● Instrument Reference · Desk-Verified Dossier
21-String Kora
KoraWest African bridge-harp of twenty-one strings built from a halved calabash gourd, cowhide soundboard, and rosewood neck fitted with braided leather konso tuning rings.
Classification
Instrument
Origin / Scope
Senegal
Connected Rooms
1 Tradition
Bibliography
1 Source
Archival note & context
Played exclusively within hereditary Mandinka jali (griot) lineages across Senegal, Mali, The Gambia, and Guinea, the kora arranges its twenty-one strings in two parallel ranks notched into an elevated wooden bridge.
Using only the thumbs and index fingers of both hands while gripping the two vertical hand-posts, the jali weaves interlocking kumbengo ostinati beneath rapid birimintingo melodic cascades.
Used in traditions
1Sources
1What’s on this page is sourced from the citation below.
| Source | Publisher | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| Jaliya and the Organology of the Mandinka Kora | SOAS Musicology Series, 2016 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |