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Showing 5 results for “Initiation”
Traditions · StoryKankurang: The Guardian of the Grove
A masked figure in red bark and leaves who walks with boys through initiation, on both sides of the Senegal–Gambia border.
Senegal · Casamance and the Senegambia region · Mandinka, Wolof, French
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Music · StoryThe Balafon of the Senufo
A pentatonic wooden xylophone tuned by ear and by generation, played at work, at funerals and at village gatherings.
Burkina Faso · Cascades and Hauts-Bassins · Senufo, Dioula, French
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Traditions · StoryEvala: The Wrestling Season in Kara
Each July, young Kabiyè men wrestle in the villages of the Kara Region as the final stage of becoming an adult.
Togo · Kara Region · Kabiyè, French
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Traditions · StoryCarnival in Bissau: Masks of Many Islands
Neighbourhoods and islands bring their own masks and songs to the streets of Bissau, each carrying a different tradition.
Guinea-Bissau · Bissau and the Bijagós Islands · Kriol, Portuguese
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Folklore · VideoKankurang
The masked protector, and the initiation it belongs to.
The Gambia · Kombo · Mandinka
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