XPost: alt.banjo, alt.banjo.clawhammer, alt.music.african   
   XPost: rec.music.country.old-time   
   From: ulf.jagfors@telia.com   
      
   This is a multi-part message in MIME format.   
      
   Dear banjo lovers   
      
   I send you this information just to update you what we are up to in part of   
   the banjo communities concerning the origin of the banjo investigations. Over   
   the last years we have found a lot of new challenging facts that have forced   
   us several times to    
   change our theories. One of the latest was the discovery of the Griot five   
   string spike gourd lute Xhalam Gesere among the Wolofs in Senegambia unknown   
   to scholars until that point.That  instrument gave us a link to drone string   
   banjos in the New World    
   from the Griot side. The discovery of the Kolinko two string, plectrum played   
   gourd lute still in use in the FRA-Fra ethnic group In Northern Ghana gave us   
   a link to the very rich old plectrum played banjo traditions in the Carribien   
   region something    
   that still is very much alive.    
      
   I would also like to point out that there are plenty of space for any   
   musicology students/interested to take up more research projects in West   
   Africa. We will be more than happy to share all our new knowledge with any   
   interested students to help out for    
   an amateur or professional research report, article or dissertation.   
      
   The main activity for me just now is to make up all detailed plans for this   
   years journeys to Africa. I am also writing my second banjo article for the   
   Swedish Musical Instrument Museum´s annual booklet, now about the African   
   predecessors to the banjo.    
   My first article was about the banjo development in the New World. covering   
   everything from the minstrel period to the folk music waves in the   
   1950-1960´s. And then I have an endless hours of video recordings from Africa   
   to be edited and published on    
   Youtube.   
      
   This month I have been able to conclude most of the plans for a very hectic   
   2008 with a lot of journeys mostly to North and West Africa. Here are all my   
   scheduled activities.   
      
   1) Southern Morocco in March   
   From March 20th my wife Anneli and I will spend a week in the Atlas mountain   
   region in Southern Morocco. That will hopefully allows me to look for the   
   music cultures of the Berber/Tuaregs in a number of dessert towns. We will   
   start in Agadir at the coast    
   and then pay visits to following cities, Marrakech, Taroudant, Quarzazate and   
   Zagora. This will be an interesting trip. I hope to video document Lotar,   
   Gimbrie, Gunbri and perhaps Sintir/Haj haj lute instruments and players .   
      
   2) Senegambia in July   
   This my fifth trip to Senegambia will be in conjunction with the Senegambian   
   "Origin of the Banjo" Conference. For full program see below attachment.    
      
   8th of July Stockholm-Banjul   
   9th of July preparation for the trip in Banjul   
   10th of July. Early leave for Southern Senegal   
   10th to 18th of July the large round trip. Return to Banjul before the   
   opening ceremony.    
   19th of to 21st of July. Conference attendance from my side   
   22nd to 24th of July. Research activities in Gambia   
   24th-25th of July. Banjul-Stockholm   
      
   Hopefully a few, max three, of you will join me for an adventures tour of the   
   southwest part of Senegal,   
   - from Banjul to Zuguinchor   
   - eventual visit to Jola villages Mlomp and Youto ( depending on time   
   available)   
   - from Zuguinchor along road N6 to Kolda.    
   - from Kolda to Velingara and from there   
   - perhaps a visit to the Niokola Koba National park   
   - and then up to Thambacounda (crossroad for many ethnic groups in Senegal).    
   We will then return to Banjul along the Gambia river south road from Basse.    
      
   That will be a 600-800 km (500 miles) long trip depending on what we will find   
   along the way and take about 7 days with a four wheel drive SUV.    
      
   The whole idea is to search for following instruments   
   a) The Griot Mandinka Kontingo (same as Xhalam, Huddo etc). According to many   
   sources the Mandika seems to have abounded the lutes in favor for the Kora,   
   Bolon and Bala. Still it  should be very interesting to interview a Mandika   
   Griot Kontingo player.    
   They could have more to say about the origin of the Griot lute that probably   
   has not yet been documented.   
   b) The Mandika folk harp Simbi. Are there any Simbi player (hunters) still   
   around?   
   c) The Mandinka one string Molo player. Are there any players still around?   
   d) The extinct? Mandinka folk harp Kurango. It is a four string harp lute very   
   close in      construction to some of the folk lutes in the West African   
   Savannah regions. But the    Kurango is a semi-spike harp with just a slightly   
   bowed neck.  We have to    
   find out if      anyone know anything about this instrument. There is one rare   
   sample left in the museum in Banjul.    
   e) All other akonting like instruments and harps we can find and document.   
   f)  Fiddle traditions among Fulas and Wolofs.   
   g) Search for the origin of the mystic Bania name.   
      
   This is of course an unrealistic large approach during such a short time but   
   if I just could find and document a few of the above points that should be a   
   success.   
      
   3) Toscana, Italy in September   
   26th of September my wife and I will go for a one week wine and gourmet trip   
   to Toscana in Italy. No banjos there but perhaps mandolins.   
      
   4) Mali in November   
   My wife and I have booked a two week adventur trip to Mali starting 5th of   
   November. We will travel along the Niger river from Bamako up to Timbuktu with   
   a two days visit to the Dogon people in the south mountain areas. We will   
   visit and stay in    
   following cities  Bamako, Djenne, Mopti and Timbuktu. In Djenne the hotel   
   owner is a Swedish girl Sophie Arin. I have sent her a mail asking for help to   
   trace a number of instruments among the different ethnic groups. I am looking   
   for Griot lutes from    
   different ethnic groups, harps like Donce Nogoni and of course the Dogon Konou   
   lute and the Ginggiru harp. I will also look out for the Diawara Kola Lemme   
   gourd lute mention by Michael Coolen in his African lute articles. Also bowed   
   lutes are of interest    
   to document.   
      
   5) On the planning stage for 2009 is a two week trip to South Africa during   
   the spring and the very long overdue research trip to Northern Ghana and   
   Burkina Faso during the fall.   
      
   6) For 2010 perhaps visits to Northern Senegal and/or Guinea and/or Sierra   
   Leone can be carried out.   
      
   All my new documentations will be published on Myspace and Youtube available   
   for everyone.   
      
   Regards to you all and the very best for 2008.    
      
   Ulf Jagfors   
   Stockholm   
      
   African origin of the banjo links   
   www.myspace.com/akonting   
   http://www.myspace.com/danieljatta   
   www.myspace.com/banjoulf   
   http://www.arts.ufl.edu/cahre/senegambia.asp    
   www.oldtimeherald.org/akonting/index.html   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)