MANDE and West African History

Vocabulary flashcards covering the geography, history, social structure, and musical traditions of the Mande people and the Mali Empire.

Mali Empire

A historical empire that existed from $1226$ to $1670$ and was founded by Sunjata Keita.

Sunjata Keita

The founder of the Mali Empire in $1226$ and the central figure of the Mande epic.

Mansa Musa

The King of Timbuktu ($1280$-$1337$) known as the wealthiest individual ever with an estimated net worth of $400$ billion.

Sudan

A term derived from Bilad es Sudan, meaning 'Land of the Blacks'.

The Sahel

Described as the southern 'coast' of the Sahara desert.

Horon

The social class consisting of descendants of the freeborn.

Nyamalo

A social class of craft specialists, including jalolu, who inherit their occupational roles from their fathers.

Sula

A social category of non-specialists that includes royalty, Islamic literates, merchants, and farmers.

Jong

The social class consisting of descendants of slaves.

Jali

A 'sound artisan' or oral historian, plural jalolu, commonly referred to by the French term griot.

Jaliya

The performance and professional practice of what the jali do.

Muddah

Praise singers who receive alms for praising the Prophet Mohammed.

Kuma

The speech or verbal delivery style used in jali performance.

Sunjata Fasa

The epic of the Mande people that tells the story of the adversity and survival of Old Mali under Sunjata Keita.

Kora

A bridge or spike harp featuring $21$ strings ($3$ octaves of $7$ notes) with a resonator made of a skin-covered half-calabash.

Sauta

An example of a variable tuning used for the kora.

Jalimusolu

Female jalolu who are highly regarded as singers and public performers.

Ngara

A prestigious title for a superior female singer with exceptional talent and courage before crowds.

Kandia Koyuate

A famous jelimuso (female griot) and kora player born in $1959$, known as 'La Grande vedette malienne'.

Konkong

A type of ostinato in kora music created by percussively striking the resonator.

Kumbengo

A melodic or harmonic ostinato used to establish the tonal center, pitch framework, and meter.

Birimintingo

Virtuosic instrumental passages in kora music that can be used to suspend the feeling of meter.