Who Invented the Kora?

Today, kora scores are written on a single G clef, following the Keur Moussa notation system. This notation system was created for the kora in the late 1970s by Brother Dominique Catta, a monk of the Keur Moussa Monastery (Senegal).

When and where did the kora originate?

The kora is a West African harp with 21 strings and a large calabash gourd body. According to Eric Charry, a historian of West African music, the instrument originated in the late 18th century, during the era of the Gabu empire, which encompassed present-day Guinea Bissau, southern Senegal and the Gambia.

When was the kora created?

A new device for tuning the kora was invented in 1963 in a Catholic monastery called Keur Moussa (meaning House of Moses, in Wolof) in Senegal, not far from Dakar, involving the use of wooden tuning pegs instead of the traditional tuning method of leather rings; these koras were initially designed so that they could be ...