Sona Jobarteh

Sona Jobarteh (born 1983) is a multi-instumentalist, singer and composer from The Gambia. Quotes We are educating people in areas which are totally ineffective within [the Gambia], and then we start questioning why migration happens. Because you’ve got all these qualifications, you’re incredibly talented, and there’s no place for you here. And so, they have to go [abroad] to find a decent job You need to make sure they have a voice, and that’s really the main thing I could hope for – [for] that generation to feel they do have a voice within their own tradition I can’t say that I have a positive outlook on African leadership without questioning, and actually treating it as an emergency, to deal with our education system Sona Jobarteh interview: “It’s either education or your culture, and that was a big problem for me 17 January 2022 People are a part of education. Music is a part, too, obviously It’s not my intention to have a mission or to make you know who I am. Music is very much an integral part of not only human existence but individual existence Nuits d’Afrique : Sona Jobarteh and music as life itself n.d Traditions are not stagnant. They are things that grow with humanity, with society, and they always have In terms of me being female, this is a very central and important adaptation the tradition must take in order to be able to be relevant to our new society I don't want you to get distracted with this whole idea of being female. Don't let that get into your head.  Don't let it dis-- distract you It becomes a universal language. I can talk with anybody from anywhere in the world using music. I can't do that in any other form Sona Jobarteh: Expanding the unique musical tradition of West Africa's kora 6 August 2023 I didn’t want to be seen as a novelty, but to be accepted as an equal I didn’t want to be marginalised and told ‘you are good – for a woman I’d prefer to have just one follower rather than do something that’s not me and have a thousand followers Education in the Gambia is still a legacy of the colonial system Criticism has got to come back into the tradition We are losing talent from our own traditions which are stagnating and becoming museum pieces rather than active participants in our society and growth Don’t be a conformist Kora player Sona Jobarteh: ‘I didn’t want to be told: you are good, for a woman 27 July 2022 We are in danger, when we allow those traditions to be left in the past and don´t look critically on them and innovate them What is old was new at some point, there is no such thing as modernizing the tradition – as long as you are sustaining the tradition modernity is just a part of the journey rather than a change What I felt when I started to be spoken of as a female Kora player? I felt I was given special treatment for something I did not do – I did not make myself female, but I did make myself play the Kora I wanted to get recognition for playing the Kora not for being a woman We often forget to talk of the men when we talk of the female SONA JOBARTEH: “I WANTED TO GET RECOGNITION FOR PLAYING THE KORA NOT FOR BEING A WOMAN” 5 October 2022 External Link