Edb: Expand the comprehensive music catalogue with reviewed distinct performances; prioritize recent discovery, retain good older music and preserve existing prose, recordings and fields.

2026-10-22T04:54:48Z

Expand the comprehensive music catalogue with reviewed distinct performances; prioritize recent discovery, retain good older music and preserve existing prose, recordings and fields.

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Edb: Research-led Africa musical geography and article revision; existing recording sections and native bindings preserved.

2026-10-20T03:59:28Z

Research-led Africa musical geography and article revision; existing recording sections and native bindings preserved.

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== Summary ==

Jola social song accompanied by the three-stringed gourd lute, with narrative, recreational and dance settings and individual stylistic variation. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-scholar">[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17411912.2019.1641125 The ekonting in Jola culture and history — Scott Linford, 2019]. Access note: Public abstract and indexed descriptive passages read; full paywalled text not claimed.</ref> <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-practitioner">[https://folkworks.org/interview/laemouahuma-daniel-jatta/ Interview with Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta]. Access note: Relevant indexed discussion read.</ref> <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-essay">[https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/akonting-history Historical Narratives of the Akonting and Banjo — Scott Linford]. Access note: Relevant historical-method and geographical discussion read.</ref>

== Contemporary and trending ==

Family performance, teaching and interethnic presentation sustain the repertoire. Mandinari’s teaching work is one documented route of transmission beyond the immediate household. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-practitioner" />

== History ==

Jola histories of the instrument intersect with Atlantic banjo research. Linford cautions against turning that relationship into a timeless story of one exclusive ancestor. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-essay" />

== Musical characteristics ==

A three-stringed gourd lute accompanies narrative and recreational song. Individual technique and local performance contexts matter; the instrument is not a substitute label for all Jola music. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-scholar" />

== Geography and communities ==

Lower Casamance and Gambian Jola communities. Family/migrant links, the Mandinari teaching center and specific modern interethnic presentations. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-scholar" /> <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-practitioner" /> <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-essay" />

== Artists ==

Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta combines musicianship, research and teaching. His account and Linford’s fieldwork point toward family and community performers with varied personal styles. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-practitioner" /> <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-scholar" />

== Representative performances ==

No recordings have been curated for this entry.

== Related genres ==

[[Jeliya]] and [[Yela]] share a wider Senegambian setting but have different social and instrumental foundations. Ekonting song retains a specific Jola identity. <ref name="africa2026-sg-ekonting-essay" />

=== References and further reading ===
<references />

== Hotspot mushrooms ==

Lower Casamance and Gambian Jola communities. Family/migrant links, the Mandinari teaching center and specific modern interethnic presentations. Fields distinguish the community heartland from specifically documented wider use; political borders and population totals do not determine intensity.

The fields express editorial judgments about relative musical affinity and reach, not measured audience shares. Radius is the zero edge of a linear fade; same-genre overlaps combine by maximum.

{| class="wikitable muglobe-hotspots"
|+ MuGlobe hotspot mushrooms
! ID !! Location !! Latitude !! Longitude !! Radius (km) !! Strength !! Notes
|-
| ekonting-song-casamance-gambia || Lower Casamance–Gambian Jola social networks || 12.9 || -16.2 || 220 || 0.67 || Living local repertoire, not a proxy for all Senegambian folk or a nationally dominant pop category.
|}

Ekonting song - Revision history

Edb: Expand the comprehensive music catalogue with reviewed distinct performances; prioritize recent discovery, retain good older music and preserve existing prose, recordings and fields.

Edb: Research-led Africa musical geography and article revision; existing recording sections and native bindings preserved.