Mamadou Djebate - Aboudou Ndiaye

Aboudou N’Diaye was a muslim trader (and later king) from Casamance who helped the Portuguese in the slave trade. He was protected by the king Munjuru M’Ballu, who gave him a large region in the area to rule, in which he used military force to convert local tribes into muslims. It is said that he was so cruel that he, on the day of his own wedding, decapitated his wife’s parents, just to prove his toughness. That is when it is said that his Jali sang the chorus "Aboudou N'Diaye, You are a great king. Everyone should beg you to cool down". He eventually managed to build an army of 1000 soldiers, claimed allegiance to the local Marabout Chérif Youssouf Haidara, and made himself Emir of the province of Woy, but when the French and the Portugese joined forces to abolish slavery, they imprisoned Aboudou N’Diaye and he died a few years later in captivity in Cape Verde.

Mamadou Diebate is a young kora player from Darsalam outside Ziguinchor, and the son of Malang Koulay Djebate. The Djebate/Diabate/Jobarteh family is one of the oldest griot families, and can be found in Mali, Guinée Bissau, Gambia as well as southern Senegal. They are especially famous for playing the kora. Mamadou is one of very few young Jali (griots) who hasn’t changed to a key kora, and keeps the old oral tradition alive.