Yalunka devil song

Ethnomusicological recording made by Cootje van Oven. Yalunka devil song, accompanied by three bata and one agogo, see photograph. The meaning of the song: "The devil has won". Three masked devils took part in the performance, one Rimbo devil and two small Nafali devils. Whether they were acting as society devils or play-devils was not clear. The bata is a square frame drum. In two of these three, the rim sides opened out from the skin end to the open end so that the open square was larger than the skin square.; in one, the side of the skin square was 9" and the side of the open square was 10", in the other the corresponding measurements were 7" and 9.5". In the remaining bata the rim sides were parallel and the side of squares was 11". The agogo in this item was a vaguely cylindrical piece of metal, with a metal rod extending beyond it and serving as its handle. It was played with a beater. The body in itself was 8.5" long; the total length including the handle was 14".

Further Information

• Type: Sound Recording, Musical instruments
• Object: Yalunka devil song
• Materials: No Data / Other
• Culture Group: Yalunka
• Dimensions: No Data
• Production Date: 1965.12.27
• Associated Places: Kabala, Koinadugu District [Place Recorded]
• Associated People: Cootje van Oven [Sound Recordist]; Herb Clark [Sound Recordist]
• Museum: Cootje Van Oven Collection
• Accession Number: CVO:124

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