The Depository · Browse · Africa
The Depository documents 4 techniques in Guinea; by risk level: 2 critically endangered, 1 endangered, 1 vulnerable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
The single-piece carving and goatskin-heading of the djembe, a goblet-shaped hand drum central to Malinke and wider Mandinka culture, traditionally hollowed from a single section of Lenge tree trunk, prized for centuries among the Malinke…
The construction technique and living guardianship tradition surrounding the balafon, a gourd-resonated wooden xylophone of the Mandé people, centered on the Sosso Bala — a specific, individually named instrument preserved in the village…
The carving of Nimba, a monumental wooden shoulder mask representing the largest mask form documented in West Africa, produced by the Baga people (and their neighbors the Nalu) of coastal Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, centered on the Boké and…
The strip-weaving and indigo-dyeing of handwoven cotton cloth by Fulani (Peul) artisans of Fouta Djallon, the central highland region of Guinea, producing léppi, a treasured textile featuring fine stripes or geometric patterns crafted into…