SOUNDIOULOU CISSOKHO & MAHAWA KOUYATE - Kélé magni

Kemokho Kandara Cissokho
Soundioulou Cissokho Born in 1921 in Ziguinchor in Casamance (in the former kingdom of Gabu), Kémokho Kandara Cissokho is the son of virtuoso 'korafola', Kimintang Cissokho aka "Bah Djaly", famous djéli (griot) of King Abou Ndiaye, and of Caroline Da Silva, descendant of a king and a princess of Guinea Bissau. He is the nephew of Nago Guèye ("Guèye" = "Cissokho"), himself the son of Diocounka Cissokho aka Diocounda Kora, all from the kingdom of Gabu.
At the end of primary school, he learned the kora under the constraint of his paternal uncle Cirifo Kouyaté and quickly distinguished himself by his mastery of "Kourountou Kéléfa" (or "Kéléfa Sané"), the primer of his favorite instrument. The latter predicts him a huge success. At 17, he distinguished himself with the song of the Cissokho, "Diandjumba" which means "the great fight" in socé (Mandingo), his father language. From 1948, he toured Africa and Europe with the pan-African ballet of Guinean Keïta Fodéba and quickly became the idol of young girls who affectionately call him Soundioulou, the pseudonym of "Soundioudji" which means "mother's milk". His dexterity, his subtle rhythmic and melodic variations in the kora, his innovative creations and his interpretations of certain tunes from the traditional repertoire of kora music such as "Kaïra" ("peace"), "Simbong" (dedicated to the ex Emperor of Mandé, Soundjata Keïta) earned him a signature at HMV (La Voix de Son Maître). This label recorded in the 1950s several 78s broadcast on Radio Senegal and Radio Saint-Louis. As soon as he married Rokhaya Fall known as "Ina", a non-Djéli (Morello cherry) woman, he moved to Guinea Bissau and toured throughout the country (Bissau, Katiour-Katiao, Bissora, Tiour, Mansua, Kantiongou ...). Soundioulou Cissokho then married as a second wife the daughter of a noble cattle breeder, Hawa Kaloussaye, who died on October 5, 1994, a few months after her husband's disappearance. His third wife, Maïmouna Galissa Kouyaté, a great Djéli singer (Morello cherry) of Bissau-Guinean father and Guinean mother (Conakry) knowing perfectly the Mandingo repertoire, will accompany her on vocals until her death in 1977. As for her third woman, Nanta Kouyaté, their union was short-lived.
In 1962, Soundioulou Cissokho joined the Théâtre du Palais in Dakar directed by Maurice Sonar Senghor, the founder, in 1948, in Paris of a ballet of percussions and African dances - the two creators met in the 1950s. Soundioulou was a founding member of the Traditional Lyric Ensemble when in 1965 this hall became the Daniel Sorano National Theater in Dakar. In these post-independence years, he was often invited to the Presidential Palace by Léopold Sédar Senghor to lead the official ceremonies solo with his kora: banquets, visits by heads of state… He then represented Senegal in various countries: Mauritania, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia or even Upper Volta, which became Burkina Faso in 1984. After his remarkable performance at the World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar in 1966, he was made Chevalier de I'Ordre du Mérite Senegalese by the late LS Senghor.Soundioulou Cissokho, "the king of the kora "
In 1967, Soundioulou Cissokho left the Daniel Sorano theater and toured in the sub-region. Invited to the inauguration of the Palais du Peuple in Conakry, he was crowned "king of the kora" by Ahmed Sékou Touré (1922-1984), President of the Republic of Guinea from October 2, 1958 to March 26, 1984.
In the Guinean capital, he hears about Maa Hawa Kouyaté, an 18-year-old girl with a golden voice. Maa Hawa Kouyaté who will become his wife joined as singer Soundioulou who, until then was accompanied by his wife Maïmouna Galissa Kouyaté. Together, they will make a memorable trio with Sidikiba Sékou Diabaté aka Sidiki Diabaté, another master of the kora and father of the famous virtuoso Toumani Diabaté while performing “Alalaké”. Before their return to Dakar, their songs were widely broadcast by Radio Senegal.
Maa Hawa Kouyaté, the golden voice of the Mandingo
After receiving congratulations from President Houari Boumédiène at the Palais de la République for his participation in the Pan-African Festival of Algiers in 1969, Soundioulou Cissokho was crowned by SACEM (the Society of French Music Authors and Editors) which awarded him a medal for his sixty compositions. Following the release in 1971 of their big hit "Bandiar" performed by Maa Hawa Kouyaté, Soundioulou Cissokho rejoined the Daniel Sorano Lyric Ensemble in 1972 with the latter, which stands out for its soprano voice with multiple inflections. The duo whose complicity is such that Soundioulou and Mawa are inscribed on the calabash of the kora, then delighted music lovers with titles such as "Bandiar", a tribute by Maa Hawa Kouyaté to two religious dignitaries, the Al twins.
Hassan and Al Hussein Sylla, parents of the producer lbrahima Sylla, "Maïmouna Kouyaté", a tribute to the late wife, but also "Ceddo"