Kora (instrument)

The kora of West Africa, seen whole: a harp-lute with 21 strings rising in two rows from a notched bridge. The round body is a large half calabash covered in cowhide, pierced by a thick wooden neck, and the player faces the strings and plucks with the thumb and index finger of each hand. It belongs to the jeli, the hereditary musicians and oral historians of the Mande world, who play it to accompany history, proverbs and songs of praise. That rippling, harp-like cascade is the sound to listen for.