The Wood and the Calabash

Among the Senufo people of northern Côte dIvoire the balafon xylophone with calabash resonators is an emblematic musical instrument Balafon makers are all musicians but a balafon player isnt necessarily an instrument maker The film shows in detail the manufacture of this musical instrument an indispensable element in the life of the Senufo people Each step is shown from the initial prayer to the genies of the balafon before felling a tree through the cutting and tuning of the keys and the resonators to the fixing of the buzzing membranes which give this instrument its very characteristic timbre Nanga the balafon maker talks about his work and discusses different aspects with friends during a meal