Yaya Diallo

Yaya Diallo is a musician and author from the Republic of Mali.

Yaya Diallo was born in 1946 in the village of Fienso (French Sudan) now Mali, to a nomadic Fula father and a Minianka mother.

Yaya was raised in a culture that works, worships, lives and breathes to the beat of the drum.

His mother's ties to the Berthe family (including hunters, county chiefs, musicians...) afforded young Yaya the opportunity to hear some of the best musicians of the former canton Zangasso.

The musician, healer and sorcerer Nangape Kone was his protector and mentor.

Nomadic life (1950-1953)

The male children in Diallo's family had to live a nomadic life from age four to 21 years.

Female children lived nomadically from age six until she was married at 16 or after.

To survive in nature, Yaya Diallo learned useful things: to be strong, to listen (for the sound of hungry lions, hyenas, etc.), to observe (for snakes, scorpions), to smell (deadly smells).

He learned the paradox of nature which is: a plant near a poisonous plant often has an antidote for the poison.

Arriving in Montreal, Canada, in 1967, Yaya graduated from the University of Montreal in Chemistry in 1973.

Following a brief career as a chemist, Yaya returned to traditional African music.

He was a co-founder of the music and dance groups Djembe-Kan and Cleba, a member of the African Troubadours with the World Music Institute, as well as a faculty member with the Creative Music Studio, Woodstock, NY, and the Omega Institute.

Yaya has taught Applied World Percussion at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY and offers workshops in traditional African healing, music and dance.

From 1974 to 1986, he was a staff member of the Intercultural Institute of Montreal, Canada, organizing workshops and lectures about the diverse cultures living in Montreal, covering topics ranging from Alternative Medicine to Aging to Music.

He has performed throughout the US, Canada, Asia (Japan, Singapore), Europe (France, England, and Belgium).

Early Years

In his book, The Healing Drum, Yaya Diallo wrote about his mother and her famous family of Zangasso, but not about his nomadic heritage.

His great-grandfather's name was Yoro Diallo and when Yaya went to Fienso he changed his family name to Sountoura, which is interchangeable with Diallo.

In some parts of West Africa, Fula people (Fulani; Peul; Fulɓe) are not welcomed, especially the Diallo family.

To be accepted in Fienso, Yaya Diallo's ancestors were sponsored by a Minianka family called Zango-o with the last name Kone, establishing a special relationship between the two families.

Yaya Diallo's family was semi-nomadic.

Some stayed in Fienso and others were nomadic in the hostile Miniankala.

Minianka farmers hated Fula people because their animals destroyed crops and young plants.

To travel, Fula people were initiated into the secret societies.

Yaya Diallo's grandfather, Flantio, was powerful and feared by everyone, it was reputed that when he touched you with his magic stick, you got diarrhea.

Flantio resumed using the name Diallo.

He married Yaya's grandmother, Kone, a midwife from the Kone family of the village Ziena.

A marabout (seer) Fula made a prophecy to Flantio saying that one of his grandsons would be well known in the world using paper and sound.

This was similar to the prophesy they made to his mother.

At that time, most of Minianka had never seen a piece of paper.

His Father

Yaya Diallo's father, Sibo Diallo, was a Nia Messenger (and a medium) from his birthday until 1974 when he became Muslim.

During Nia Society rituals, he went into a trance while his brother played Nia Ngoni (African bass guitar).

In a trance, Yaya's father would predict the future of the village, including diseases, bad weather, disasters, death, gender of babies in their mother's womb, with a surprising accuracy.

He knew a lot of medicinal herbs and for each disease, he recommended the herbs to use.

He mentored Nia Borotali (the messengers of Nia), and could read and translate the 266 characters of Nia.

He was a seasonal lecturer at Carleton University, teaching Aural Training I & II from 1987 to 1992 and also worked for Multiculturalism at Schools and the Community (MASC) in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, teaching more than 6000 students per year.

He died on April 19, 1995.

Yaya Diallo's mother died on February 2, 1997.