Xalam: Gambia musical instrument

The xalam which can also be called the ‘khalam’ is a wolof name given to the traditional stringed musical instrument that originated from West Africa. The xalam is believed to have its origin from the modern day Mali, although some people believe that in ancient history, the musical instrument may have originated from the Ancient Egypt. So many others believe that it is an ancestor to the banjo of the America. 

source of picture: bornagainbanjos.com

The xalam is mostly played in Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Niger and Northern Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Western Sahara. The player of this musical instrument is known as a ‘xalamkat’.

The xalam in its form is a simple lute chordophone that has one to five strings. The wooden body of the instrument is oval-shaped and is covered with the hide of cattle. The strings of the xalam are specially made to be of two three wound strands of low gauge nylon fishing line. The strings of this instrument are hanged to the instrument’s wooden neck by tall and narrow leather strips and to its wooden bridge by cotton strings. This musical instrument has two main tune strings that are fingered by the left hand and two or three additional strings of fixed pitch. Most xalam players build their own xalam, but they usually call on woodworkers to craft the body, carve the neck and bridge for them.

In most wolof speaking parts of Senegal, the instrument has three principal tunings and all of them involve tuning the two active strings a perfect fourth apart. In the first tuning, the active strings are tuned 1 and 4 with three additional strings being tuned an octave higher to 1’, 2’ and 3’. The second tuning makes use the same string intervals but the main is placed a minor second above the higher tune string and this means that the open main strings now perform the role of 3 and 6 with the additional strings working as 3 and 4#, the highest additional string usually being ignored. In the third tuning, the additional strings tuned to 5 and 1. The third additional string could be ignored or tuned to 6 or 2.

In most areas, the musical instrument is played by male griots or praise singers who are born into the job. The instrument often act as a solo or duet to accompany praise songs and historical reading and in some areas, the xalam may be a part of a larger ensemble with the koras, drums and calabashes. The musical instrument is traditionally used during weddings, child dedication ceremonies and is now a shared member of the folklore groups.