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26 · TREASURE · The present with historical memory

Living m’bolon

Practices and expressions of the m’bolon

This instrument accompanies praise, heroic tales, agricultural work and other occasions, with uses that vary by place.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

Visual proposal for Practices and expressions of the m’bolon, Southern Mali, especially the Sikasso and Koulikoro areas
DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis

Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

An instrument with a large gourd, skin, curved neck, strings and a rattle, used for praise, heroic tales, agriculture and other occasions.

The number of strings and the repertoire encode local uses, which are subject to change. Limitation: Do not call it a fossil of imperial Mali or record a performance as a universal sample.

Evidence and interpretation

VIVA. An instrument with a large gourd, skin, curved neck, strings and a rattle, used for praise, heroic tales, agriculture and other occasions. What this does not establish: Do not call it a fossil of imperial Mali or record a performance as a universal sample.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date
The present with historical memory
Location
Southern Mali, especially the Sikasso and Koulikoro areas
Material
living musical heritage
Context
Communities and performance contexts; there is no single original. Custody: Performers, makers and bearer communities; Mali’s cultural authorities and the UNESCO programme.
Curatorial reading
The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis
art-music
Research record
MANDE · EVI-12
Documentary coverage
1 museum source, heritage, primary corpus or research for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

Musical instruments6 dated objects

1 / 6In the centre: Hohle Fels flute

Also connected, without a comparable date (4)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

  • Daegok-ri grave goodsGojoseon and early Korea · from c. 5th century BCE
  • Musical bowsSan histories · Twentieth-century ethnomusicological documentation
  • Sosso-BalaMande Worlds · Tradition linked through narrative to the 13th century; the present instrument and its custodianship have their own chronology
  • Trumpet from NumantiaIberians · No individual dating published on this record

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

The hand contributes to the sound

Besides plucking the strings, the performer can carry in the hand a device of metal plates with oval lobes and small iron rings, fastened by a pad and cords or an elastic band. The file explains that it reinforces sound vibrations. This piece reminds us that performance involves accessories and bodily movements, not only the main instrument. Teaching occurs through learning and local associations; its practice brings together in southern Mali participants of different genders, communities and religions.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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