Yalunka song to amuse warriors

Ethnomusicological sound recording made by Cootje van Oven. Yalunka song to amuse warriors, accompanied by the balangi. The performer and balangi are both pictured in the photograph. The balangi is a xylophone with calabash resonators. The calabashes are arranged in a zig-zag formation underneath the slats. They are graded according to size like the slats themselves, as each resonator has to correspond to the pitch of its slat. The balangi is played with a pair of mallets with leather heads. This one has 16 slats. When measured in the afternoon, its length was noted down as 34", but in the evening the same balangi yielded a result of 32"! The explanation may be that the evening measurement was taken along the front of the bottom frame and the afternoon measurement along the middle of this frame where the wood moves outwards as can be seen in the photograph. The slats range in length from 16" to 12", taken from the lowest to the highest notes.

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Further Information

  • Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
  • Object: Yalunka song to amuse warriors
  • Materials: No Data / Other
  • Culture Group: Yalunka
  • Dimensions: No Data
  • Production Date: 1966.04.11
  • Associated Places: Falaba, Sulima Chiefdom, Koinadugu District [Place Recorded]
  • Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]; Yele Foday Samura [Performer]
  • Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
  • Accession Number: CVO:171

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