By Momodou Sabally
Africa-Press – Gambia. Dear Sheriff,
It’s 4 am here in Beijing, China, this Saturday, April 12, 2025, as I unwind after a two-day journey that landed me here at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on a private visit.
But let me hasten to add here that the visit is entirely at my own cost as The Gambia Government has not spent a dime on it, lest the group called “the Republicans” rush to accuse me of wasting public funds – haha!
My good friend, I have been on leave for the past 3 weeks but scarcely did I miss a single day at work due to the excitement and passion I have developed for the transformative work President Barrow is currently doing in our this “little town” as you would put it in your famous Daily Observer Essay column back in the days.
Oh, how I wish I had earlier known the vision, tenacity, and passion President Adama Barrow has for the rapid transformation of this beautiful gem on earth called the Smiling Coast of Africa. Yet, better late than never, I am now aboard President Barrow’s Bus, and I can’t miss a beat in this caravan of development underpinned with peace, democracy, and happiness.
So I will have a few days of rest here as I attend a conference and tour this great country at a leisurely pace.
But here in my hotel room, I am sketching out a strategy to perform my new function as Deputy National Campaign Manager for the party that I now call “The Indomitable National People’s Party”.
Indeed, NPP has survived some major political attacks from the UDP and triumphed over them repeatedly, and hence, the name I gave them, as well as the new label that President Barrow himself has given his party, likening them to the bird called “Sewraasay” in Mandingka.
Surely the president is right because that bird is celebrated in our folklore as the small bird that beats the big ones. And since we are on the subject of Kora songs, this reminds me of the song Jaliba Kuyateh sang for his patrons where he mentions the women’s group from Lamin led by the late Masika Bojang. The group was named “Sewraasay” Kafo.
Enough of the digression my brother, now let me get to the subject matter of this epistle.
I am here listening to the Kora narrative on the life and times of the legendary Lalo Kebba Drammeh. In this episode, the late broadcasting legend Sarjo Barrow hosts the late Jali Alhaji Mbaye and delves into the history and mystery of classic Kora songs made famous by Lalo Kebba.
The song being played by Jali Alhagie Mbaye is called the “Jimbasengo”. We are told here that this song, made famous by Lalo was composed by Jali Mamo Suso of Casamance. This Kora song’s fame is partly attributable to Sherif Samsideen Hyadara (Jatto). Jali Mama used this tune to serenade the grand Shaykh whose scions include the ones currently residing in a compound in Bundung called “Mahfouz Kunda”.
Jali Mama is said to be the Uncle of Jali Babou Jobarteh (also from Casamance). It was this Jali Babou Jobarteh who used this same Kora tune to narrate the history of “Kaddy Kebbeh” as recorded and made popular by Radio Gambia. So you can call it the soundtrack for the Kaddy Kebbeh story.
The same tune is what is used in the famous Kora song called “Musa Colley e Sabari.” That song was composed by another legendary kora player called Abdoulie Suso (Bonnaa) in honour of his patron, the Foni-born master farmer called Musa Colley. Lalo Kebba also embellished this song with a historical narrative on the shortage of food in a particular year when the griot called on this legendary farmer of Foni Kansala pleading with him to open up his food stores to feed the people.
And Sherif, this same Kora tune is what is used as sigi for the famous Radio Gambia drama series, “Nfansung Jamano”.
Anyone acquainted with this tune as rendered in the introductory song to the drama programme on Radio Gambia will be nostalgic reading this.
Lalo Kebba took this song to another level, as rendered in the version used by Radio Gambia. Oh, how I wish my words could explain the musical intricacies used by Lalo Kebba to make this tune just about the most famous in the history of the Kora.
Sheriff, this song called “Jimbasengo” has too much history loaded into it for me to be able to explain in one essay. Let me stop here in part 1 of this series so that I can get some early morning rest before I head out for sightseeing in Beijing.
Meanwhile, let me leave you with one historical tidbit on this tune by informing you that the original name of the song is “Siraba Bolo”. But in this song and its history is information with the potential to upend our social structure. I am not sure I want to take that risk. So let me halt here, and see which angle I can deflect at in starting part two of this series.
It is what it is: The youths are #happy
Momodou Sabally
The Gambia’s Pen
Author, Economist, Motivational Speaker, and Politician
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