Mali dance and jembe: Sunu - Sobonikun 2011

wadoma performing sunu and sobonikun
www.wadoma.com

[@littlehotepheru]

i have performed on stage with Paddy many of times and he is a well respected man within the african dance community he is of a different skin color but that dont mean anything he is just as african as i am. I was there the day he performed i am the young man in the front with the baba hat recording 01:38 my name is Kumasi my family is from Ghana and i can say Paddy and his wife is African like me Music is from Allah he gave it to us to perform and touch people lives

[@kharikisile2522]

There are plenty of European cultural traditions to embrace. There is something disrespectful about parading a culture that you have forcibly separated its practitioners from. There'd be something terribly odd with West Africans dressed in Scottish kilts playing the bagpipe, and this is the equivalent. Embrace the cultural practices of European people, and respect African people's culture enough to let them reconnect to their heritage without you treating it as a novelty.

[@fadilamawiyahs.j5146]

exactly

[@Atananaki]

+Khari Kisile So you mean that just because you have a black skin you have the right to play or dance to this type of music? I was born with a white skin but every time I have been drumming in West Africa I have been respected as a MUSICIAN. Music has no skin colour. What would be odd with West Africans playing the bagpipe? I think it would be a terrible world if we should judge musicians from the colour of their skin instead of their skills in playing whatever music it would be.

[@akarisidibe2470]

+Atananaki ... I enjoyed your music and that Sogonikun was awesome! keep up the beats and spread the vibes brothers and sisters. I agree with you that music knows no color, but we cannot also dismiss Khari's concerns for it has some validity and you should understand that having gone to Africa like you said and been welcomed and respected as one of them... that's the African way!!! If you would've needed a wife too they would've given you one with a smile. But is that the white man's way? NO! not really. A black man travels to an all white community and tries to mingle and learn their cultural music, guess what? He is asked to enroll to a school, application process, unbearable fees, and not to mention how he is received and all of the unnecessary inquiries...you know the drill.There would be in his way the usual barriers, barriers, rules and filters everywhere. .. Such is white peoples way!!! I am not saying that all white people are the same, NO! I know some genuinely awesome ones and many others are out there am sure, but many may appear open on the surface but still well closed in and their culture or system of intolerance makes you all look bad unfortunately. So as long as these barriers and attitudes are prevalent, black people will always be concerned and think that the love is a one-way street. Now what you brothers and sisters are doing should give us all hope that some of you kindred hearts may not only bring back this wonderful music from the motherland but also your experiences and stories and hopefully change the attitudes of your people over time and this is happening thank God. There must become a time when blacks are free of these concerns but it will take whites to get out of their silly my-way or the bye-way little bubble mind. I commend you and your band for transcending and opening your minds to embracing other cultures... very good drumming friends and please keep the SPIRIT OF THE DJEMBE alive.

[@Tasumakan]

+Akari Sidibe jaramaa Sidibe, thank you for your comments, I am honored that you enjoyed the music. Just to let you know the above comments are not from those in the video. That was me playing djembe. I prefer not to debate with folks in KZbin comment threads, I've found it's too easy to focus on our differences rather than seeking common ground. I'd love to sit and drink tea or beer with anyone who wants to have a chat. I know we will find that we have many things in common if we take the time to get to know each other. All the best to you and I hope our paths will cross one day.

[@akarisidibe2470]

+Tasumakan Djembe Lessons ... Oh good! glad that was not your comment and it makes sense that it's not. My reply was intended for "Atananaki" but I thought he/she is one of your members, so I am very SORRY for the confusion. Yes I totally agree that finding common ground should be the order of the day. The old world did not really serve anyone any real good and has left us all divided by baseless differences which is very unfortunate indeed. Look what we can do when we embrace each other. Nice Djembe playing! Jaramaa back to you my brother.

[@djembebalafon]

nice music from mali

[@Tasumakan]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@Humble18101]

You should do your own cultural dance whatever it may be. Study the dance is fine but to perform it is an insult to those who really are part of this rich heritage. It is a continuation to African and African Americans.

[@farrahb9914]

the musical arrangements are very nice. but I will say, it is important to clarify and differentiate the dances/movements/style. this would have best been labeled as Malian or old Mali empire dance medley. the movements were from 4 different dances in which very little was "sounou/sunu". this is not an issue of black or white, it is one of misappropriation and misrepresentation which happens in many companies regardless of the ethnicity of the artists. be sure to respect and pass on knowledge as opposed to capitalising from it.

[@fatimatraore8503]

As a Malian and a culture freak, I can say that most of the steps are butchered here. The djembe dance is an art and a communion among natives. U see your sister dancing, u immediately relate to her expressions and connect with the "djembe fola"...but here....I recognized all the efforts spent to come up with this,....however, I do feel violated in my culture.

[@1234566027]

me encanta is so so beautiful keep it up.

[@archetypo]

Wonderful performance! To those who comment about "capitalizing" on this culture, let alone treating it as a "novelty", speaking as another white person who has studied djembe intensively for the past 26 years, in Guinea, Burkina Faso, and anywhere else I could find teachers, let me tell you there is no capitalizing going on here. It's bloody hard work to put together a performance like this, taking many years of study, and most of the time, there is little to no pay involved. Many of my teachers in Guinea commented that they were glad to have European or North American students who were dedicated to learning - they didn't give a crap about their skin colour, they always maintained it was the heart and intention that was important. And they frequently commented that the local youth weren't interested in maintaining the traditions, so they were just grateful that anyone at all was willing. What I find painful to witness is that those who are so quick to criticize and put down a performance like this are missing the entire point - this is meant to share joy among your community. So how are these divisive comments sharing joy? Is anyone preventing melanated communities from also studying this music and sharing the joy? There are traditional teachers accessible for those who want to learn in almost every part of the world now. Honestly, if a melanated person wants to learn to play violin or bagpipes or do traditional Irish dance, I applaud them for having the dedication to master the art form. Anyone who puts in the time to master ANY tradition deserves respect, I don't care what their ethnic background is. Joy and Celebration are part of our collective human heritage, and lord knows the entire planet could use more of that right now. If you want to criticize people for cultural appropriation, let's talk about all the posers who run so-called 'African drum circles' without ever talking about the cultural origins of the instruments, or without ever having studied with an African teacher, or how about all the drum manufacturers who have capitalized on the popularity of the djembe and now make cheap instruments out of fiberglass or cheap instruments made in Indonesia. Many of those are multi-million dollar businesses, but you want to pick on a local drum and dance troupe who put in the time and work to represent the culture respectfully? There is nothing about this video that is cultural appropriation, this is a beautiful and respectful sharing of a cultural tradition that deserves all the exposure it can get. Kudos to all the performers, I know exactly how hard they worked to put this performance together.

[@moribaya1738]

Very well prepared, good knowledge of djembe language. I think it is very proffesional. And in this new era we live in there is no place anymore for devision your culture - my culture. We are all people, and this is culture of humankind. We exchange information, and everybody are entitled to all music from all over the world !

[@DjembefoIa]

Very nice guys, I'm impressed!

[@Tasumakan]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@vanemo103]

Hi. This performance is awesome. I'm malian living in the United Kingdom, I must admit this is a breathtaking one. I know almost all the nice move in dance because I grew up in a family of 6 sisters who were all great dancer. I almost can recognize all those move in this performance. To the girls, well done. You did greater than sisters :-). Keep up guys.

[@Tasumakan]

Modibo, thank you! I shared your message with the whole group and we are very happy to hear that from you. It's our pleasure to share with you. All the best to you and yours! :-)

[@vanemo103]

Cool. Now I can keep an eye on all the group's latest activities.

[@mateuszlaskowski3123]

Great solos, is it more improvising on canonical solo phrases or the phrases are fixed to go with the dance? Who (which teacher)/Where do the solo phrases come from originaly?

[@bsjerome007]

Very nice arrangements - love the tempo shifts a lot! And diggin the Fulani hat on the video cam front and centre :) Jeremy P

[@1234566027]

me encanta is so so beautiful keep it up. specially my girl briana

[@kingjames658]

I knw rite

[@camanie]

beautiful!

[@5ax960]

Ainiké