Gambia-l,
The following mail is from Karamo Sabally reacting to the recent postings on
the L on Ifangbondi.
Have a great weekend,
Momodou Camara
------- Forwarded message follows -------
CONDOLENCES AND REACTION
First of all I want to express my sympathy to the family of Paps Touray and to
all of us who miss a great singer and internationally highly respected
performer.
I miss him deep in my heart.
To my regret a discussion is going on at the Gambia-L which is very painful for
the other musicians, who have been the root of the Ifang Bondi Band.
The Gambians, and specially the fans of the band in the 70's and beginning 80's
know very well who were the creators of the Afro Manding Sound. Many people
want to write it on their account, but that is impossible; maybe they can fool
the Western world and those who don't know the Gambian culture and history.
When one reads the history writings of Ifang Bondi by nowadays managers, you
always miss the real thing, the real music and the names of the real
creators.The basic of the Afro Manding is not wolof, not the ndaga.
The music was created by the whole group, starting with the rythms and build up
with melodies and lyrics, based on the seven cultures of The Gambia. It was a
real revolution and it influenced the African music. Nobody can say Ifang Bondi
belongs to me or I am the only promoter or the only composer. Impossible.
Gambians know!
Creativity is a gift from the Almighty and cannot be stolen. The truth will
sooner or later prevail.
If they steal the clothes that you own and wear and later they want to give
them back to you, saying: "you can borrow them from me", how would you call
that?
If they steal your creations, give it to other people to play, either
Senegalese or Americans, that can never be the same. It will miss the magic,
the flavour.
I never like to talk about myself, because selfpraise is no recommendation. But
when I arrive in Gambia and my fellow-citizens greet me happily and say
"welcome back", I feel deeply moved and that is my greatest reward.
But, that others want to run away with the fame of Ifang Bondi is a shame.
Also painful is to read on the internet some time ago, that I am retired. Who
wrote that? Well, this is not true. I am still going on strong: I play my
music, perform in new bands, join other groups as a free-lance musician and I
am teaching intensive at highschools and universities in Holland. I did this
also in the U.S.A. '88 till'90.
Together with Ousman Beyai and Omar Mbye, we have our Gambian percussiongroup
"Bara Julo". We are still ambassadors of the Gambian culture in Netherland.
Instead of writing those negative postings, we should focus on helping the
younger generation who are into music, encourage them and support them. The
musicians duty is to lift the people up, not to drag them down.
May Brother Pap's soul rest in peace, as well as all the other musicians who
have been passed away and who have been contributing towards the Gambian arts
and culture:
Babucar Fofana, Pamusa Njie, Ali Harb, Njog, Chčké, Ousou Lion Njie, Pa Lamin
Drammeh, Malang Gassama, Baima Jobe "Lengs". Thanks to them we can discuss
different and in a positive way.
At last I want to say that the spirit of Ifang Bondi is not dead. I still have
it in my hands and there are more musicians who can bring it back to life
again. The lacking is an honest management.
Peace to all of you
KARAMO SABALLY
------- End of forwarded message -------
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