#malinke

[blondebrainpowered]

Bala

Malinke 19th century

The bala is a wooden xylophone that comes from the Mandé region of West Africa, which refers to the geographical shadow of the Mandé empire (1235-1469 A.D.), including present-day Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and the Gambia. The Mandé bala is the first instrument of Malinke jeli: a patrilineal tradition of musicians, storytellers, and singers who perform a variety of functions in Mandé society.

There are many different versions of the bala’s origin story in jeli traditions. One common thread among these many versions is the influence of Susu (also Sosso) sorcerer king Sumanguru Kante on the instrument, reflecting the significance of numulu, or blacksmiths, on the tradition. Another common thread is the symbolism of the magical bala, specifically Kante’s bala, being transferred to Bala Faseke Kouyate, the first Malinke player, which is representative of the transfer of power from blacksmiths to warriors in the thirteenth century with the birth of the Mandé empire. According to ethnomusicologist Eric Charry, this bala in the Met’s collection closely resembles the Susu Bala, the original Bala played by Kante and which has been closely guarded by the Kouyate family in Niagassola, Guinea, for generations (2000: 144).

Each of the bala’s slats are smoked to both petrify the wood and tune it to a precise pitch. The slats, graduated in length and tapered toward the smallest in length, are then fastened to the top of a four-sided wooden frame–a morphological detail that distinguishes it from other sub-Saharan African xylophones–with hide ropes. The hide rope that secures the slats on this bala is fastened to vertical end posts and also rests on top of and is tied to fifteen dowels that alternate with the slats. These dowels, secured to the frame, provide a structure to which fourteen gourd resonators called batolu have been attached in a zigzag arrangement. Shorter, horizontal beams on either side of the instrument are rounded outwards in order to accommodate the batolu.

A sound hole is carved into each batolu, on top of which a talingjalo, a mirliton or vibrating membrane, is placed using an adhesive made of mashed rice or bread. Talingjalo translates to spiderweb and, indeed, these mirlitons are made with the protective silk wrapped around spider egg sacs commonly found attached to rock surfaces in the region. The appearance of talingjalo on the bala connects it materially and morphologically to voice-disguisers found across sub-Saharan Africa, which more often than not use vibrating spider silk membranes over at least one end of a tube made by a variety of materials (see, for example, Balfour 1948). The Met’s musical instrument conservators have remarkably managed to preserve the original 19th century spider silk talingjalo on this bala using Japanese paper conservation techniques. Modern Mandé musical instrument builders, however, have increasingly replaced spidersilk with a more durable and accessible material—cigarette paper or plastic bags.

The wooden frame suspends the batolu above whatever surface the bala is placed on. When a slat is hit with a rubber-tipped mallet, air passes through the batolu, amplifying the slat’s tone and vibrating the talingjalo, creating a distinct buzzy timbre. Outside of the teaching context, wherein an apprentice may learn to play by sharing a bala with his teacher, the Malinke bala is performed by a single player, although several bala players may perform together at one time. With the slats arranged parallel to one another, ascending in pitch from right to left, the right hand voices the bass and tenor notes, while the left plays in the alto to soprano range of the instrument.

Broadly speaking, a bala piece begins with a short melodic introduction, in which the left and right hand typically work together to spell out a single melodic line. The right hand will then articulate the kumbengo: a rhythmic pattern, similar to a vamp, that characterizes Mandé instrumental performance, particularly on jeli instruments like the bala, kora and ngoni. The kumbengo may be varied tonally (for example, transposed a third higher), but rarely rhythmically, apart from adding or subtracting beats, over the course of a performance. The left hand will then play a series of melodic and rhythmic lines in dialogue with the kumbengo. This may include a reiteration of the melody, a variation on the melody, and a series of improvisations. A player’s virtuosity is often demonstrated by how many ways they are able to syncopate the kumbengo with their left hand while also holding it steady with the right. When Bala players perform as an ensemble, they will often recreate this structure, with one player performing the kumbengo, often in both hands, thereby producing an octave, while others syncopate the kumbengo in interlocking rhythmic patterns. (Althea SullyCole, 2022)

[clowns0up-felix]

That names not quite right anymore, is it?

This is like right after the end of oot,,, drew this a while back and never finished it but I saw a post today that reminded me of it so I decided to just post it,,, is not much but is something

[mothmanadjacent]

I was feeling nostalgic and I miss Malon. RELEASE HER NINTENDO

[tsukinoshinjiu]

Surprise

The chain arrived at Time's Hyrule, and decide to thank Ms. Malon with a surprise visit...

⚠ Suggestive connotation warning. Read left to right.

Commission for @sasoop , credit to @1caru for the lovely idea <3 This was a blast to work on~ Read the extra chapter here!

[wishyoudwell]

messy pictures of messy doodles

[the-phantom-peach]

what if… what if you drew malon x link…

eats art (positive)

Hell yeah!! I love 🔥💥Malink!!!! 🔥🔥💥

[majoralynx]

My first post on tumblr despite having it for years, I’m rather proud it’s this :33

[cokoakeostuff]

I LOVE, I LOVEEE, MALINK, did u know that?

Reference photo bellow the cut

[nannaaoki]

Drawing cute fluffy cuddly kissy mwah mwah couples>>>>>>>>>>

MALINK APPRECIATION POST

They’re always fun parents vibe to me 🤏🏻

[smilesrobotlover]

They did not save the ranch

[seatoss]

Link and Malon living that happy married life. This is a more common occurrence than you'd think ;)

This was a 2-year old WIP and I finally, f i n a l l y finished it. Huzzah!

I wasn't even gonna bother, I just wanted to add some color before sending it off but then I ended up completing it lmao. It never goes according to plan.

The anatomy really fought me on this one. Just couldn’t get them to look quite right for the longest time. Funny how randomly opening the file again after a half-year hiatus knocked the answer out of me. There's still some flaws in the form I'm sure, but that's ok. I'll let 'em be.

This is actually the result of a redraw. I was very attached to the idea, but the original attempt looked less like the cute duo I was envisioning and more like a cursed couple image. That version can stay lost in the void of no return ha ha, but I did want to share some of the other portion of its evolution. 

[cockybusiness]

yeah fairy boi tell us

(kofi requests are open)

[clowns0up-felix]

Waiterrr waiterrr more vague art about Link feeling a disconnect between him and the people around him yet being too scared to open up and let anyone know who he really is pleaseee

Lyrics are from the song Like Real People Do by Hozier

Des if you’re seeing this, your post about the song sooo is the reason I remembered it and made this btw

I told about friend about this and got hit with a baseball bat of self awareness so I’m a teeny bit embarrassed to even post this god

[theegh0st]

[casunnart]

Since my love life is nonexistent… let’s make some Zelink fanart instead! Bonus: Malink too!

[kristanlayne]

Just a little thought I had about them. I hope y'all like it, I didn't color it because I'm lazy lolol.