From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_people
"The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people (Fula: Fulɓe, 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫;
French: Peul; Hausa: Fulani or Hilani; Portuguese: Fula; Wolof: Pël; Bambara:
Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa,
widely dispersed across the region.[3] Inhabiting many countries, they live
mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa but also in South
Sudan, Sudan, and regions near the Red Sea coast. The approximate number of
Fula people is unknown due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity;
various estimates put the figure between 35[4][5] and 45 million worldwide.[6]
A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an
estimated 12 to 13 million[7] – are pastoralists, and their ethnic group has
the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world.[8][9] The majority of the
Fula ethnic group consisted of semi-sedentary people[9] as well as sedentary
settled farmers, scholars, artisans, merchants, and nobility.[10][11] As an
ethnic group, they are bound together by the Fula language, their
history[12][13][14] and their culture. More than 98% of the Fula are
Muslims.[2][15]
[...]
Music
The Fula have a rich musical culture and play a variety of
traditional instruments including drums, hoddu (a plucked skin-covered lute
similar to a banjo), and riti or riiti (a one-string bowed instrument similar to
a violin), in addition to vocal music. The well-known Senegalese Fula musician
Baaba Maal sings in Pulaar on his recordings. Zaghareet or ululation is a
popular form of vocal music formed by rapidly moving the tongue sideways and
making a sharp, high sound.
Fulani music is as varied as its people. The numerous
sub-groups all maintain unique repertoires of music and dance. Songs and dances
reflect traditional life and are specifically designed for each individual
occasion. Music is played at any occasion: when herding cattle, working in the
fields, preparing food, or at the temple. Music is extremely important to the
village life cycle with field cultivation, harvest and winnowing of millet
performed to the rhythm of the songs and drums.
Fulani herders have a special affinity for the flute and
violin nianioru. The young Fulani shepherd like to whistle and sing softly as
they wander the silent savannah with cattle and goats. The truly Fulani
instruments are the one-string viola of the Fulani (nianioru), the flute, the
two to five string lute hoddu or molo, and the buuba and bawdi set of drums.
But they are also influenced by the other instruments of the region such as the
beautiful West African harp, the kora, and the balafon. Entertainment is the
role of certain casts. The performance of music is the realm of specialized
casts. The Griots or Awlube recite the history of the people, places and events
of the community."....
****
INFORMATION ABOUT FULANI FLUTES
From https://kassaflutes.com/about
written by Dave Kobrenski [no date given; retrieved March 4, 2021]
"The tambin likely originated with the Fula (or Peuhl)
people, who live throughout West Africa, with large populations in Guinea and
Mali. Their flutes are also used in the traditional music of the Malinké people
in Guinea, as a result of their living in close proximity with the Fulani for
many centuries. ….
history and construction
Although it has existed for ages in West Africa, the tambin
is a little-known instrument throughout the rest of the world, although it is
slowly gaining attention for its characteristic rich sound and unique voice.
Musicians like Mamady Mansare III (the father) first brought attention to the
instrument through his playing with the Guinea national dance companies, Les
Ballets Africains and Ballet Djoliba. The international group Fula Flute
demonstrated the versatility of the instrument with their virtuoso performances
of traditional songs for the flute. A growing number of contemporary African
musicians, like Dramane Dembélé, Oumou Sangare, Issa Bagayogo, and several
others have featured the tambin in their recordings. My own groups, Landaya and
Donkilo! Afro Funk Orkestra feature the tambin heavily.
In West Africa, the tambin is normally constructed out of a
thick, woody vine that grows along the banks of parts of the Niger River. The
vine has sturdy outer walls and is entirely hollow, making it the perfect
material for a flute. I have also seen tambin flutes in West Africa constructed
out of metal pipe and pvc tubing, and these flutes sound remarkably similar to
the wooden flutes (and in fact it is nearly impossible to tell the difference
based on sound, especially given the great variety of “voices” that can be
created due to the natural variances of the wooden vine itself).
A transverse (or side blown) flute, the tambin consists of
only three holes, but has a range of two and a half octaves, achieved by
overblowing, and has four distinct “registers”. The embouchure is formed out of
a special substance knows as bee cerumin (a natural blend of beeswax and
propolis made by tiny, stingless bees) that is a black color and can be easily
shaped to help direct the passage of air into the hole. The cerumin, sticky
when heated, dries to a hard consistency (due to the high level of propolis);
that said, when playing the tambin for long durations on hot summer days, the
embouchure can soften somewhat, so care must be taken!
tuning and sound aesthetics
Traditionally, the tambin is tuned to what would be called
an equidistant heptatonic scale – that is, a seven note scale where all
intervals are roughly equal. I say roughly because the tuning depends on the
ear of the flute maker, who, without modern tuning devices, creates the flutes
to produce the traditional songs and melodies of his particular region;
variances from region to region in how these musical intervals are heard can
certainly be found. The equidistant scale is an ancient scale indeed, and while
it is tempting for the Western musician to characterize this scale as being
“out of tune”, it is important to note that this tuning is quite deliberate and
actually quite precise: the traditional songs of the Fulani and Malinké played
with a Western scale would not be the same songs at all.*
The tambin flutes are most commonly found in the keys of A♭,
G and F♯ (G♭) (approximately, because of
the equidistant nature of the scales). Since the flute is often played with the
balafon, the two “sizes” of flutes are relevant to whether you are playing
music with a large balafon or a smaller balafon, which would also be tuned
accordingly (many other turnings for the balafon exist and I don’t mean to
generalize here; I’m speaking specifically of Malinké instruments that would be
found in the Kouroussa region of Guinea). Further, I have seen two models of
the Ab flute: a smaller one beginning on the pitch of C, and a slightly larger
one beginning on Bb. While they play the same scale (just shifting the range),
the determination of which starting note is used is likely decided by the size
of the vine itself. While I haven’t encountered flutes tuned otherwise in this
region of Guinea, I have met other players, from Burkina Faso, for example, who
also have a larger flute tuned to F (and starting on the pitch of A) that is
quite beautiful.
[…]
About our name [Kassa Flute Company]
“Kassa is a Malinké word that means granary. It
is also the name for a family of rhythms and songs from the Malinké tradition
that are used for work rhythms – both to accompany the workers in the field as
well as to celebrate the fruits of their collective labor. The Kassa Flute Co.
name signifies to us that if one works hard, anything is possible!
