Balafon (African Wooden Percussion Instrument) (MB1402) Check Availability

Balafon / African Xylophone

• Note: currently the original beaters have been misplaced during a move, alternatives will be supplied, until relocated

Taken from Gambia.com:

The balafon, similar in appearance to a European Xylophone, dates back to the courts of the Mandinka Empire and is still a popular West African instrument today.

The Mandinka balafon, also called the bala or the balphone, is a kind of idiophone (an instrument which creates sound by vibrating). In the West, instruments like this are called xylophones. The balafon is associated with the Griot, a hereditary musicianship tradition of West Africa.