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To learn more about the Koriya Musa Research Center
or to propose a research project to be carried out at the Center, please
contact Alhaji Papa Susso, Director, at one of the addresses given below:.
In
the United States and Canada:
Alhaji Papa Susso
333 East 181st Street, Suite 3-G
Bronx, New York 10457
Tel: (718) 365-1449
(718) 733-9338
Cell: (917) 349-4346
In
The Gambia, West
Africa:
Alhaji Papa Susso
18 Samuel Forster Street
Old Jeshwang, The Gambia
West Africa
Tel: (220) 439-4441
In Sotuma-Sere, The Gambia
phone: (220) 67.00.10
e-mail:
papasusso@aol.com
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Located
in Sotuma-Sere, Upper River Division, The Gambia, West Africa
Alhaji Papa
Susso, Director
Located in the heartland of Gambian Mande culture and named after the
legendary Mandinka musician who brought the Kora to the world, the Koriya
Musa Rescearch Center has been established to promote research in the
traditional cultures of the area.
The Center is designed with a three-fold purpose:
1. To enable researchers to conduct studies in oral history, oral
tradition and music of the Mandinka and other ethnic groups of the area.
2. To assist performing, artists to develop their knowledge, of the
Mande music and dance traditions and to incorporate them into their
performance.
3. To revive, rejuvenate, and promote a broader understanding of the
music and other cultural expressions of the Gambian Mandinka and other
ethnic groups in the region.
The Koriya Musa Center is located in Sotuma-Sere, a traditional village not
far from the town of Basse, 224 miles upriver from the capital of Banjul.
It is the home to several renowned Mandinka Jali families, as well
as Fula and Sarahule families.
The Center consists of a residential facility to allow individuals or teams
(up to ten people total) to use the town of Sotuma-Sere as a base of
operations, with comfortable but simple accommodations and the option of
catered meals or kitchen privileges. Transportation from Banjul can also
be arranged.
A principal feature of the Center is a recording studio built in the form
of a traditional round, grass-roofed house, to facilitate recordings that
are true to traditional acoustics, but without the disturbances that might
occur in homes near roads, families, and farmyards. Recording equipment must be provided by the researcher
wishing to use the facility.
In addition, a recital hall is planned, to facilitate rehearsals, lessons,
and concerts in Sotuina-Sere.
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