The Kora is a beautiful sounding instrument from West Africa. Traditionally it is made from a large gourd and has 21 strings made from fishing line. I was introduced to this instrument in the late 90’s when I first heard Toumani Diabaté, and never forgot his amazing playing style. I didn’t have access to a large guord, but I do have access to a Goodwill, and they had this wooden salad bowl that I thought would make a good body. The neck came from scrap wood that used to be a picture frame, and the bridge was made from scrap wood. I ended up using 12 strings instead of 21.
Typically the sounding board is made from some kind of animal skin, but again, lacking access to this material, I just used thin plywood. The kora also features two sticks that run parallel to the sounding board, where the player holds the instrument with two fingers, playing the strings with the other three fingers of each hand. I couldn’t figure out a way to install the sticks, and decided to just leave the holes and stick my pinky fingers in them to hold the Kora up. Not the most comfortable for long term playing, but it does the job.
Once I finished it, I noticed that the holes on the sounding board and the bridge make it look like a walrus.
The finished product It’s a walrus! Just a regular salad bowl Eye hooks were salvaged from a 1890’s piano. The extra holes on the neck are there 100% for decoration and not at all because I drilled all the holes, then decided I needed the zither pins arranged differently Looking closer at this pic, I am regretting not adding ferrules to the holes for a bit of a cleaner look
