Malian songbird keeps age-old sounds alive at 88

At 88, barefoot and cinched into a belt of cowrie shells, renowned Malian singer Mariam Bagayoko still sweeps across the stage with infectious energy, captivating audiences with the rhythms of a bygone Mali.
Known as the “Nightingale of Beledougou”, Bagayoko has spent a lifetime carrying traditional music beyond her homeland while working to keep it alive in a rapidly changing world.
At Bamako’s Palace of Culture, she spun across the stage, bending her knees and dipping low before springing back up. In her right hand, she gripped a yabara, a percussion instrument made from a large calabash filled with dried seeds. Its sharp rattle blended with the deep notes of the n’goussoumbala, a large xylophone-like balafon unique to the Beledougou region of central-western Mali.
Before performing, Bagayoko clasped her hands behind her back as a gesture of respect to protective spirits and griots, the guardians of the spoken word, before launching into powerful Bambara songs that evoke moonlit village gatherings.
A towering figure in Mali’s music scene, Bagayoko has spent decades introducing little-known local traditions to audiences around the world. In late 2025, she received a lifetime achievement honour at the Aga Khan Music Awards in London, becoming one of 11 laureates selected from more than 400 candidates across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
The jury praised her “passionate and unwavering dedication” to preserving Mali’s musical heritage, particularly among women and girls.
Sang before she spoke, Born in Kolokani, north of Bamako, Bagayoko grew up in Beledougou, where music and dance accompany everything from farm work to ceremonies. She says she learned to “sing before I could speak”.
As a child, she followed village women as they pounded shea nuts for butter, joining their songs with a small calabash.
“At first, nobody paid attention to me. But little by little, my presence became indispensable”, she recalled.
Her father, a musician who performed in traditional koteba theatre troupes, initially opposed her ambitions, fearing success could bring jealousy and danger.
Drawing on traditional songs, Bagayoko uses music to comment on social issues and offer advice inspired by current events.
“It is the artist’s privilege to be able to speak out”, she said. “Through song, we give lessons without hurting people”. One of her best-known performances is “Ciwara”, a tribute to farmers, courage and hard work. She is also famous for dancing atop the wooden keys of the n’goussoumbala.
“The future is in good hands” Bagayoko has trained many young musicians, determined that traditional music should not disappear. Yet she worries that technology and foreign influences are changing the rhythms of her homeland.
Now, she finds reassurance in the younger generation.
At her Bamako concert, her daughter sang and danced just like her, even climbing onto the balafon.
“She even got up on the balafon”, Bagayoko said with a smile. “The future is in good hands”. — AFP