Bè Mankan

B Bè Mankan is a rhythm of the Senoufo, an ethnic group that originally lived in the ‘Pays de Senoufo’, an area now shared by Mali, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
The song was written by (and the breakthrough of) Neba Solo and mentions that everyone plays their part in life. Everyone has something that our creator should be proud of. It also talks about love and the fact that man and woman, but also man and animal, are equal before the Creator. The text is half Senoufo, half Bwamou, the language of the Bwa(ba). Neba Solo is Senoufo himself; he made it at home with a sentence in his language, the Senoufo. His wife is Bwaba and she added a second line in her own mother tongue (Bwamou). More lyrics are sung in the song, but here we stick to the core.

Ee i yo, ba dié ni yo, Bè mankan (Senoufo)
(Everyone has their role in life)
Ba hana Ba bara ba, ni ara, ni na a ma do mè (Bwamou)
(Women and men, good day!)

Neba Solo’s Bè Mankan (website)

164 bpm Arrangement

164 bpm Pattern A

193 bpm Arrangement

193 bpm Pattern A

221 bpm Arrangement

221 bpm Pattern A

Sources:

Youssouf Keita, Bobo Dioulasso, January 2020