Sanyang Beach, kora lessons, interview with Malamini Jobarteh

Greetings!
So I have to apologize, the previous post, I just found out, did not go through. It had been written on the 12th of January, but for some reason it did not publish. So....

Things are starting to ease up a bit. I got into a bit of a financial crunch early...I am required to pay a certain amount every week for my room and food. Jobarteh Kunda, where I am staying, has been without electricity since my arrival. Because of this Malamini, the father/griot/head of household asked that I pay my entire rent in advance so that hopefully, in the near future, the electricity can be restored. At first, I was a little hesistant, but I figured that on the flip side, it would be nice to have one less major payment to worry about. I have been avidly tracking my finances- a daily task. I find that this is crucial towards ensuring the intended duration of stay. I also bought the family a bag of rice as a gift of thanks. The people here are quite friendly. Overall, I would say that there are about 25 people that live here, and numerous others that visit throughout the course of a day. Given that I am a toubab, it is almost a given that someone is goint to ask for money throughout the day. Sometimes it is something that I can provide, and at other times it is just not the case. The nice thing is that most people are understanding when you tell them that your money has gone towards your housing, and that that money will be helping support the family. I have rarely run across someone who isn't friendly when I can't spare any change, but it does happen occasionally, and you just have to maintain warmth in the heart and not be let down by it.
Bartyring is a way of life here. Every time we go into the market, Moriba Kuyateh, my teacher and closest companion thus far is constantly negotiating prices with the vendors. Especially if he'd buying something with my money and the vendor sees me with him, it's guaranteed that they will try to talk up the price, sometimes double of what it's worth. This includes taxi drivers as well. I haven't quite got the hang of the bartyring yet. The only time I've had to negotiate is when Moriba made another kora for me over at Sanyang beach. I'm sure there will be more opportunities throughout the trip!
Sanyang Beach......we have visited once, and hopefully will be going many more times. It is about an hour drive on some roads that are not in very good condition. Most of the roads here are sandy, and if you hit a high spot (of sand), you could be fishtailing or bottoming out in no time. Morro, a close friend of Moriba drove us out...... I'm just going to continue in somewhat of a chronological order here, I realize that I am leading on all sorts of tangents, and I know that there is much more I'd like to share with you all that will just have to wait until I return...On the way, we stopped in the village of Jambanjelli. This is where a kind man by the name of Lamin Njie lives. I met Lamin in June of 2005 while working at the Jordan Pond House resort in Acadia National Park, Maine. I hadn't discovered the kora until a year after meeting Lamin. Fortunately, I got his email address when I came back to WA. After falling in love with the kora and discovering that it was prevalent in the Senegambia region (Senegal and Gambia), I contacted Lamin, and we've been in somewhat regular contact since. It was so nice to see him. It's hard to believe that it's been almost three years since we last saw each other. He is now married with one baby girl. He has invited me over for dinner at a date to be determined.... So after Lamin's in Jambanjelli, we arrived at Sanyang. The place which we stayed consisted of three stucco buildings on a short slope overlooking the Atlantic. Here, Moriba and I would sit, play kora, drink tea, and make a kora (the body of the kora at least. After the skin is nailed onto the calabash, it takes at least two weeks to dry before the neck and strings can be added. More on this later). The complex is owned by a Lebanese couple who rent the place out to vacationers and stay themselves during the summer, I believe. Sanyang is nice because it provides a brief respite from the compound and Brikama environment, which is relaxing in comparison to life in the states (in general), but is still quite noisy at times. We're planning to come out here again early next month. Which is only about a week away! Time flies here. I really can't get over just how relaxed things are. For instance. Our last day at Sanyang, Morro told Moriba that he'd be out by 2:00 to pick us up. He didn't show until well after four, and at the time we were brewing tea. He sat down and joined us! People just aren't in a hurry here. It's really quite nice. In spite of the relative state of shock that I've been in recently, I have felt quite relaxed when compared to my life back home. I will bring back pictures of Sanyang....
I'll go ahead a touch on one more topic while there is still time. A couple of nights ago, I had the chance to interview Malamini Jobarteh. I previously mentioned that he is a griot, and the head of the Jobarteh kunda where I am staying. We sat on the floor, under the overhang that is adjacent to the main rooms, facing out towards the street. I was hoping to gain a better understanding of the history of the kora. Unfortunetely, it turned out to be more of a spiritual/inspirational talk about the instrument, which was actually a gift in it's own entity, because being in Malamini's presence is pretty amazing. However, I'm going to have to figure out how to approach this differently, as my academic contract through Evergreen requires me to provide quite a bit of research.
Kora lessons have been amazing. The general nature of the music requires a phenomenal level of dexterity, in order to play the instrument well, that is. This has presented me a challenge like none other. Moriba and I play for some 5-6 hours a day. Usually, I've been waking up between 9-10. I'll meet Moriba and a couple of others under the mango tree for morning tea. Sometimes he will show me a little bit about kora construction, which will take a couple hours depending on how much he has done before I wake up. After this, we'll go to my room, and sit in the shower room which is totally enclosed in concrete, but has no roof. Fortunately it is shaded. This is where the majority of my day is spent. Kora lessons usually start with by reviewing a song, or part of a song that was taught the previous day. After adament review, practice, etc. he'll show me a little bit more. I've learned probably about 5 new songs since being here, and my familiarity with the instrument is increasing rapidly. I'm very excited about this, if you can't tell!
Usually, lunch is served around three, so there's a short break. Then, it's back to kora playing for a few more hours. We'll usually cut off around 6, and I'll sit in my room, regroup, maybe do a little reading or writing. Dinner is served between 8-9. The evenings usually consist of kora playing under the mango tree for however long.
At any rate, I have to go... Until next time. All my love