Chain of Narration

A still from a lensing of The Tapestry in Mange Bureh, Sierra Leone. On a quest to find, document, and preserve old song in Sierra Leone, this was the first time I’d take note of a pattern I saw unfold throughout my experience with the project. As the sun rose, I asked the women who were already singing if they had any songs that had been in the village for generations. There was a pause as the younger women looked to their elders for guidance. They huddled around some of the elders in the tribe who in that moment began to sing and instruct the others on how to sing an old song. It was a beautiful moment, and moving forward I made note of all the instances where old songs weren’t as known...View all