The sound of the kora filled the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Washington, D.C., as master musician Salieu Suso introduced guests to an instrument that has been part of his family tradition for generations.
The performance was part of a cultural event that presented The Gambia through its music, food, art and history while giving diplomats and guests an opportunity to discuss trade, investment, tourism and other areas of cooperation.
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Maps displayed inside the Embassy showed the distinctive geography of The Gambia, which follows the Gambia River inland from the Atlantic Ocean and is surrounded almost entirely by Senegal. Wooden masks, sculptures and paintings depicting village life and baobab trees were also displayed.
Retired General Yakuba A. Drammeh, Deputy Head of Mission, welcomed guests on behalf of Ambassador Momodou Lamin Bah, who was away from Washington.
“Tonight is a very important night,” Drammeh said. “It’s about people. It’s about connection. It’s about partnership.”
Musical Instruments
The Kora: A Voice Across Centuries
Suso performed on the 21-string kora, a West African instrument made with a large calabash resonator and a long wooden neck. Between pieces, he spoke about the history of the instrument and the jali tradition from which he comes.
Suso belongs to a Gambian Mandinka family of jali, also known as griots, hereditary musicians, historians and storytellers who have preserved genealogy, family histories and community knowledge through oral tradition.
He began learning the kora from his father, Alhaji Musa Makang Suso, at the age of eight and started performing professionally as a teenager.
For generations, jali families have passed down accounts of rulers, communities, wars, marriages, migrations and other events through music and storytelling. Suso continues that practice by combining his performances with accounts of the history and traditions associated with the music.
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During his presentation, he also discussed links between West African music and musical traditions that developed in the Americas. He suggested that The Gambia could be regarded as one of the ancestral birthplaces of jazz.
Jazz developed as a distinct musical form in the United States, particularly in New Orleans, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Suso’s point concerned the West African traditions that preceded it, including improvisation, call-and-response, polyrhythm, oral composition and musical storytelling. These traditions crossed the Atlantic with enslaved Africans and contributed to African American musical forms.
Elements of that inheritance can be traced through spirituals, blues, ragtime and jazz.
The structure of kora performance also allows a musician to maintain a repeating pattern while improvising over it. Suso has worked with musicians across African, jazz and Afro-Cuban traditions, continuing an exchange that has connected musicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
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The Gambia and the American South
Suso also spoke about the forced movement of people from the Senegambia region to the American South, with particular reference to South Carolina.
The wider Senegambia region was heavily affected by the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved people taken from the region carried agricultural knowledge, musical traditions, languages, spiritual practices and craftsmanship to the Americas. Some of those traditions became part of African American life, particularly in the coastal Southeast.
The Embassy has also sought to develop ties between The Gambia and people of African descent in the United States. Ambassador Bah has previously spoken about the historical links between the two countries and initiatives aimed at strengthening those connections.
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Suso’s performance in Washington placed the kora within that wider history while introducing the tradition to a contemporary American audience.
Yakuba A. Drammeh: Retired General Yakuba A. Drammeh, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia, speaks during the cultural event in Washington, D.C. Credit: Photo SuppliedAfricans & Diaspora
“Once You Step Foot Here, You Are in The Gambia”
Drammeh used the occasion to explain the role of the Embassy in presenting the country to Americans and creating opportunities for professional and commercial relationships.
“The embassy is a representation of the country,” he told guests. “Once you step foot here, it denotes you are in The Gambia. Welcome to The Gambia.”
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Guests viewed Gambian art, sampled traditional dishes, listened to kora music and spoke with diplomats and members of the Gambian community.
Drammeh also made clear that the Embassy wanted those conversations to extend to business and investment.
“We want you to know The Gambia,” he said, “not only as a destination on the map, but as an ideal destination for investment opportunities.”
He identified trade, commerce, agriculture, tourism, culture, innovation and development among the areas in which the Embassy hopes to encourage greater engagement.
The Embassy, he said, can connect American professionals with opportunities in The Gambia and Gambian professionals with counterparts and opportunities in the United States.
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“Tell us what you do,” he told guests. “Tell us what you care about. And tell us how you think we can work together.”
The invitation was consistent with the Embassy’s work in economic cooperation, trade, education and cultural exchange.
A Country Shaped by the Gambia River
A large map at the Embassy gave guests a closer look at the unusual geography of the country.
Surrounded almost entirely by Senegal, The Gambia stretches inland along both sides of the Gambia River, forming a narrow corridor from the Atlantic coast into West Africa.
The river has played a central role in the country’s history, supporting commerce, migration, agriculture, settlement and communication for centuries. It continues to influence economic and community life.
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Photographs displayed near the map showed river scenes, traditional boats, vegetation and shorelines.
Tourism is another important part of the country’s international outreach. The Gambia offers Atlantic beaches, birdlife, river excursions, wildlife reserves, historic sites and markets. Its relatively small size also gives visitors opportunities to interact directly with musicians, artisans, farmers and local communities.
Gambian Cuisine
Food provided another introduction to Gambian culture during the event.
Chef Ramou prepared a selection of traditional dishes, including benachin and domoda, which guests sampled during the reception.
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Benachin belongs to the wider West African tradition of rice dishes in which the rice is cooked with vegetables, seasonings and other ingredients.
Domoda, one of The Gambia’s well-known dishes, is a peanut-based stew. Groundnuts have long been important to Gambian agriculture and are widely used in the country’s cuisine.
Chicken dishes were also served alongside the rice and domoda.
The Embassy has used Gambian cuisine in previous public diplomacy activities, including Washington’s Embassy Chef Challenge, where Gambian representatives have presented domoda and traditional beverages such as baobab and wonjo drinks.
The meal also prompted conversations about Gambian ingredients, agriculture and food traditions, giving guests another way to learn about the country.
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Gambian Art
Paintings, wooden masks and sculptural works displayed around the Embassy provided another view of Gambian culture.
One painting showed an elegantly dressed couple beneath streetlights, while another depicted two baobab trees against an African landscape.
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Wooden masks and sculptural figures displayed on the walls and shelves showed examples of traditional carving and symbolism. The works gave guests opportunities to ask about the artists, materials, communities and traditions associated with them.
Together with the music and cuisine, the artworks allowed the Embassy to present different aspects of Gambian life within the same event.
Music, Culture and Partnership
Suso’s kora remained central to the event. His performance introduced guests to a musical tradition preserved within jali families for generations and demonstrated how that tradition continues outside West Africa.
Suso was recently featured in a Times Square music program focused on his Gambian musical heritage and his work carrying the jali tradition into contemporary American musical life.
In Washington, his performance served a different but related purpose. Guests who came to the Embassy to learn about The Gambia encountered its history through music while also discussing tourism, business, investment and professional cooperation.
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Drammeh’s message returned repeatedly to the role of personal contact in developing those relationships.
“Tonight is a very important night,” he had told the guests. “It’s about people. It’s about connection. It’s about partnership.”
At the Embassy of The Gambia in Washington, the country’s music, cuisine, art and history gave those conversations a distinctly Gambian setting.