The Akonting originated in the Senegambian region of West Africa among the Jola people. According to Jola tradition, the Akonting players would spend nights out in the fields playing in order to scare off animals seeking to eat their crops. This worked fine for the animals, but in 17th century, it also worked well for the European slavers who could easily locate more stock by the playing. As these musicians would often disappear in the night, the Jolas thought the devil was taking them. They knew it was the devil from his foot prints (the Europeans wore shoes and therefore had a different foot print than the Jolas who wore no shoes). It is though that these purloined musicians were the first to bring a gourd bodied instrument to the New World around 1650 as slave ships would allow the captured people to play music and hold dances during the voyage in order to keep down panic and uprisings. The Akonting is basically a gourd, cut in half, with a hide stretched over it and a long handle, or neck inserted through the gourd. This neck is called by the Jola, a "banja" and is likely the origin of the name of the banjo as well. There are three strings, each of different lengths, with the shortest used as a drone or "thumb" string. Strings were usually taken from a particular vine or could be horse hair or gut. It's sound is very much like that of later banjos. Today there are only about 20 players of this instrument, most in Gambia.
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