Sidikiba’s kora lesson

2008 — by Ryan Thomas Skinner

Ten-year-old Sidikiba is about to be initiated into the world of the kora, a twenty-one stringed West African harp performed by his family for seventy generations. To become a kora player, like his father and grandfather before him, Sidikiba must honor and respect the wisdom of his elders, trust in the mystical secrets of his community, and above all else, be patient and practice hard.