Cultural space of Sosso-Bala | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

The sacred balafon instrument, known as the Sosso- Bala, has been perceived as the symbol of the freedom and cohesion of the Mandingue community, which is spread across a territory that once belonged to the Empire of Mali. Originally owned and played by King Sumaoro Kanté, who succeeded to the Sosso throne in the early thirteenth century, the balafon has transmitted epic poems down through the centuries, principally the Sunjata epic that comprises hymns to the glory of the builder of the Mali Empire. The instrument is a type of xylophone of about 1.5 metres in length, made of 20 slats carefully cut into different lengths and under each of which are fixed several calabashes. According to written and oral histories, the balafon was either manufactured by the king himself or given to him by a jinni (genie). The original Sosso-Bala is preserved in a round mud hut with other sacred and...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Guinea
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Guinea
Countries: Guinea

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid0144657c-b325-427d-8610-9326d6aa8e1d

ich_public_ref9

inscription_year2008

title_enCultural space of Sosso-Bala

title_frL’espace culturel du Sosso-Bala

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesGN

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/00009

concepts_primary_namesInstrumental music, Oral tradition, Percussion instruments

concepts_secondary_namesCraft workers, Cultural space, Epic poetry, Festivals, Funeral, Instrument making, Legends, Music education, Oral history, Ritual items, Rituals

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/00041-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyrightPhilippe Bordas / UNESCO

main_image_authorNot supplied

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/27Bo2_e_bVk, https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/kHV6zm6FHa8

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Instrumental music Oral tradition Percussion instruments Craft workers Cultural space Epic poetry Festivals Funeral Instrument making Legends Music education UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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