"It has been almost nine months since Islamic militants in northern Mali announced that they were effectively banning all music. It’s hard to imagine, in a country that produced such internationally renowned music as 

, Rokia Traoré’s soulful vocals and the Afro-pop traditions of Salif Keita.

The armed militants sent death threats to local musicians; many were forced into exile. Live music venues were shut down, and militants set fire to guitars and drum kits. The world famous Festival in the Desert was moved to Burkina Faso, and then postponed because of the security risk."

 

Excerpt from New York Times article

music has been around longer than religion

such a shame

I was only thinking the other day ,after another bombing killed many innocent people

how the usa  and other nato country soldiers ,families feel, when ,their sons and daughters laid down their lives for

the freedom of "their" country only to see them killing off their own ,as  freely as ever

no one wins a war

specially in these places 

Edited May 22, 201312 yr by colinm1

A shame indeed, Colin. apart from those great musicians mentioned there is also this aspect from the article:

 

 

"Musicians are present in many of the rituals of daily life in Mali. The traditional praise singers known as griots sing and play at weddings, birth ceremonies and funerals. But their role is not just to provide background entertainment. Yacouba Sissoko, a Malian griot known for his mastery of the ngoni, a stringed instrument, and the “talking drum,” which mimics human speech, told me that the griot is a “person who creates cohesion between people, a kind of cement in Malian society.” Music is a language that communicates what we cannot always say in words; it assures us of our interconnection.

 

A world without music is also a world without stories. The griots have functioned as storytellers and truth-tellers within West African society for centuries. In addition to mediating disputes and acting as advisers to early rulers, griots were oral historians. They knew regional legends and family histories, and through their music those stories were passed down from one generation to the next. Like the ancient manuscripts that militants tried to burn in a Timbuktu library in January, today’s griots are repositories of history. If they lose their social function as storytellers, society loses a critical link to its past."

It is said in Mali that when a griot dies, it is like a great library has burned down. This is a huge tragedy for Mali, Africa & the world.

That's a wonderful quote, mikey.

Here's a bit more background

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/mar/21/when-jihad-came-mali/?pagination=false

The Wahabists can bring fear to any Islamic region. They scare me & the rest of the world. One wonders how much Saudi money is behind all of this.

Kill the music, kill the culture, horrifying.....

ZM.

Mali without music, it is just too ridiculous. I really don't know where the Islamists get off, Islam has a long history of music. To take music out of Mali would be to take away the soul of the country.

 

A couple of weeks ago someone posted a link to the librarians saving ancient transcripts from Timbuktu, I think their web site was T160. They are asking for support.

 

DS

Here

http://www.tombouctoumanuscripts.org/

Not only mali without music, but its appalling to think of islam without its amazing life-affirming music. All those string instrumnts from the mid east and central asia or the sufi devotional singers. I'm listening to hamza el din from the nubian desert - the waterwheel - wonderful stuff.

Life deniers are found in all cultures. England lost a huge chunk of its musical and artistic heritage after henry viii destruction of the monasteries. Politicaly and economically they might have had it coming, i don't know, but it seems to have cast a long cultural shadow - not much great music, between purcell and britten, came out of england while the rest of europe was producing its mozarts, haydns etc.

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by buddyev

 I'm listening to hamza el din from the nubian desert - the waterwheel - wonderful stuff.

 

Is that the Kronos disc? I'm curious if there are other versions of that piece.

Yes its on the kronos pieces of africa, which is where i first heard it. But there is a cd called 'Escalay - the water wheel' by hamza el din alone which has other pieces on it - Well worth seeking out - Nonesuch Records 1998. If you can't find it i can burn you disc if you like.

I picked up a cd called 'A Wish' today which reminded me how good he is.

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by buddyev

Yes its on the kronos pieces of africa, which is where i first heard it. But there is a cd called 'Escalay - the water wheel' by hamza el din alone which has other pieces on it - Well worth seeking out - Nonesuch Records 1998. If you can't find it i can burn you disc if you like.

I picked up a cd called 'A Wish' today which reminded me how good he is.

Cool. Very cool. Thanks for the kind offer. I see there are plenty available on ebay, but anytime you feel like sharing/trading, please drop me a line