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Jessica Taleff
28 February 2013
The Culture of Sierra Leone: Music and Dance
Unlike in Western societies, where music and culture are generally separate from
everyday life, the people of Sierra Leone live their lives through music, dance, and culture. It is
how they express feelings and it is an essential form of communication across the country.
Cultural ceremonies and rituals cannot take place without the inclusion of music and dance.
The culture of Sierra Leone varies immensely from one area to another. It involves an
assortment of traditions that evolved from practices of the past. Sierra Leoneans express their
culture through music and dance. The Sierra Leone National Dance Troupe represents Sierra
Leone and is internationally known. Each community in Sierra Leone has its own distinct style
of costume and dance. Some closed societies also have their own ceremonial dances. The dances
of Sierra Leone require agility, gracefulness, and a keen sense of rhythm. Most of the dancers
show enormous amounts of symbolism during their performances, which are accompanied by
hand-made drums, wooden xylophones, and stringed instruments. In addition, masks are
sometimes worn on the head of the chief dancer (“Culture”).
In Sierra Leone, music is taught in the villages, rather than in schools, like in Western
societies. As I stated before, there is an enormous amount of variety from one ethnic group to
another. Each village has different songs, different instruments, and different styles of making
music. Outside influences are beginning to play a part in the music of Sierra Leone, slowly
putting traditional music in danger in the most remote villages (Van Oven 20).
Sierra Leone is known for a wide variety of instruments. The shegbureh is a musical
instrument that is widely used throughout the Southern and Eastern provinces of Sierra Leone. It
is a stalked gourd surrounded by beads, buttons, or shells, held together with strings. The end of
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the strings is held with one hand, while the other holds the stalk of the gourd. The sounds of the
beads (or other objects) are produced via rhythmic movements of the gourd. Although men often
play this instrument in other regions of West Africa, women have the sole responsibility of
playing it in Sierra Leone (Van Oven 21).
Another popular instrument is the kondi. This instrument is usually found in the Northern
province of Sierra Leone. It consists of a metal box (sometime parts of it may be made of wood)
with metal tongues attached. The metal tongues are often flattened umbrella stays. The longest
tongue is in the middle, with the rest tapering off on both sides. Longer tongues produce lowerpitched sounds and shorter tongues produce higher-pitched sounds. The tongues are tuned to a
unique five-note scale. The box also has a metal extension, with small metal wires threaded
through it. When the instrument is played, a slight buzz is produced by the extension, adding
metallic resonance to the sound of the plucked tongues (“The Kondi” 77). It is doubtful that you
will ever find two of these instruments with the same tuning. The size of the steps between
tongues is usually two or three semitones and the arrangement of these smaller and bigger steps
greatly differs from one instrument to another. This instrument is not played by one particular
age group, but it is typically only played by males (“The Kondi” 79).
Similar to the kondi is the kongoma, which is an inter-tribal instrument popular in the
Southern province of Sierra Leone. It is much larger than the kondi and is made of wood, with
the metal blades fixed over a sound hole at the top of the box, producing a completely different
sound. It exhibits a drum-like sound when played, so it is used as a rhythmic instrument, in
addition to a melodic instrument. Because it has rhythmic capabilities, it is often used for
percussive effects when no other drums are available (Van Oven 23).
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The balangi is a very important instrument of the Northern providence. It is Sierra
Leone’s version of the African xylophone. The balangi has an upper and lower frame, which
allows the resonators underneath the pieces of wood to be struck. The slats, which are each cut to
a particular length and width, are tied to the upper frame. The resonators are also made to be a
certain size. Longer slats produce lower sounds, so they need larger resonators to amplify the
sound. The balangi is played with a pair of mallets with leather on the ends. The instruments are
tuned to a seven-note scale, but it is very rare that any two instruments have the exact same
tuning. They may share a few notes in the scale, but never all seven (Van Oven 24).
Hutamba is the Limba name for a drum that can vary its pitch, very similar to the talking
drum of the Western cultures. It is shaped like an hourglass, with a slender waist. Two
drumheads are connected by ropes that are held under the player’s arm. One of the heads is hit
with a curved or hooked stick. While hitting the drum, the player moves his arm to tighten and
slacken the ropes. This movement tightens or gives slack to the skins of the drumhead, raising or
lowering the pitch. Tightening the ropes produces a higher pitch, while giving slack produces a
lower pitch (Van Oven 26).
Rhythm is an extremely important aspect of music in Sierra Leone. It is used to divide
time into equal sections while vocals are sung freely. Each instrument has its own rhythmic style,
with freedom to change its plan at any time. Instruments may alternate from periods of
excitement to periods of quiet, steady rhythms, often at different times than other instruments.
Some instruments are used solely for keeping time. Other instruments may fit in at times, but
usually not for long. Rhythm crossing is very important to the Sierra Leonean musicians, but the
timekeepers provide a point of rest that other instruments can return to whenever necessary.
Many songs are performed specifically for dances, which often show a wide variety of meanings,
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including: praise songs, festive songs, instrumental pieces, songs that tell stories, love songs,
religious songs, farming songs, battle songs, and songs about troubles, advice, greetings, and
farewells (Van Oven 71).
Numerous genres of music exist outside of the culture, dance, and drumming in Sierra
Leone and they are becoming increasingly more popular with time. Quite a few genres are even
spreading worldwide. Various bands and solo acts have made a name for themselves in the music
world and have shown the rest of the world the talents they have, beyond what has been seen in
the past. The music of Sierra Leone has a native flair, with strong French, British, and Krio
influences (“Music of Sierra Leone”).
Palm wine music, also known as Maringa in Sierra Leone, is the traditional music of the
country. It consists of acoustic guitar, brought to Sierra Leone via the Portuguese, and percussion
and combines local melodies and rhythms with Trinidadian calypso and soca (a musical style of
the Caribbean). Palm wine music got its name from oil palm that fermented into wine and was
consumed at gatherings where African guitarists played together (“Music of Sierra Leone”).
Another popular genre of music in Sierra Leone is Gumbe (pronounced goombay). This
style is popular throughout the majority of West Africa and tends to be associated with Milo Jazz
music, which is named after a brand of chocolate powder (Milo) that was used to create
percussion instruments. These Sierra Leonean instruments, which produce the signature Milo
Jazz sound, were created by filling empty cans of Milo with stones, sounding similar to modernday shakers (“Music of Sierra Leone”).
During the 1970s, Sierra Leone took part in the electric Afropop explosion that was
sweeping Africa. This Afropop genre was a combination of Maringa, funk, soul, and Congolese
dance music and quickly became a popular form of music for the locals. In addition to African
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genres of music, Sierra Leoneans - along with the majority of West Africa - are becoming more
aware of and interested in other genres of popular music around the world. Western styles such
as Rap, Reggae, Dancehall, R&B, and Grime (a genre of music that originated in London) have
become increasingly more popular and are beginning to influence new music in West Africa.
The Internet and influences from western cultures are encouraging the youth of Sierra Leone - in
addition to various other African countries - to express their thoughts and ideas through these
new styles of music. These songs often exhibit strong social and political opinions in order to
reach out to the general population and politicians (“Music of Sierra Leone”).
Although Western influence is becoming progressively more commonplace, the people of
Sierra Leone hold tradition and their cultural values near and dear to their hearts. Music and
dance continue to play an important role in the events of their daily lives. It brings them together
and it is the one thing they can always count on, no matter what hardships they face.
Works Cited
"Culture of Sierra Leone." Maps of World. Compare Infobase Ltd., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
"Music of Sierra Leone." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 July
2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.
Van Oven, Cootje. "Music of Sierra Leone." African Arts 3.4 (1970): 20-27+71. JSTOR. Web. 7
Feb. 2013.
Van Oven, Cootje. "The Kondi of Sierra Leone." African Music 5.3 (1973/1974): 77-85. JSTOR.
Web. 7 Feb. 2013.