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Senegal - Griot playing a Kora

Senegal - seated Griot playing a Kora, a 21-stringed harp lute that originated in the Gambia River valley with the Mandinko but is one of the most popular instruments in Senegal. Griots from most Mande groups in Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea Bissau play the kora, which has featured on a number of western recordings in recent years. A Griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition, and is also often seen as something of a societal leader due to his traditional position as an adviser to royal personages. Date: circa 1910s

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

African would-be immigrants walk along roadway north of desert town of Bourfa in Morocco

African would-be immigrants walk along a roadway north of the desert town of Bourfa, some 500 km (310 miles) southeast of the Moroccan capital of Rabat, October 10, 2005. Morocco, under pressure to stem illegal immigration to Spain and accused by rights groups of mistreating migrants, began flying detained Africans to Senegal and Mali on Monday, government officials said. "We have already flown 140 illegal migrants back home in Senegal this morning and we are preparing a flight of 140 others also to Senegal soon from Oujda," a senior official told Reuters. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante - RP2DSFIGYNAC

MALI People Dogon Members of ancient Dogon society performing rooftop dance holding

MALI People Dogon Members of ancient Dogon society performing rooftop dance holding carved staffs with view over surrounding village and landscape

© Edward Parker / Eye Ubiquitous