In the town of Toma, Maxime Dala is one of the rare players of the mouth bow or “lolo” in the San language. Endangered, the “lolo” presents itself as a specific instrument of traditional music from the San country in Burkina Faso. Maxime Dalla persists in preserving and perpetuating the archery. With his group, the traditional singer and virtuoso of this “weapon” is a master of the traditional atmosphere, who is invited to modern ceremonies.
It is at the heart of the demonstrations in Toma, capital of the Nayala province in the northwest of Burkina Faso. Maxime Dala, the player of the mouth bow or “lolo” in the San language, can be described as the best-known traditional instrumentalist in the city of Toma. He is a traditional musician who strives to perpetuate the bow that he inherited from his father.
An instrument with struck strings, the bow-to-mouth has the shape of a small arc between which a reed or fiber rope is stretched. To play, the musician holds the string between the lips at one end and strikes it with one hand using a small rod.
The mouth acts as a sounding board, by enlarging the oral cavity or reducing it, as well as by slightly spreading the lips, the musician can produce high tones. He can also, with the other hand, stop the string using a piece of wood, so as to shorten it and produce two different basic tones.
In San country, the bow or “lolo” accompanies tales in general… But it has a particular function during the harvest season. The mouth bow, like the dum, is used to praise workers but also to convey messages.
Also, we play the mouth bow during dance evenings with percussionists. It is a mythical instrument with captivating vibrations, used by the Sanan since the dawn of time. It is also the very first instrument of the Sanan, according to legend.
“The mouth bow is the first instrument of the Samo (Sanan, editor’s note). Our grandparents said that when the muzzle came out, there was no tom-tom or anything. This is the bow that we play when the moon comes out in September. All the good people were going to get together and the girls were dancing. It was their ball too,” says Maxime Dala.
In the field, in discussions, in festive or funeral ceremonies, the bow is at the heart of every event in San country. It was in such an environment that Maxime Dala learned to play. Born in Toma in 1977, Maxime Dala is the son of the late Daouda François Dala, a great archery player.
“I was born to find that my dad Daouda François Dala was playing archery. During the time of President Sangoulé Lamizana, he played at the opening and closing of the RTB radio antenna. He had a troupe called the Lowgouin de Toma troupe. They went to Europe several times,” Dala Maxime tells us.
This archery virtuoso has built his art over time and through effort. “I started playing muzzle bow in 1992 when I left CM2 school. I get up in the morning, I take my bow, I go under the mango trees with my friends, we had fun together, I played and people danced. At night it’s the same too, I played until dawn,” he says.
Maxime Dala is an accomplished instrumentalist, capable of creating joy and taking his music lovers on a journey. Today, he is the most sought-after instrumentalist in the city of Toma. In addition to happily handling the bow, Maxime Dala is an excellent singer.
His art is transversal and he knows how to adapt it to any type of ceremony. Praise and worship at church, funerals, baptisms, dances, etc. Maxime Dala is omnipresent with his “bow”. He is an accomplished musician who is capable of improvising at any time. Beyond folklore, the musician passes messages with his instrument.
“I play with the choir at church, I play at funerals. When I'm invited, there's my stamp. I give the price but it remains negotiable depending on the means of those who invite me. In death or funeral ceremonies, we sing with the bow about what the person did,” he explains.
With his troupe Toda de Toma, created in 1997, he toured Burkina Faso, Africa and Europe. Maxime is not an amateur archery player. His talent has been recognized three times by the Grand Prix National des Arts et des Lettres (GPNAL) of the National Culture Week (SNC) in the traditional instrument category. “We won first prize three times. For the first year it was in 1997, secondly it was in 2003, the other one I don’t remember well,” he mutters.
Today, just like a professional musician, the practice of the mouthpiece allows him to have an income. “It’s when people invite me outside of Toma into the cities that it suits us. I go to Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso several times. There I can give a price. Otherwise in the village, it’s difficult to give a price. I can give 200,000 as a fee if it’s in a city like Ouagadougou or Bobo-Dioulasso. But if it’s in Toma often it’s 50,000 and you have to reduce often. As we are brothers, you cannot refuse,” he says.
The muzzlebow is not sacred, he says, you just have to learn how to play it. This instrument is not the prerogative of griots either, according to the artist Dala. Young people are not interested in it, even if a few curious people come to try the apprenticeship with Maxime, very few manage to complete the training.
Maxime Dala is also the only mouth bow player among his 7 brothers. Today, he makes them to sell. This excellent performer draws his inspiration from the musical works of his late father and the ancient songs of the San region.
Imbued with his culture, lullabies, popular songs of field work, praises of heroes in hunting fights or in agriculture are inexhaustible sources for the musician. He knows how to take advantage of it through improvisation.
However, Maxime Dala does not lack creativity. He has more than fifteen songs in his repertoire. The “lolo” player knows how to reinvent himself. To make himself understood by his guests, he introduced the French language into his art. Through his talent, the color of the mouthpiece was requested to accompany modern sounds.
Artists like Henriette Delor, Tanti Rose, Cyrile Paré have benefited from the collaboration of Maxime Dala who demonstrates that traditional African instruments and current music are not contradictory.
In addition to being a musician, Maxime Dala is a mason. But in the event of program overlap, the choice is quickly made. “It’s the muzzleloader that pays me the best. If someone calls me while building, I come down to go and animate,” he said.
Practicing art with one's own is not always easy, especially when the fraternity gets involved in the negotiation of contracts. Maxime Dala provides services at ridiculous prices. Moreover, he struggles to enter the studio due to lack of means. Among the fifteen compositions in his repertoire, no sound is recorded. Until then, he hopes for good luck to find his way back to the studio in order to immortalize his inspirations, his sounds. Notwithstanding, he is satisfied with a progressive awareness. Because, in these later years, event promoters began to take an interest in his art. For example, Maxime Dala was one of the headliners of the 3rd edition of the Konkoun du Nayala Festival held at the end of March 2024 in Toma.
We must recognize that the arch-à-bouche or the “lolo” is in the process of disappearing in our villages. The instrument is played by only 5 musicians in the town of Toma today, according to Maxime Dala. He embraces the dysphoria of seeing his favorite instrument sink into oblivion. But the glimmer of hope still exists. In addition to Maxime Dala, there are a few professional musicians like the brothers Tim and Simon Winsé who are fighting to rehabilitate the bow, and ensure its survival. As for the next generation, one of Maxime Dala's children stands out in the game of archery.
Maxime Dala devotes all his time to archery or “lolo”. A commitment that allows us to hear vibrate again in the villages of the San country, this immemorial instrument that is the bow-to-mouth...
Akim KY
Source: https://burkina24.com/
Fasozine (BURKINA FASO)
