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Djimo Kouyate

Cultural Historian, Master Kora Player

It is with deep sadnesss that we report that Djimo Kouyate passed away on August 1st, 2004. The world has lost a man of great intelligence, understanding, and spiritual uprightness - yet he lives on through the guidance he provided us.

Born in Dianna, Senegal, Djimo Kouyate was a diali, oral historian and a descendant from the Kouyate family of griots, historians and musicians who have honored West Africa for centuries. In contemporary times, griot families continue to maintain and pass on the knowledge and skills that have been preserved for centuries through historical, music traditions of the kora, balafon and konding instruments. For many African cultures, and increasingly throughout the world, kora music is acknowledged as a classic African music form.

Djimo Kouyate performed a musical montage on various instruments of the griot and Manding traditions, including the 21 string kora,the 6 string doso nkoning, the balafon and rhythmic presentations on the koutiro drums of Mandinka tradition. He selected from a repertoire of music including songs dating as far back as the 13th century up to the present. In his musical presentations, Kouyate interspersed short translations of historical references. Kouyate performed as a Solo Artist and in a traditional Griot ensemble with his family and other master artists of Manding traditions as he continueed sharing the tradition of his ancestral heritage that has been passed on from generation to generation.

To learn more about the Mandinka tradition, and to hear Djimo singing and playing the kora again, go to the Memory of African Culture Web Site.