African Drums & Dances: Dundunba (Guinean Village Parties & Worldwide Concert Performances)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part series on dundunba drum rhythms and dances. Part II provides additional information about dundunba and showcases seven videos of dundunba parties in Guinea and concert (on stage) performances of Guinean dundunba rhythms.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/02/african-drums-dances-dundunba-guinean.html for Part I of this series.

Part I provides information about the dundunba drum and showcases eight videos of traditional performances of dundunba rhythms and dances in Guinea, West Africa.

The videos of dundunba parties in Part II contrasts with those featured in Part I in that they may include female dancers as well as non-Guinean dancers, onlookers, and drummers.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/02/dundunba-dance-traditional-purpose.html for Part III of this series, which was added on 2/18/2015.

Part III provides information about traditional purpose of Dundunba and includes a description of the traditional attire for those dancers.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT DUNDUNBA
From http://echarry.web.wesleyan.edu/jembearticle/article.html "A Guide to the Jembe by Eric Charry",...Last updated 14 October 2000.
"The jembe (spelled djembe in French writing) is on the verge of achieving world status as a percussion instrument, rivaled in popularity perhaps only by the conga and steel pan. It first made an impact outside West Africa in the 1950s due to the world tours of Les Ballets Africains led by the Guinean Fodeba Keita...

Jembe repertories draw from many different sources. There are widespread core Maninka rhythms and dances such as Dundunba (one of the most widely recorded jembe rhythms), as well as more geographically limited dances such as Soli (Maninka of Guinea), Dansa (Xasonke of Mali) and Sunu (Bamana of Mali)...

Each jembe rhythm and dance has a purpose, a time, and a place. Some rhythms honor groups of people, such as Jeli don (jeli s), Woloso don (a class of slaves), or Dundunba (strong or brave men). (In Maninka, don means dance.) Other rhythms are associated with specific occasions, such as Soli (for circumcisions and excisions) and Kassa (accompanying the cultivation of fields). Ballet and concert jembe players have all grown up in and passed through village traditions. Bypassing training in village traditions is rare"...

****
From http://www.asgardprod.com/westafricanrhythmvol1.htm "West African Rhythms - Volume I"; A Dance CD by Roderick Jackson & Ensemble
"Dundunba = 'The dance of the strong men.' Among the Malinke of Guinea there are more than 20 different Doundounba rhythms. Each variation centers around the melodic conversation between the dundun, sangban, and kenkeni. Originally performed by wrestlers, Doundounba is currently performed by men and women and is regarded by many as the national rhythm and dance of Guinea"
-snip-
This is one of the five African drum rhythms featured in this CD.

****
FEATURED VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order based on their publishing dates on YouTube with the examples with the oldest dates presented first.

Example #1: Dundunba in Conakry



Jessica Towns-Camara, Uploaded on Mar 29, 2008

www.douniadjembe.com This is a great video that features just about everyone who will be involved in Experience La Guinee, Dounia Djembe's educational and artistic journey to Guinea, West Africa with founder Manimou Camara.

****
Example #2: DUNDUNBA with Bolokada Conde and Wadaba Kourouma



djembefola, Uploaded on Oct 10, 2009

****
Example #3: Dununba #1 "HD" Djembe drum and dance party in Conakry, Guinea



Michael Pluznick, Uploaded on Dec 17, 2009

"African Dance": ...This video was shot a Dununba (aka dundunba) party I attended in Conakry, Guinea West Africa...

****
Example #4: "African Dance": "HD" Dundunba #5 Community African Drum and Dance party in Guinea, West Africa


Michael Pluznick Uploaded on Dec 18, 2009

...This video is number 5 in a new series of new high definition (HD 1080i) videos I shot on my drum study trip to Conakry, Guinea, West Africa to study with djembe masters and West African dancers. This is a Dundunba community drumT and dance party where dancers take turns showing their unique and interesting dance moves in the streets.

****
Example #5: Dundunba - Djembés d'or 2010



Guinean Dundunfola in Canada, Uploaded on Nov 7, 2010

Fode Mohamed Soumah (Akra) et plusieurs grands percussionnistes guinéens ont joué ces Dundunba au cours du spectacle Les Djembés d'or, qui s'est tenu les 5 et 6 novembre 2010 à Gatineau (Québec, Canada).
-snip-
Google translate from French to English:
"Fode Mohamed Soumah (Akra) and several large Guinean drummers played these Dundunba during the show Gold Djembes, held on 5 and 6 November 2010 in Gatineau (Quebec, Canada)."

****
Example #6: AFH348 - Mamady Keita & Sewa Kan



Afrikafestival Hertme, Published on Feb 2, 2014

Mamady KEITA was born in 1950 in the middle of the Guinean savannah. Introduced to the djembe from the age of 7, he joined the Ballet National Djoliba of Guinea at 14, quickly becoming the solo drummer and later artistic director. Mamady toured all over the world with Djoliba, appearing at numerous major festivals including, in 1969, the Pan-African Festival of Algiers where he received the gold medal and especially the title of "Africa's greatest drummer". In 1986, he joined the Koteba company in Abidjan directed by Souleymane Koly. In 1989, he created his group SEWA KAN and settled in Belgium. Mamady gave to djembe its letters of nobilities while bringing ist artistic autonomy, proving thus that it is not only one percussion instrument of accompaniment to the service of the song and the dance but also an instrument of creation. Mamady teaches djembe in the whole world (Europe, the USA, Japan, Bresil & Africa) where he has reached a celebrity on the way to become "mythical".

****
Example #7: Allstar Dununba in Toure Kunda (Conakry, Matam 2014)



Afropulsacja Kaczego, Published on Jun 29, 2014

Djembe solo / Amadou Bangoura
Dundun / Mouctar Toure
Sangban / Alaye Nabysangban Drame

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.