I love how Megan and Hassim incorporated their culture into their New York Muslim Malian American wedding ceremony by hiring a kora musician Salieu Suso to play during their wedding ceremony.
The kora, a 21 string bridge harp made from a calabash and cow hide, is one of the most difficult instruments in the world to play, so they were lucky to find him. Eleven of the 21 strings are played by the left hand and ten strings are played by the right hand. If you ask me, it sounds like a combination of a harp & a South African blues guitar.
Salieu, who is originally from Gambia, descends from a long line of performers called griots – keepers of the oral history of the Mali empire (which covered most of West Africa beyond the boundaries of present-day Mali) – in addition to music, they perfect oratory and storytelling skills.
He has played the kora since age 8 when he began receiving training from his father, renowned Kora player Alhaji Musa Makang Suso. Before settling in the United States in 1989, Suso performed widely throughout Africa and Europe.
