My final Stop! : Mali!

Final Stop : Mali!

So I am brought to Mali as this is one of the many countries in West Africa that the jembe originated from. The jembe is a skin covered drum that is played with the hands. According to the Banama people the drums name come directly from their saying 'Anke djé, anke bé' which translates to : 'everyone gather in peace'. This is what the purpose of the jembe is!

It is said that the jembe was created by blacksmiths that were know as Numu , but because of Numu immigration the jembe traditions and the instrument itself has spread across Western Africa. The construction of the jembe is one of fine detail but their are also many industrised and synthetic jembe drums made across the world.

Mali is a land-locked country in Western africa. It has a population of 14.5million and its capital is Bamako. Traditionally a jembe is crafted from a section of a Lenge tree. This tree was always used for centuries due to its acoustic and spiritual qualities. This is not always used though, the type of wood usually depends on the makers access to the different types of forests. The trees in Africa survive through the range in climate. The weather in the south is usually tropical and in the north it is arid (dry,lack of water and therefore development) . Most of the country suffers from spells of drought and also severe rainfall.

A large part of Mali's economic struture is based on agricultural. It is one the ten poorest nations of the world and subsistence agriculture (producing just enough food to survive on) is usually how the people survive. With this animals are farmed, this makes it easier for the drum makers to get access to materials for the base of the drum. The drumheads are typically made from goat skin and more rarely can be antelope, zebra, deer or calfskin.
The geography,culture and music link in very with each other. I hope to one day visit this country and experience this all for myself :)