Chronicles of Songhay Empire's Askyas (Kings) 1493-1599
Timbuktu (Tombouctou, Tin Bukt)
Title
Askya's invention of two musical instruments
Short description
Askya (King) Muhammad Bonkana is credited for the invention of two musical instruments: a trumpet called "fotorifo" and a drum called "gabtanda". The exact form of the two instruments is unknown.
Text on source
واول من مشى بالدفوف في السفينة وهو الذي اخترع فُتُرِفُ وكَبْتَنْدَ آلتي اللهو وفترف بفاء مضمومة بعدها تاء مضمومة فراء مكسورة ففاء مضمومة يشبه البوق وكبتند وهو كالطبل الا ان صوت الطبل ارفع منه وهما معروفان عندهم ولم يكن فترف الَّا لسلطان أَيَر [ص. ٨٤]
English translation
He was also the first who ordered drums [dufūf] to accompany his voyages by pirogue. It was he who actually invented the musical instruments of the "fotorifo" [futurifu] and the "gabtanda" [kabtanda]: the "fotorifo" is like a trumpet and the "gabtanda" is a sort of drum, but one that sounds more somber than ordinary drums. These two instruments were known in his country, but in former times the king of the Ayar was the only one who possessed the "fotorifo".
Folios/Pages
156
Date
1531 circa
Observations on the events description
The trumpet called "fotorifo" is said to be already known by the people of Ayar, which is presumably Aïr/Agades.
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
Name
Role
Notes
Edit
Delete
Bonkana Kirya, Muḥammad
Viewer
King
Sounds
0
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Askya's invention of two musical instruments" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 09 03.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.137
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
