African music: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

rock painting of a dance performance

ennanga arched harp

Hausa musicians

Griots performing in Sofara, Mali.

Mbira (a lamellaphone) with bamboo tongues, central Africa; in the James Blades Collection

Observe a man playing the atumpan, a talking drum of the Asante people of West Africa

Comparing traditional African music and rap

See a man playing a 'calabash drum'

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Topics

interlocking balafon guiro akadinda gambang ground bow zeze Afro-Cuban music chimurenga isicathamiya African literature Western music African art Native American music African theatre African architecture African dance Oceanic music and dance Middle Eastern music opera

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