Kouyate Family

As a performance project of Memory of African Culture, Inc., The Kouyate Family presents African cultural expressions emphasizing their family heritage in the Manding dialiya tradition. The Kouyate Family presents traditional and contemporary songs, recitations of Manding histories, self-accompanied on various traditional African musical instruments including the 21-string kora, and dances accompanied by the djembe and koutiro drums. Honoring their Dialiya heritage and the teaching of their father, Diali Djimo Kouyate, the Kouyate Family includes Mady Kouyate, Amadou Kouyate and Bintou Kouyate and their mother, Akua Femi Kouyate celebrating through music, song, oral history and dance, the traditions of their family heritage.

As in the Manding tradition of "Fa Kae" --that which is passed down from father, -- Mady Kouyate, Amadou Kouyate and Bintou Kouyate continue the cultural and musical path of their father, mother and ancestors as dynamic musicians and performers of Manding traditions. They are the 150th generation of the Kouyate lineage.

Born in Dakar, Senegal, Mady Kouyate is a descendent of the Kouyate family of Dialolu, oral historians and musicians of Manding traditions that have honored West Africa for centuries, through their family tradition and artistry of music and verse that records the history of West African societies. Since adolescence, Mady Kouyate began the process of learning the tradition of his ancestral heritage, playing the 21-string kora. At the age of 16 he relocated to Bamako, Mali where he continued his study of kora music and the Diali (griot) tradition with virtuoso artist, Toumani Diabate. In 1993, he began his studies of music education and theory at the L?Institut National des Arts (National Institute of the Arts) in Bamako, Mali. Under Diabate's tutoring, Mady Kouyate began his professional career at the age of 19, performing with Diabate and other great artists of the Diali tradition throughout West Africa in the countries of Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Cote d'Ivoire. Mady Kouyate made in his first international tour in 2000, performing in 15 states throughout the United States and since has made numerous appearances throughout the US, particularly in the great lakes region where he currently resides with his wife and two children. Mady presently performs as a solo artist and his own contemporary performance ensemble, as well as with the Kouyate Family, and the Manding Griot Ensemble.

Born in the Washington, DC, Amadou Kouyate is the 150th generation of the Kouyate lineage and has studied and performed Manding music since the age of three years old. Amadou is a dynamic djembe and koutiro drummer. He also plays the 21-string kora, which he learned first with his father, Djimo Kouyate and other master griots of West Africa. He has performed with Mamaya African Jazz and the African American Dance Ensemble. Currently, Amadou performs as a solo artist and as a member of Farafina Kan, the Wato Sita Project/World Music Ensemble, the Manding Griot Ensemble, the Kouyate Family, Urban Afrikan, Memory of African Culture, Dono Percussion Ensemble and the Hueman Prophets. His credits include performances at The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, Lowell, East-Lansing and Dayton National Folk Festivals, DanceAfrica DC and Chicago as well as with The National Symphony Orchestra, Images of Cultural Artistry Performing Company and the production "Soul Possessed," directed by Debbie Allen. His musical talents have earned him many accolades that include a Special Talents Scholarship at Howard University, and a Musical Theatre scholarship at the Levine School of the Arts. In 2000, Amadou studied in Mali, West Africa with master musician Toumani Diabate. Currently, Amadou Kouyate is an Adjunct Lecturer of African Music and Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland School of Music and attends Howard University.

Born in Washington, DC, Bintou Kouyate, the youngest of her siblings, continues the cultural and musical path of her father, mother and ancestors as a dynamic dance and music performer of Manding traditions. The 150th generation of the Kouyate lineage of her father, Diali Djimo Kouyate, she also performs with Farafina Kan African Music and Dance Ensemble, the Manding Griot Ensemble, Memory of African Culture and Dono Dance & Drum Ensemble. She is very active in the Washington community as a volunteer for youth and young adult programs, working with several organizations including College Summit, College Bound, Howard University's African Student Association and NationHouse Watoto School. Currently Bintou attends Howard University School of Business pursuing a degree in Hospitality Management.

Akua Femi Kouyate has worked as an administrator, educator and professional artist for more than 25 years. She is the co-founder of Memory of African Culture, Inc. where she has served as the administrator since its inception in 1983. Also, she currently serves as the Associate Director of Local Programs/Education for the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and Adjunct Faculty in the Dance Major Program at Howard University. As an arts educator and dance instructor Akua Femi Kouyate has taught African cultural arts traditions and modern dance for more than 15 years in the D.C. metropolitan area on the elementary, middle, high school and college levels and for community organizations. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Art Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Performing Arts: Dance from The American University, as well as graduate and independent research and studies in Mali, and Senegal, in African Studies at Howard University and in the Gambia as a recipient of a Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Award. As an artist, Akua has performed with several dance companies over the past 25 years and has also choreographed several works in African and modern dance idioms. She has also made presentations and participated in national and international conferences addressing African cultural art traditions and the performing arts.

IN MEMORY OF DIALI DJIMO KOUYATE

Born in Dianna, Senegal, Djimo Kouyate is a Diali, oral historian and 149th generation of the Kouyate family of Diali, historians and musicians, who have honored West Africa for centuries. Prior to settling in the United States, Diali Kouyate served the Cultural Ministry of Senegal for twenty years as a founding member of the National Ballet du Senegal, during which time he toured 59 countries on six continents. He served as instructor of kora music at L'Institute National des Arts. He directed and co-found Memory of African Culture, Inc., a cultural arts and education organization based in Washington, DC since 1983, and was the leader of Mamaya African Jazz ensemble. Diali Djimo Kouyate served as an Adjunct Lecturer of African Music and Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland since 1996 to the period of his transition.

Since residing in the United States, Diali Kouyate performed as a solo artist, and with Memory of African Culture Performing Company, Mamaya African Jazz, the Manding Griot Ensemble and the Kouyate Family at various venues internationally and nationally. He participated in international exchange and artistic development projects in Mexico, Malaysia, and his home community in Tambacounda, Senegal. In addition, Diali Kouyate developed and contributed to the development of several musical arrangements for theatrical and dance productions at the State University of New York at Brockport, Florida International University, Indiana University, Catholic University, Duke University, and Howard University.

Diali Djimo Kouyate, a traditionalist of Manding culture, recognized family as his highest priority. He sincerely accepted his responsibility as father to his children and the children of his siblings whether biological, adopted or extended. There are many who acknowledge him as "Baba" and respected his teaching and guidance. Diali Kouyate's legacy is best described by the words of his son, Amadou: "As in the traditional context of Fasiya, that which is passed through the generations, I am a Diali. Often synonymous to the French word griot- a storyteller, I have inherited a duty far beyond the comprehension of any story. As the 150th generation of the Kouyate clan, it is my responsibility to preserve the history of the Manding peoples and civilizations, and hand this knowledge down to my children."

Diali Djimo Kouyate, Oral Historian of Manding West African traditions, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Uncle, Brother, Educator, Mentor and Friend, made his transition to be with the Ancestors on Sunday, August 1, 2004 at his home in Washington, DC. May the Blessings of the Creator surround all of those whose lives he touched, however great or small the impression. May we all have comfort in knowing that Baba Djimo Kouyate's presence in our lives will continue in the Spirit and through our thoughts and actions as we embrace all that he has shared and taught us through his example and mission.