Posts by Tag: anthropology

NH Chronicle

Lessons from West Africa

Videos, Articles Sep 27 2022

WMUR’s Karen Meyers sits down with Dave Kobrenski and takes you off the beaten path to explore how an artist and musician is bringing his cultural odyssey home.

Read More 1 min read

Kamalengoni

La harpe des jeunes de Wassoulou

French, Anthropology Aug 2 2017

The kamalengoni is a type of harpe-luth played originally by the Bambara people of the Wassoulou region of Mali. Here is its fascinating story. (French and English)

Read More 4 min read

Kassa: the Harvest

Video with English translation

French, Anthropology Aug 1 2017

Video: For the Malinké people of Guinea, Kassa is the name of a family of rhythms and dances that accompany the work related to farming and harvest. The rhythms are played on the traditional djembe and dunun drums. Watch this video (with English translation) here.

Read More 6 min read

L’amitié (Friendship)

Drawing by Dave Kobrenski

Artwork Jul 11 2016

“L’amitié est l’un des beaux cadeaux de la vie” — Friendship is one of the greatest gifts in life. Friendship is a universal thing. There’s something about visiting another culture, where the language and customs seem so different from your own, and seeing two friends walking together, hands interlocked and beaming with joy, to make you realize that we are all the same. I came across these young friends walking down one of the dusty paths in the village. Even though we did not speak the same language and had grown up an ocean apart, in some way I felt connected to them because I understood how friendship feels; it’s a feeling we can all experience and share. A real friend can make all your troubles seem small and the world feel brighter. “To be without a friend is to be poor indeed.” The people in this simple village have a great wealth of friendship and family. All the money and material possessions we have in the West pale in comparison. This artwork is included in my book Drawing on Culture: An Artist’s West Africa Travelogue, which is available to purchase here. L’amitié (Friendship) 14x17” pencil on bristol by Dave Kobrenski

Read More 1 min read

Toneholes and Tradition

How a 40,000 year old flute leveled the playing field

Articles, Anthropology Apr 7 2016

Sometime between 40,000 and 45,000 years ago, a group of early humans on a migration route out of Africa, along the corridor of the Danube River valley, carried with them a small but significant object: a flute. Carved from the bone of a griffon vulture, with…

Read More 17 min read