Jeliya at the Crossroads: Learning African Wisdom through an Embodied Practice (Palgrave Studies in Literary Anthropology)

This book describes the remarkable culture of jeliya, a musical and verbal art from the Manding region of West Africa. Using an embodied practice as her methodology, the author reveals how she and her music teachers live “in between” local and global cultures. Her journey spans 20 years of fieldwork presented through personal and intimate stories, first as a student of the balafon instrument, then as a patron of the music. Tensions build in both the music and in social relations that require resolutions, underscoring the differences between two world views. Through balafon lessons, the author embodies values such as patience, courage, and generosity, resulting in a transformative practice that leads her to better understand her position vis-à-vis that of her jeli teachers. Meanwhile, jeliya itself, despite having been transmitted from teacher to student for 800 years, is currently in peril. Jelis cite modern globalized culture and people like the author herself as both a source of the problem as well as the potential solution. Prologue Jobokunda Acknowledgments Praise for Jeliya at the Crossroads Contents List of Photos Orthography Chapter 1: Introduction The Jelis, a Scholarly Perspective Myself, as Anthropologist Embodying a “Characteristic Species of Grace” Jeliya at the Crossroads: A New Approach Storytelling as Ethnography Themes in This Book The Flow of the Book The Characters A Reflexive Glance Positions of Power References Chapter 2: Sweetness in the Gambia Welcome to the Gambia Kanyi Kunda Disoriented Greetings Na Kontong! Music Lessons The Balafon The Bo’ngo Money and Status Sweetness in Borabá References Chapter 3: Moving with Gambians Romancing the Field Embodied Methods Moving with Lasiné Cooking with Awa The Market with Lasiné Bala Time The Market with Awa Women’s Talk Faith Connections Bala Changes Husband and Wife Boys Talk The Marabout Things Got Weird References Chapter 4: Doing Time: The Balafon Workshops, United States The First Workshop The Second Workshop: Learning the Time—12/8 Rhythms The Jigsaw Puzzle Relating the Patterns Reflections on Embodied Learning Aesthetic as Cross-Cultural Tool Reflections Applied to the Gambia Taken for a Ride? References Chapter 5: Direct Transmissions: Going with the Flow The Flow in Guinea Guinea: Conakry The Daily Life Safeguarding Culture In the Compound Lunchtime Tensions Community Tensions Tension in My Body Jeli Money Tensions Souraka’s Transmissions Making Balafons Mory the Apprentice Multicultural Transmissions When Children Learn Reflections on Direct Transmission Reflections on Money Matters Tensions Resolving Farewell Party References Chapter 6: At Home: Lessons in Respecting Time Explaining Nyama First Lesson: Djekoria Mory Kanté and Famoro Dioubaté A Reflective Practice A Sort of Apprenticeship Taking Time Jelis as Tricksters Respect the Time The Swing as Trickster Time to Ask Questions Time as Moral Imperative Agility in Mind and Body A Hard Time, 2014 Tying Up Time References Chapter 7: Enchanting Cosmopolitan New York Manding Groove Bands Culture and Music with Kakande Cultural Sensibilities in Music An Inkling of Jeliya The Politics of Representation The Technology of Enchantment Jelying an Audience Confirmation References Discography Chapter 8: Manding New York: Jeliya Bara Bang Methodology Levels of Access Manding Jeli Concerts Oumou Versus Missia Reflection on My Shock Tracing Jeliya Parallels Between Singing and Instrumental Jeliya Moussa Recounts Historical Jeliya The Modern-Day Jeli Event as Musicking Ritual The Flame in Jeliya When the Flame Starts to Flicker Singing Versus Instrumentation Debunking the Hɔrɔn Mamaya, a Sign? If the Flame Goes Out? References Chapter 9: Patronage: Becoming a Jatigi In Defense of Jelis Bicultural Perceptions of Money Defining the Patron Jeli–Patron Relationships Crossing Cultures Saikou Jobarteh My Jeli Teachers in New York 2005–2007 At War Lessons in Generosity Making the Idea Seem Like It Was Mine A Different Perspective Jelis Learn Too The Turning Point Fresh Perspectives Saboule Moyala References Discography Chapter 10: Living “in between” Cultures Bringing the Parisian-Based Artist to New York Planning Prior to New York Planning in New York Learning to Be a Productrice The Negotiating Sensibility Reflections References Discography Chapter 11: Paris 2015–2021 Moussa Samba Kouyaté Moving to Paris Translocal Jelis My Access and Methodology Chez Gbessa Sékou Postcolonial Development Direct Oral Transmission, a Trajectory Transitioning from Africa to Europe with Kanazoé Diabaté Changing Jeli Music for a European Audience Creating Music Schools Moussa Samba Global Jelis References Discography Chapter 12: Duniya: Weaving Pasts and Futures Representing Duniya “the Pattern Which Connects” Jeliya as an Indigenous Educational System Pressures of the “Global Hierarchy of Value” Sitting at the Crossroads The Embodied, Reflective, Transformative Practice Misperceptions: Giving, Patronage, and the Trickster A Note on Representation Afterword Famoro Dioubaté References Discography Index This book describes the remarkable culture of jeliya, a musical and verbal art from the Manding region of West Africa. Using an embodied practice as her methodology, the author reveals how she and her music teachers live in between local and global cultures. Her journey spans 20 years of fieldwork presented through personal and intimate stories, first as a student of the balafon instrument, then as a patron of the music. Tensions build in both the music and in social relations that require resolutions, underscoring the differences between two world views. Through balafon lessons, the author embodies values such as patience, courage, and generosity, resulting in a transformative practice that leads her to better understand her position vis-a-vis that of her jeli teachers. Meanwhile, jeliya itself, despite having been transmitted from teacher to student for 800 years, is currently in peril. Jelis cite modern globalized culture and people like the author herself as both a source of the problem as well as the potential solution