Mali - Annotated Bibliography

Aherne, Tavy D.  Nakunte Diarra: Bogolanfini Artist of the Beledougou. Bloomington:  Metropolitan Printing Service, Inc., 1994. 

In this book, Aherne explores that work of Nakunte Diarra, a master bogolanfini artist.  This enlightening and very readable work describes the traditional art form and how it is created using natural dyes and mud from local riverbanks.  It delves into the various ceremonies at which bogolanfini is traditionally used and is still used today, such as marriages, births, excisions, and deaths.  We see that “Bogolanfiniw is everyone’s conception” because many people are involved in creating the thread which makes the cloth, which is cut into strips, etc.  It is made obvious that the process of creating bogolanfini is demanding both in time and physical labor.  It takes specialized knowledge to create the mud-dyed cloth.  There are numerous photographs of the process of creating bogolanfini, finished works, and Nakunte and his family.  Often, the bogolan is made into clothing and traditionally was used for headdresses, skirts, etc.  This is an excellent source for visual examples of one of the most popular art forms of Mali and provides extensive information that I have found very useful in my research of this topic.

Arnoldi, Mary Jo.  Playing with Time: Art and Performance in Central Mali.            Bloomington:  Indiana University Press,  1995. 

Mary Jo Arnoldi has done extensive research in the Mande communities of Mali and explored the mysterious world of the masquerade theater.  She describes in length the reasons behind the performances and what they consist of.  There is a plethora of masquerades performed in Mali and Arnoldi discusses each of them and provides visuals through photographs throughout the book.  We learn that the masquerades recast actual incidents, display and discuss cultural values and social relationships, and the nature of the everyday lives of Malians.  A central theme of the work is that “form and content merge in these performances and that the dramatic context takes its shape from the convergence of past and present and form the intersection of culture and nature.” (page 186, Para. 2).  This is absolutely the best source available to me on the masquerades of Mali because it provides such extensive information on their purposes and meanings and how the performances are carried out.  It is much more useful than the other articles, etc. that I have found on this topic.

Charno Jeffrey and Kopka, Matthew.  Jali Kunda: Griots of West Africa and Beyond.  Roslyn, New York:  Ellipsis Arts,  1996.

This work explores the world of the Griots, or Jali’s, of West Africa.  It focuses on Foday Musa Suso, a master kora player and his life as a master griot.  Suso “mastered his tradition’s 111 songs – many of which are ten or more hours long – by the time he was 18.” (preface).  The various instruments played by griots across the Mande region are described and through the accompanying CD, heard.  At least every-other page is a beautiful, colorful picture of the artists, performances, and instruments.  In an essay, Amiri Baraka (playwright-poet) discusses the impact the Griots have had on American music, including jazz and hip-hop.  The concern that the children of present-day Griots are attending school rather than learning the trade of their fathers is also mentioned.  The book and CD are a great source on Mande music, especially the traditional forms.  I found the track notes in the book to be very useful because they  explain the meaning and words of each song and list the performing artists.

Charry, Eric S.  “Mali: Musical Sources; Music and Instruments of the Malian Sahel and savanna; Music and Society.”  The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Available http://www.grovemusic.com/grovemusic/article/section/>.  February 23, 2001.

I found The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians to be extremely useful not only while researching various artists but especially in article on Mali which contains information about Malian musical instruments, traditional and modern types of music, specific musicians, and the various musical regions of the country.  Eric Charry is well-known for his thorough research of the music of the Mande peoples of Mali and is a credible resource for research.  The article follows the history of Malian music and instruments and describes the link between movements of people, subsistence strategies, and artisan activities and that history.  Although a couple portions of the article are not directly relevant to my research, they still add to a general understanding of the origins or Malian music.  The article also mentions many musical artists and their area of expertise including Fanta Damba, Sidiki Diabate, Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, the Rail Band, and many more.  Charry states that “the guitar has been used in Mali by many ethnic groups to play their music and it has been a bridge between traditional and popular genres.” (Music and Society, page 3).  The “Music and Instruments of the Malian Sahel and savanna” section is also useful and contains a list of musical instruments and their regions, although it goes into specifically which fingers are used to pluck each instrument and exactly which rhythms and pulses are used in various tunes.  So some of the article is not as useful for my research although most of it is informative, comprehensible, and well-organized. 

Charry, Eric S.  Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of Maninka and Mandinka of West Africa.  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press,  2000.

This book basically contains everything anyone would need to know about the music of the Mande region of Mali.  Eric Charry covers everything from the various performers and performances, to instruments, to methods, to perspectives (modernization, Westernization, etc.)  In addition, the last third of the work contains several appendixes including one (Appendix C), which is a list of recordings of traditional and modern pieces in Mande repertoires and a glossary of African terms.  For the most part, the book is quite readable and is a reliable source because Charry has done much research in this area.  It also contains numerous photographs and tables (that organize events, dances, instruments, songs, etc.).  Perhaps most importantly, both traditional and modern Mande music is discussed, so this is a useful source for me in more than one area of my research.

Duran, Lucy.  “Jelimusow: the superwomen of Malian Music.”  Furniss, Graham and Gunner, Liz [editors].  Power, Marginality, and African Oral Literature. Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1995.  Full text obtained from: A.S.U.

This segment provides what many articles on Malian music lack: an in depth commentary on women in music and how their roles, traditions, and music itself differs form that of male musicians in Mali.  Lucy Duran, also an expert of sorts in Malian music, reveals the importance of women in Malian music and how their roles have been changing in recent times.  She writes that ngaaraya, the status that all jeliws (women singers) aspire to, means “great musician, master of the word” (page 201, Para. 4).  Therefore, a musician’s use of words is more important in Malian music than the actual sound of her voice.  Duran gives a detailed explanation as to how the roles of men and women differ in music, that traditionally, “men specialize in history conveyed through the spoken word, women specialize in praise through song” (page 201, Para. 3).  The most unique aspect of this article is that it describes in length how the roles of women in music have changed and that their modern music is much more popular among Malians and around the world than their male counterparts.  What they sing about has changed (they sing now more for entertainment and to voice political issues) along with their independent lifestyles (supported by their patrons).  This segment is also useful in that it gives direct quotes from Malians on how they view these changes women are making in Malian music.

Goldner, Janet and Dembele, Kletigui.  “The Groupe Bogolan Kasobané.”  Art and Life In Africa Online.  Full text.  April 21, 1999.  Available <http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/contemporary/groupe1.html> .  March 1, 2001.

In “The Groupe Bogolan Kasobané” Janet Goldner and Dembele Kletigui (one of the six members in the Groupe) explain how the work of the Groupe with bogolan differs from the traditional bogolan (or bogolanfini) art form.  They say that, “the Groupe moved the technique from craftsmanship to art.” (page 2, Para. 4).  Their form of bogolan is created on stretched canvas made from the traditional cotton cloth and with natural, Malian dyes found locally.  Although each member of the collective group was educated at Institute National des Arts and has an appreciation for formally trained art, “their originality has been in their refusal of painting, the easel, perspective, chemical colors, and all other external elements for the ancestral ways of representation.  One of their main goals is to preserve the symbolic alphabet, the traditional structure and uses, and the meanings of the traditional colors used in bogolan cloths while they create a more contemporary art form (on canvas).  One of the best features of this site is the collection of works done by the group, displayed in color.  It is an superb source for both visual and written information on one of the leading contemporary groups of artists/art forms.  It reveals the close relationship between the traditional and modern in Malian art.

Huet, Jean-Christophe.  “The Togu Na of Tenyu Ireli.”  African Arts  21.4  (1987/88): 34-37.

This is perhaps the most descriptive and detailed article I have found on the togu na, or men’s meeting houses, of Mali.  Huet brings up a unique view that by rebuilding the togu na of Tenyu Ireli, the Dogon people are moving closer to a perception of their cultural traditions as art.  This article is useful in that it reveals the importance and sacredness of the togu na and the traditions surrounding it to the Dogon people.  The purpose and meaning of the meeting house, the sculptured wood and clay pillars, their symbols, and the meetings themselves are explained in much detail.  The stories surrounding the togu na’s are especially intriguing.  The writer also goes into how the togu na’s are changing (specifically the symbols on the pillars) and why.  One of the most noteworthy qualities of this article is the photographs of both traditional and revised (modern) pillars.  It greatly emphasizes the influence of the traditional religions on the art of Mali. 

Rovine, Victoria.  “Bogolanfini in Bamako.”  African Arts  30.1  (Winter 1997):  40-51 

This clear and direct article is both informative and provocative.  Victoria Rovine explains how the traditional art form, bogolanfini, differs from the modern bogolan and describes how the mud-stained cloth is created.  She states that the cloth is a “potential source of information” (page 42, Para. 2) in its original form but that the painted symbols are losing their meaning as more and more bogolan is being produced for non-Malians and the art market.  She divides Bamako’s bogolan into three categories: tourist-market bogolan, “fine art” bogolan, and bogolan clothing.  She gives a thorough, detailed explanation of what each type is, how it is changing, and the issues surrounding each type.  This article contains much more useful information than most of the other articles I have examined.  It is very readable and clarifies why and how the bogolan art form is changing.  It also contains several beautiful photographs of both the traditional and modern forms of bogolan.

Roy, Christopher D.  “Malian Contemporary Art.”  Art and Life in Africa Online.  Full text.  Available <http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/contemporary/roy1.html> .  March 1, 2001.