The balafon (said /ˈbæləfɒn/ or /ˈbæləfoʊn/) is a musical instrument that uses gourds to make the sound louder. It is a type of xylophone that is struck with mallets. The balafon is closely connected to the Mandé, Bwaba Bobo, Senoufo, and Gur peoples of West Africa, especially the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group. Today, it is found in many parts of West Africa, including Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The name "balafon" was likely created by Europeans, combining the Mandinka word ߓߟߊ bála (pronounced [bala˦]) with the Mandinka word ߝߐ߲ fóo (pronounced [foː˦ ɲaː˦]) meaning "to say" or "method of saying," or possibly the Greek word "phono."

History

The balafon is believed to have been created separately from the marimba, a similar instrument found in Southern Africa and South America. Oral histories, or stories passed down by people, say the balafon was used at least as far back as the rise of the Mali Empire in the 12th century CE. The name "balafon" comes from the Manding people, but similar instruments have different names in other parts of West Africa, such as "balangi" in Sierra Leone and "gyil" among the Dagara, Lobi, and Gurunsi peoples in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. Similar instruments are also played in Central Africa, where the ancient Kingdom of Kongo called it "palaku."

Written records of the balafon date back to at least the 12th century CE. In 1352 CE, a Moroccan traveler named Ibn Battuta wrote about the ngoni and balafon being played at the court of Mansa Suleyman, a ruler of Mali.

European visitors to West Africa in the 17th century described balafons that looked much like the modern version. The Atlantic Slave Trade moved some balafon players to the Americas. A newspaper called the Virginia Gazette reported in 1776 that African-Americans played an instrument called "barrafoo," which seems to be a balafon. References to these instruments in North America became less common by the mid-1800s.

The balafon became popular again in the 1980s with the rise of African Roots Music and World Music. A well-known group called the Rail Band, led by Salif Keita, helped spread its sound. Even when not played, the balafon’s style has influenced Western instruments. For example, Maninka people from Guinea play guitar music that uses techniques inspired by the balafon.

In the Malinké language, "balafon" combines two words: "balan," meaning the instrument, and "fô," meaning "to play." So, "balafon" literally means "the act of playing the bala."

The word "bala" is still used to describe a large, low-pitched balafon in areas like Kolokani and Bobo Dioulasso. These bala have long keys and large calabashes (gourds) to make the sound louder. A smaller, high-pitched version called "balani" has short keys (3 to 4 cm long) and small calabashes. The balani is usually carried with a strap and has 21 keys, while the number of keys on a bala varies depending on the region.

Construction

A balafon can be fixed-key or free-key. In a fixed-key balafon, the keys are attached to a wooden frame and hung above it, with calabash gourds underneath to create sound. In a free-key balafon, the keys are placed separately on any soft surface. A balafon typically has 17 to 21 keys, which are tuned to specific musical scales, such as tetratonic, pentatonic, or heptatonic, depending on the musician’s cultural background.

A balafon usually has 18 to 21 notes, but some versions have fewer, such as 16, 12, 8, 6, or 7 notes. The keys are traditionally made from kosso rosewood. The wood is dried slowly over a low flame and then tuned by removing small pieces from the bottom of the keys. Removing wood from the middle lowers the pitch, while removing it from the end raises the pitch.

In a fixed-key balafon, the keys are held by leather straps above a wooden frame. Below the frame are calabash gourds of different sizes. Each gourd has a small hole covered with a thin membrane, traditionally made from spider silk but now often made from cigarette paper or plastic film. This creates the instrument’s unique sound. The balafon is usually played while sitting on a low stool using two mallets wrapped in rubber. Some players stand and use a sling attached to the frame to hold the instrument.

Regional traditions

The way the balafon is used changes across West Africa. In some areas, it is played alone during ceremonies or rituals. In other places, it is part of a group of musicians. In Guinea and Mali, the balafon is often played in groups of three, with each instrument having a low, medium, or high pitch. In Cameroon, six balafons of different sizes play together in an orchestra called a komenchang. An Igbo version uses one large key per player. Usually, one person hits multiple keys with two mallets, but some traditions use two or more players at each keyboard.

The Susu and Malinké people of Guinea, along with other Manding groups in Mali, Senegal, and the Gambia, are closely connected to the balafon. Cameroon, Chad, and the Congo Basin also have long traditions of using the instrument.

Balafon players often wear bracelets with bells on their wrists to make the sound more noticeable.

In some cultures, the balafon was considered sacred. Only trained religious people could play it during special events like festivals, weddings, or funerals. These instruments were stored in temples and could only be used after special purification ceremonies. Some instruments were made only for specific rituals. Young learners practiced on simpler, untuned balafons before using the sacred ones.

The Sambla people of Burkina Faso use a complex system where spoken words are translated into music, similar to how some drums communicate.

The gyil is a type of buzzing pentatonic balafon used by Gur-speaking people in northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ivory Coast. Among Mande-speaking groups in Ghana, like the Ligbi, Bissa, and Dyula, it is called bala. The Dagara and Lobi people use the gyil in pairs with a calabash drum called a kuor. It can also be played by one person or as a solo. Gyil duets are part of Dagara funeral traditions. Men usually play the gyil, but women can also learn. The Gurunsi people in Ghana and Burkina Faso also play it, and the Bewaa dance is connected to the gyil.

The gyil has 14 wooden keys made from liga wood attached to a frame. Calabash gourds hang below the frame, with spider silk covering small holes to create a buzzing sound. Antelope sinew and leather are used for fastenings, and the instrument is played with rubber-headed mallets.

In the 1950s, new bars opened in Cameroon’s capital to house an increasing population. These bars became symbols of Cameroonian identity. Balafon orchestras, with 3–5 balafons and other percussion instruments, became common in these places. Some groups, like Richard Band de Zoetele, gained popularity despite being looked down on by Europeans.

In the mid-20th century, a style of music called bikutsi became popular. It uses rhythms from war dances, drums, and balafons. Women sang songs with explicit lyrics and about daily life. Anne-Marie Nzie and Messi Me Nkonda Martin, who added electric guitars, helped bikutsi become mainstream.

Balafon orchestras were popular in Yaoundé’s bars during the 1950s, but audiences wanted modern music. Messi Martin, a Cameroonian guitarist, learned to play the balafon after hearing Spanish and Cuban music. He modified electric guitars to make them sound like the balafon.

The balafon, kora (a lute-harp), and ngoni (an ancestor of the banjo) are key instruments in griot traditions across West Africa. Each is linked to specific regions, but they are often played together. Guinea is known for solo balafon performances. The Kouyaté family, a hereditary griot group, has protected the balafon for generations and helped spread it globally.

The Sosso Bala, a balafon in Guinea, is said to be over 800 years old. According to the Epic of Sundiata, a griot named Bala Faséké Kouyaté played the instrument for a king, and later, Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, took it and made the griot its guardian. This role has passed through the Kouyaté family.

Some historians believe the Sosso Bala was created by the Kouyaté family in the 1970s. Regardless, UNESCO named it a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage in 2001.

The Senegalese National Anthem includes the line “Pincez tous vos koras, frappez les balafons” (Strum your koras, strike the balafons”).

A modern festival called the Triangle du balafon is held yearly in Sikasso, Mali, to celebrate the instrument.

Famous players and ensembles

Famous balafon players have included:

• Madou Kone, a balafon master from Burkina Faso who lives in Vienna, Austria
• Richard Bona, a jazz musician from Cameroon
• Abdou Karim Diabate "Tunkaraba," known as the King of Balafon, from the village of Tabatto, Guinea-Bissau
• Djiby Diabaté
• Kélétigui Diabaté, who plays with Habib Koité's Bamada group
• Mamadou Diabate, who was honored with a national award in Burkina Faso in 2016, won awards at the Festival Triangle du Balafon in Mali in 2012, and won the Austrian World Music Award in 2011
• Lassana Diabaté, a Malian musician who has worked with Toumani Diabaté's Symmetric Orchestra and Afrocubism
• Modibo Diabaté, from Mali
• Zerika Djabate, a musician from Guinea-Bissau
• Djiguiya, a percussion band from Burkina Faso
• Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo
• Les Freres Coulibaly, a balafon ensemble from Burkina Faso
• Stefon Harris, an American jazz musician
• Mickey Hart, an American percussionist
• Dominic Howard of Muse, who used a balafon on the band's second album, Origin of Symmetry
• Mory Kanté, early in his career
• Aly Keita, a Malian balafon player known as Aly Keita and the Magic Balaphone
• Gert Kilian, featured in the DVD The Balafon with Aly Keita & Gert Kilian and the recording Balafon Beat / Verlag Zimmermann
• Lawrence Killian, an American jazz musician
• Mahama Konaté of John Cena, a balafon ensemble from Burkina Faso
• Balla Kouyate, from Mali/Guinea, whose father, Sekou "Filani" Kouyaté, is the current guardian of the Sosso Bala
• Mamadi Kouyate, from Mali/Guinea (Germany since 2015), whose grandfather, Sékou "Filani" Kouyaté, is the current guardian of the Sosso Bala
• El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyaté
• N'Faly Kouyate, a member of the Afro Celt Sound System
• Adam Malik, a balafon ensemble from Burkina Faso
• Dave Mann, a jazz percussionist who played with the Dave Brubeck Group
• Neba Solo, a member of the Senufo balafon group led by Souleymane Traoré, from Sikasso
• Mama Ohandja, a Cameroonian composer and performer
• Qasim, a balafon ensemble from Burkina Faso
• Pharoah Sanders, an American jazz musician
• Saramaya, a balafon ensemble from Burkina Faso
• Raheel Sharif, a British band leader originally from Senegal
• Bill Summers, an American jazz musician who performed with Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Los Hombres Calientes
• Lonnie Liston Smith, an American jazz musician
• Rokia Traoré, a Malian singer, guitarist, and band leader
• Le Troupe Saaba, a balafon ensemble from Burkina Faso
• Momo Werner Wevers, a German balafon player who performs solo and with the "Ensemble M.Pahiya" (balafon and classical guitar)
• N'Camara Abou Sylla (Guinea; Les Ballets Africains)
• Benno Sterzer, a German balafon player living in Austria, who is a duet partner of Madou Kone and released Balafon – Songs from Africa