I continue to follow a blog site that has an incredible analysis ongoing of the wonderful Mende singer/poet/troubador known as Salia Koroma. I am learning so much from this site. As noted in previous postings I was lucky enough to have met Salia Koroma when I lived in the Kenema area. I believe I was introduced to him in 1969. By that time he was very well-known in all of the country, and revered in Mendeland. He played for leaders, paramount chiefs, and certainly for himself. Singing about and defining Mende culture was his passion. His songs - poetry if you will were many times too complex for me - but it was clear when I listened to him that this man was someone special. Nikiibu and his ongoing analysis of this gem of a man has written about an important part of Sierra Leone history. This should (in my opinion) be required reading for those students of Sierra Leone and its history.
If you are interested in Salia Koroma and want to learn about him see http://nikiibu.blogspot.com/
click on Youtube section to hear Salia sing (In Mende).
1 comment:
This is so awesome to see Salia Koroma's work appreciated
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