Balafondiplomacy

Ivorian band breaks down barriers and captures Chinese hearts with their unique balafon percussion-driven music

IT was with great apprehension and doubt that Coulibaly Souleymane agreed to come and play in Beijing in late August 2016. As the artistic and administrative director of the band Djarabikan Balafon, performing in China was - for him and his men - akin to leaping into uncharted territory. “I admit I was very nervous before coming. I asked myself a lot of questions, despite assurances from organizers. I wondered if a Chinese audience could really enjoy the music we play, that is the balafon, and if they were going to boycott our concert,” Souleymane told Chinafrica just before stepping onto the stage.

Made of pieces of wood intricately cut and strung together, the balafon is a polyphonic tuned percussion instrument. Long confined to Côte d’ivoire’s traditional music community, the balafon has increasingly sought to step into the modern era, and even find an audience outside Côte d’ivoire. Despite the concerns of their director, Djarabikan Balafon’s performance was met with resounding success on August 28. The audience of more than 250 who turned out in the Blossom Hall of the National Center for the Performing Arts, located in the heart of China’s capital, was blown away by the Ivorian band. Moreover, the crowd, much to everyone’s surprise, was mainly Chinese. Among them was also Kouame Loukou, First Counsellor of the Côte d’ivoire Embassy in China, and officials of the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

In June 2016, the Ivorian Minister of Culture and Francophonie, Maurice Kouakou Bandaman, accompanied by representatives of the cultural community, paid an official visit to China. During their meeting with the Chinese Minister of Culture, Luo Shugang, both parties agreed to a program of cultural cooperation between China and Côte d’ivoire over the period 2016-19. Djarabikan Balafon’s tour in China is part of this program.

Culture is what makes us who we are. Chinese culture, of course, is different from the Ivorian, French, or American culture. But this difference can be an asset if we work together.