kumbu sora
Konte, Alhaji Bai, Dembo Konte, and Ma Lamini Jobarteh. 1979. Kora Duets by Alhaji Bai Konte and Dembo Konte and by Dembo Konte and Ma Lamini Jobate. Folkways. FW 8514.
(Sutukung Kumbu Sora)
Tomoro ba tuning.
Alhaji Bai Konte and Dembo Konte play and sing a song composed by Wandifeng Jebate, a contemporary of Bai's father, for Kumbu Sora, a wealthy man living in Sutukung in the Gambian province of jara. The song names the various villages in Jara where Kumbu Sora lived: Sutukun, Pakali Ba, Jasong, Bureng, and Berokunda. It identifies Kumbu Sora's sons Kalifa, Mama Dinding, and Kausa. It lauds Kumbu Sora's wealth:
| Tulo nin subo be Kumbu fe; Melise-meliso be Kumbu ya | There is oil and beef at Kumbu's |
| Buju-bajo be Kumbu ya; Putu-pata be Kumbu ya | All the sweet things are at Kumbu's compound |
| Tonyala, Sutukungo to, Sutukung | Truly, at Sutukung, Sutukung |
Knight, Roderic. 1982a. "Manding/Fula Relations as Reflected in the Manding Song Repertoire." African Music 6 (2): 37–47.
(Kumbu Sora)
p. 39
Table One . . . includes the best known, most often heard, or otherwise significant songs in the [Gambian] repertoire. In each column the top few songs are the oldest, and the bottom few are the youngest. The majority in each case fall somewhere in between (often in the nineteenth century), but no chronological ordering beyond this is intended, since it is often not possible to date a song exactly. Most of the songs bear the name of their owner as the title. Where they do not, his name is shown in parentheses next to the title. The letter code at the right represents the person's "claim to fame" or calling in life, as shown in the bottom of the list.
p. 40
Table Two shows the same fifty songs again, grouped this time by the ethnic background of the people commemorated.
Jessup, Lynne. 1983. The Mandinka Balafon: An Introduction with Notation for Teaching. La Mesa, Calif.: Xylo.
(Kumbu Sora)
pp. 146–59 (Appendix 2: Balafon Repertoire)
| Title | Kumbu Sora |
| Translation: | Name |
| Dedication: | Same |
| Notes: | |
| Calling in Life: | Folk hero, friend |
| Original Instrument: | Kora |
| Region of Origin: | Manding (Western Coastal Region) |
| Date of Origin: | L (after WWII) |
| Sources: | 3 (R. Knight, 1973) |
Konte, Lamine. 1988. La kora du Sénégal. Vol. 1. Arion, ARN 64036.
(Koumba Sora)
Louanges d'un bienfaiteur de la Sénégambie.
(Soutoukou)
A song from the old Gambian repertoire, adapted to Mamadou's personal style.
Knight, Roderic, dir. 2005. Mande Music and Dance: Performed by Mandinka Musicians of The Gambia in the Late Twentieth Century. Lyrichord Discs, LYRDV-2001.
(Kumbu Sora)
pp. 15–16
In this performance, Bai plays "Kumbu Sora," a song for a wealthy patron of jaliyaa. . . .
As the performance begins, Bai announces his name and the title of the song. The lines he and Dembo sing in the video are as follows:
| Sano le be Kumbu fe. | Kumbu has gold. |
| Bure sano be Kumbuya, Sutukung. | Gold from Bure is at Kumbu’s place in Sutukung. |
| Ah, n dandang Kumbuya Sutukung. | Ah, take me to Kumbu’s place in Sutukung. |
| Mo ming nya ye Kumbu je | One who has seen Kumbu [can tell] |
| Baa ning faa duwa le jabita al' ma. | His mother's and father's prayers have been answered. |
More lines from the same performance may be heard under the title screen for Part II, where Bai and Dembo sing:
| Ah, n dandang Kumbuya Sutukung. | Ah, take me to Kumbu's place in Sutukung. |
| Suto kungo to Sutukung, Sutukung | Deep in the forest Sutukung, |
| Kumbu Sora je. | Kumbu Sora there. |
| Mo ming nya ye Kumbu je | One who has seen Kumbu [can tell] |
| Baa ning faa duwa le jabita al' ma. | His mother's and father's prayers have been answered. |
| Kodo le be Kumbu fe, Sano le be kumbu fe. | Kumbu has silver, Kumbu has gold. |
| Bure sano be Kumbuya, Sutukung. | Gold from the Bure mines is at Kumbu's place in Sutukung. |