katlefiya's Diaryland Diary

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I Giorni

One evening some time ago, at Bamako in Mali, I was driving through the town with the musician Toumani Diabate. It was hot. We had the radio on and at one point they broadcast a song. A gentle song which was slightly melancholy.
Whilst Toumani was driving he told me that this was one of the oldest and best loved songs of the Mande repertoire, which dates back to the twelfth century, called Mali Sajio. The song tells the story of a hippopotamus, who lived at the crossing of two rivers and was much loved by the inhabitants of a nearby village, who looked after him. But one day the hippopotamus was killed by a hunter. This song is sung as a lament for the death of a king or a great person or for the loss of a loved one.

9:03 a.m. - 2005-07-14

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