BALA-BILA

The BALA-BILA production with Balla Kouyaté from the West African country of Mali and Matchume Zango from the Southeastern African country of Mozambique is historic because we believe that this is the first time that balafon and the timbila have ever been played together.

The elaborate orchestral style of playing complex musical arrangements on timbila has set it apart from other xylophone musical traditions elsewhere in Africa. Orchestras commonly consist of between five and thirty timbila of varying sizes and ranges of pitch, as well as a group of two to twelve male and female dancers performing in front of the orchestra. The accompanying music lyrics are regarded as an important form of social commentary on relevant issues of the day. Each orchestra has a different tuning and a slightly varying scale depending on where the orchestra comes from within the Chopi territory. The importance of this cultural tradition has been acknowledged in the decision by UNESCO to recognize the timbila as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005. One of the aims of awarding this title is to protect and nurture the tradition and encourage its transmission to future generations.

Played with mallets, the balafon is made up of wooden slats and rows of calabash gourds, which serve as natural amplifiers. The original musical instrument, known as the “Sosso-Bala,” survives in Kouyaté’s father’s home village of Niagassola, on the Mali-Guinea border. In 2001, the Sosso-Bala was declared an item of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO and is brought out once a year for ceremonial playing.