Guest
Kurabadon is a dance rhythm of the Malinke tribe in Guinea, one of the many rhythms from the Dununba rhythm family. The Dununba rhythms are traditionally danced by men to demonstrate their strength and toughness. They will often strut around in a square shape, wearing headbands and large trousers, carrying an axe in one hand and a whip made from hippopotamus hide in the other. In Malinke villages, a Dununba celebration is traditionally called when a group of younger men wish to 'come of age' and demonstrate their warrior-like qualities to the men higher up in the village hierarchy. This particular Dununba rhythm, Kurabadon, means 'sacred grove', and is traditionally played to accompany a procession to a sacred grove where people go to worship the spirit that lives there. They bring offerings in return for guidance on family, business, hunting and other issues. I learnt this rhythm from my teachers in Boké in north-west Guinea, Bangaly 'Soda' Kounbasa and Lamin
