Description: The kora or [Cora in its French spelling] is a 21 stringed "harp lute" found throughout West Africa. The kora is played by the Mandinka peoples. Many close relatives to the kora are found in West Africa from region to region. An author named Mungo Park published a book in 1799 entitled "Travels to the Interior Districts in Africa". He described the kora as a large harp with 18 strings". A musician who plays the kora is called the "Kora Fola". In recent years the kora has gained popularity with younger musicians and recently international appreciation through multicultural experiments amongst the Mandinka and other ethnic groups including the Peul or Diol who contribute wind and percussion to kora ensembles.

The Jali's or Griots: The Jali or Jalou (plural) or "Griots" are a cast of traveling musicians who are often Mandinka or other ethnic groups who are divided into clans, some of the well known names include, "Diabate", "Suso", “Konte” and many others. Since the age of 5 Jali’s are initiated into intensive training to fully master the kora. A young Jali through apprenticeship would seek the knowledge and repertoire from his father, an uncle or another Jali family. Traditionally a male jali or Jali Ke would marry with a woman or Jali Suso who would be from another jali family. Traditionally their repertoire consisted of their family lineage, tribal history, and day to day lives, to personal stories and casual entertainment and or news of daily events. The Classical repertoire is very rich and it ranges from the Jali's praising each other’s clans, to the latest events of the day in their communities to casual entertainment and performing at local events [baptism weddings ETC]. The Jali Muso [female jali] provides the singing, clapping and accompaniment to the music. Recently cross cultural experiments in Jali ensembles are taking hold usually amongst the Mandinka, Peul and Diol, the Peul and Diol contribute to the ensembles through providing wind and percussion.

Relatives of the Kora: The West African family of “harp lutes” has a wide distribution from Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and the Gambia. This family includes the 3 to 4 string bolon, found in Gambia, Guinea and Mali, the bolon is also known under different names they are "bolombata", "bolombato", or "bulumbata". The 4 to 6 string donsokoni or dunsukoni is found in Mali and Guinea. Three relatives to the kora are found in the Ivory Coast, they are the 6 or 7-string “ko”, a two stringed bororo and the 6 string kori. In Ghana a 6-stringed Seperwa is found. In Burkina Faso a 6 to 7 string Konchunchun is found. A 15 to 20 stringed Seron is found in Guinea. In the Gambia a 5 to 9 stringed simbing is found. In Senegal one finds a 22 stringed kora from the Cassamance region (South West of Senegal).

Anatomy of the Kora: The Kora is made from a large size calabash gourd. On the top to the bottom of the gourd two holes are cut for the insertion of the shaft. Two shafts are inserted on the left and right sides of the main shaft they serve as handles which the musician can grip during performance. A third shaft inserted horizontally functions as a support shaft inserted underneath the hide to keep the bridge and handle-shafts in position. The main shaft which the strings are held onto by leather rings (or nowadays anything from pipe clamps to bass and guitar tuning gears). Animal hide is then stretched over the calabash when wet, thumb tacks are then added in before drying as ornamentation. A large iron ring is drilled into the back of the shaft; the ring holds the tension of the strings together. A bridge made of the same hard wood the shaft is made from, underneath the bridge a couple pieces of cardboard are folded and colourful fabric is wrapped around. This behaves as a support base for the bridge to sit on without damaging the hide. Two sides of the bridge have particular holes carved for the correct thickness of the strings.