A helpful diagram of a kora.

The kora (French: cora) is a 21 string harp-lute used extensively by Mandingo peoples in West Africa. It uses a large calabash cut in half and covered with cow skin, as a resonator, and has a notched bridge like a lute or guitar. The sound of a kora is like a harp, though when played in the traditional style, it bears a closer resemblance to flamenco guitar techniques. The player uses only thumb and index finger of both hands to pluck the strings in polyrhythmic patterns. Ostinato grooves ("Kumbeng") and improvised solo runs ("Biriminting") are played at the same time by skilled players. Image File history File links A diagram of a kora. ... Image File history File links A diagram of a kora. ... A string instrument (also stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... Mandingo may mean: Mandinka, a people of West Africa Mandingo, a bestselling novel originally published in 1957 Mandingo, a 1975 film based on the novel This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... West Africa is the region of western Africa that is generally considered to include the countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte dIvoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. ... Binomial name Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. ... A resonator is device or part that vibrates with and amplify waves. ... The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... The acoustic archtop guitar, used in Jazz music, features steel strings The guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ... Flamenco dancer Belen Maya, photograph taken by Gilles Larrain at his studio, 2001 Flamenco is a song, music and dance style which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish and Jewish musical traditions. ...

Kora players have traditionally come from griot families (traditional entertainers and narrators of stories) who pass their skills on to their descendants. It is played in Mali, Guinea and Senegal, but is most common in The Gambia. . A griot (pronounced gree-oh) is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral tradition. ...

The earliest reference to the kora in Western literature is in Travels in Interior Districts of Africa (1799) by the Scottish explorer Mungo Park. 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland Gardens in Scotland... Mungo Park Title illustration of (1859) Mungo Park (September 10, 1771 – 1806) was a Scottish explorer of the African continent. ...

In the book, Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley, and its television adaptation, Kunta Kinte's memory of the kora is dearly treasured by succeeding generations of his descendents as one of the few he had of his home in the region now know as Guinea before he was enslaved. However, by the time Haley investigated his geneology, his family perception of the instrument and its name was corrupted so badly that he needed to consult an Africa expert to find out the correct details of the instrument. Look up book on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Categories: Literature stubs | 1976 books | American novels | Books starting with S ... Alex Haley Alexander Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 - February 10, 1992) was an African American writer (though he was also proud of his Irish and Cherokee ancestry). ... Roots was a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haleys work Roots: The Saga of an American Family, his critically acclaimed genealogical novel. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Look up Slavery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Slavery is a condition of control over a person against their will, enforced by violence or other forms of coercion. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ...

In recent years, a 25-string model of the kora has been developed, though it has been adopted by only a few players, primarily in the region of Casamance, in southern Senegal. An electric instrument modeled on the kora (but made primarily of metal) called the gravikord was invented in the late 20th century by instrument builder Robert Gravi. An electric instrument invented by Robert Gravi, modeled on the West African kora. ...

External links

• Cora Connection
• Kora Music
• Malian kora musician, Mamadou Diabate
• Allmusic.com