The origins of the balafon and the Sosso Bala

The balafon or simply `bala' is a West African musical instrument belonging to the xylophone family and present in many countries of the Sahel region.  In 2003 on my very first trip to West Africa I began studying the bala in the town of Boké, Guinea Conakry. My first teacher who passed away in 2005 I will forever know only as Diabaté, his family name and the only name by which I heard anyone address him.

                                          Diabaté (2nd left holding guitar)

I would come to understand that the family name Diabaté identified my first teacher as descending from a long and esteemed musical lineage and belonging to a caste of professional musicians known as `griot' or `jeli'. 

The griot whose presence in West African society has been well documented have existed for hundreds of years and first appear in the writings of the 14th century Morrocan explorer Ibn Battuta.  Much has been written about the role of the griot (particularly good books are Eric Charry's Mande Music and Thomas .A. Hale's Griot and Griottes)  Far more than just virtuoso musicians, the griot are historians, poets, genealogists, diplomats and arbiters, and their presence is essential for many social and life cycle occasions such as weddings and naming ceremonies.  Griot famalies are often considered the guardian of a particular musical instrument, thus the name Cissokho is often associated with the kora, the name Kouyaté with the jeli n'goni, and the name of my first teacher Diabaté with the balafon.

Typically beginning their apprenticeship of a musical instrument very young, a griot musician is expected to master a repertoire of dozens of traditional songs, learn to make their instrument, to travel, and to transmit their knowledge.

        My present teacher Moussa Pantio Diabaté 

The Sosso Bala

Xylophones can be found all over Sub Saharan Africa, from the Marimba of Zimbabwe and South Africa, to the Amadinda of Uganda where another xylophone is also created by placing banana tree trunks over a deep pit.  The West African balafon however is unique, with origins that can be traced back to the beginning of the ancient empire of Mali.  

In the 13th century epic of Sundiata which tells the story of the great hero Sundiata Keita (a narrative brilliantly retold in the film Keïta! l'Héritage du griot  by Burkinabé film maker Dani Kouyaté)

the first balafon is owned by the Sosso blacksmith sorcerer-king Sumanguru kante, and played by his griot Bala Faséké Kouyaté.  It's power is enhanced through this association with magic and djinns, spirits or genies.  After Sundiata defeats Sumanguru, he claims the balafon and makes Bala Kouyaté it's guardian.

This same instrument believed to be over 800 years old is preserved in the Guinean village of Niagassola, and is recognised by UNESCO as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Guarded by a specially appointed member of the Kouyaté family known as the balatigi,

the Sosso Bala is only seen and played on rare occasions and is viewed as a symbol of the unity of the Manding people of West Africa.

However, just as the diverse people of West Africa speak many languages,

so do balafons (the name balafon is in fact a European corruption of the word bala referring to the instrument, and the verb fo meaning both to speak and to play in Dioula.) 

Thus balafons exist in many different tunings across West Africa, from the diatonic balafon in which a complete scale consists of 7 notes which I first began learning in Guinea, to the pentatonic Senoufo bala in which a scale consists of 5 notes that I now play and study with Moussa in Bobo Dioulasso. 

Whilst varying in timbre and the notes they produce, balafons in West Africa share some common characteristics.  A bamboo frame supports wooden keys cut and shaped from a locally available hardwood suspended on a line of strong cord.  Each key must be smoked for several days in a traditional oven to remove all moisture and achieve the desired sonority.

Balafon keys being smoked at Baragnouma workshop in Bobo Dioulasso

The keys are then suspended on the frame above calabash gourds graduating in size to match the frequency of the key above.  Each calabash is open at the top to amplify the sound of the corresponding key and has two further holes in its side.  Over these is a thin membrane historically made of spider's web, but today more often cut from a plastic bag or cigarette paper.  This produces a nasal buzzing sound which makes this musical instrument so distinctive.