Object Name: Xylophone
Cultural Group: Yayi Coulibaly
Place of Origin: Mali
Materials Used: Wood, gourd. hide, fabric, vegetable fiber, paper
Date: 1947
Dimensions: 170 cm (66.9 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Joel Breman. X78.1980a-c

This twenty-key bala was purchased in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and is virtually identical to the instrument played by Wamian Kone in Taale Laafi Rosellini’s magisterial film, “Great Great Great Grandparents’ Music” (African Family Films, 1997).

Source: DjeDje, J. C. (1999). “Turn Up the Volume! A Celebration of African Music”, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 253