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Balafon

The balafon (pronounced /ˈbæləfɒn/, or, by analogy with xylophone etc., /ˈbæləfoʊn/) is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Bwaba, Bobo, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now found across West Africa from…

History, Regions & Art

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History

MarimbaMandingSierra LeoneGyilDagara
24 related topics

Regional traditions

IgboSusuSenegaleseThe GambiaCameroon
40 related topics

Famous players and ensembles

Madou KoneRichard BonaDjiby DiabatéKélétigui DiabatéHabib Koité
42 related topics

Overview

GourdXylophoneStruck idiophoneMandéBwaba
24 related topics

Key facts & relationships

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Classification
West African wooden Percussion idiophone with up to 21 keys
Developed
12th century or earlier
Hornbostel–Sachs classification
111.212 (Sets of percussion sticks)
Other names
balafo, bala, balaphone, balaphon, balaphong, balani, gyil, balangi

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Overview

History

Construction

Regional traditions

Famous players and ensembles

Sources

  • ISBN ISBN (identifier)

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Map overview Semantic statistics

Balafon

Nodes146
Edges145
Triples280
Avg. degree1.99
Density0.013699
Components1

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Balafon

Top relations

related to Famous players and ensembles · 88
Balafon → Africa, Afro Celt Sound SystemAdam, AfrocubismModibo Diabaté, Aly Keita, American, Austria, Austrian World Music Award, AustriaRichard Bona, Balafon Beat, Balafon Master, Benno Sterzer, Bissau-Guinean, British, Burkina Faso, Burkina FasoDanny Elfman, Burkina-based, Cameroonian, Dave Brubeck GroupNeba Solo, Diabate, DVD
related to Further reading · 35
Balafon → Adrian Egger, Aly Keita, Balafon Beat, Chicago Studies, Das, Die Stimme Des Balafon, Eric Charry, Ethnomusicology, Germany, GermanyGert Kilian, Gert Kilian, Introduction, ISBN, La Voix Du Balafon, LEU-Verlag, Lynne Jessup, Mamadi Kouyaté, Mande Music, Mandinka, Maninka
related to Gyile · 27
Balafon → African, Among Mande, Bewaa, Bissa, Burkina Faso, Dagara, Dyula, English, Ghana, Gur-speaking, Gurunsi, Gyil, IPA-label-small, It, Ivory Coast, Ligbi, Lobi, Mali, Mande-speaking Bambara, Numu
related to history · 24
Balafon → Believed, Burkina Faso, CE, Central Africa, Dagara, Ghana, Gurunsi, Ibn Battuta, In, Ivory Coast, Kingdom, Kongo, Lobi, Mali Empire, Malian, Manding, Mansa Suleyman, Moroccan, Records, Sierra Leone
related to Sources · 24
Balafon → Aethiopians, Aly Keita, BALAFON BEAT, Beckingham, Das, Dawsons, DVDbalafon, Gambra, Germany, Gert Kilian, Hakluyt Society, Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, ISBN, London, Mamadi Kouyaté, Pall Mall, Paris, Richard, The, The Balafon
related to Regional traditions · 17
Balafon → An Igbo, And, As, Cameroon, Chad, Congo Basin, Gambia, Guinea, In, In Cameroon, In Guinea, Mali, Malinké, Manding, Senegal, The Susu, West Africa
related to Cameroon · 14
Balafon → Anne-Marie Nzie, Bikutsi, Cameroon's, Cameroonian, During, European, In, Los Camaroes, Messi Me Nkonda Martin, Richard Band, Some, Sung, The, Zoetele
see also · 10
Balafon → Africa, Air AfriqueMusic, GuineaMusic, IndonesiaRanat, Kolintang, MaliMarimba, Music, North Sulawesi, South America, Thailand
related to Etymology · 8
Balafon → Bala, Balani, Bobo Dioulasso, In, Kolokani, Malinké, The, These
related to External links · 8
Balafon → Cameroon, Cora Connection, Gallery, Guinea, Mofu-Gudur Balafon An, Niagassola, The Making, What

Important terminology Word statistics

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Important terminology

instrument mali bala guinea played keys africa west sosso burkina faso gyil music name ghana kouyaté century traditions mandinka bikutsi

Entity relationships Subject–Predicate–Object triples

SubjectPredicateObjectConfidenceSrc
BalafonClassificationWest African wooden Percussion idiophone with up to 21 keys1.00infobox
BalafonDeveloped12th century or earlier1.00infobox
BalafonHornbostel–Sachs classification111.212 (Sets of percussion sticks)1.00infobox
BalafonOther namesbalafo, bala, balaphone, balaphon, balaphong, balani, gyil, balangi1.00infobox
Balafonis aManding name0.90text
Balafonis acompound of two words0.90text
festivalsinstance ofplayable only by trained religious caste members and only at ritual events0.80text
royalinstance ofplayable only by trained religious caste members and only at ritual events0.80text
funerialinstance ofplayable only by trained religious caste members and only at ritual events0.80text
or marriage celebrationsinstance ofplayable only by trained religious caste members and only at ritual events0.80text
Balafonrelated to CameroonDuring0.60section
Balafonrelated to CameroonCameroon's0.60section

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