunun, 1 konkoni - and 1 tama - a lot, since there's a nice mix of pitches and timbres.....

I would prefer 1 djembé, 2 konkonis/dunduns. I think this is closer to the guinean Wasolon style, too, and older than the "1 dundun - 2 djembés arrangement" (well, this is not necessarily a special value for you others, and the "oldest" might be 2 dunduns/2djembés, because every drummer had to start with something one day).

Concerning my questions: there are some details we can find and collect "here" (here meaning in the internet community on this site d;-) ). Most of us have or know some videos, it's more a time problem at first. Then most probably in the end here will be some details we can't find out without going one or two or three more times to several places, as you say, e2c. But let's see where we get.

So please, if anyone of you finds some Madan related dance videos somewhere, post it on this site!!!
Concerning the "dyeli dundun" affair, it's clear that I'm just the one to ask, not the one to response. But we have others here to do this as already seen in this thread!

Have a nice evening,
Daniel

[Michel]

Hi Daniel,

In another thread, called 'khassonke style', also in the music & drumming section, you could find quite a large collection of video's on this style. about Madan I don't know, but there are some lovely dansa's! One with Dramane Diabate, which is really great.

Enjoy.

[Afoba]

éhhh, ko iniké !!
thanx a lot, Michel !

[Michel]

Mba