Ifang Bondi-Saraba

Ghana 1970. The auditorium of Legon University in Accra  was filled to capacity.
There was an environment of restless expectation awaiting the arrival on stage
of the Super Eagles of  The Gambia. The devastating performance of highlife, soul,
Cuban music, reggae and western pop songs which followed,
faultlessly delivered by the men in sharp suits,
revealed why this band from The Gambia had become West Africa's number one superstar attraction.

This was to be the last time most people saw the Super Eagles, 

leaving only the legacy of their all-time classic album 'Viva Super Eagles'.

Unknown to their thousands of fans, this was not the end of the story,

but just the end of the first chapter in one of the longest-running sagas

in African musical history. The truth is that the founders of the band, 

leader Badou Jobe and vocalist Paps Touray had taken a deliberate decision 

to end Super Eagles at the height of their popularity. 

Being true revolutionary pan Africanists and musical pioneers,

they had become increasingly disturbed by the music they were playing 

and the image they presented. Despite the greater fame and fortune 

that was theirs for the taking. They radically gave it all up 

to go back to square one, back to the roots, to create something African for Africans,

to challenge the cultural imperialism of the west which still gripped the continent.

After two years of exhaustive research and hard practice,

Badou Jobe and the few musicians like Paps Touray and Ali Harb,

who had felt inspired to join, came back with unique new music, 

born from their amazingly rich heritage.

They proudly coined their music the Afro Manding Sound 

after the legendary Manding empire, cradle of the West African culture.

By 1973 the group had shed its eagles' feathers to reappear as Ifang Bondi ('Be yourself),

a fearsome Manding spirit that puts the newly initiated to the test and seeks out 

evildoers within society. The band's first public performances were greeted with dismay

and disbelief by their devoted fans, who were outraged by the 'bush' sound of mbalax 

and jambadongo rhythms, although the musicians had been careful 

to hide the sabar (drums) under the British flag.(!)

At that time this type of music was considered to be played 

only at weddings and family-gatherings and not for big audiences.

But bandleader Badou Jobe, veteran of an earlier bade against caste taboos 

to become a musician in the first place, stuck by his guns through the sticks 

and stones of this initial period. The only support at this time came from fellow musicians,

later to form Toure Kunda and Super Diamono, 

who appreciated the Afro Manding Sound for the momentum 

it was bound to give African music. Gradually their revolutionary ideas got accepted,

and this was the birth of the popular West African modern music 

The role of Ifang Bondi has been pivotal - by rehabilitating the traditional musicians 

they made people aware of their own heritage, and they offered new dimensions to African artists

in search of an authentic sound.

To rigorously deprive a devoted public of their pop idols,

the ultimate symbol of modern western cultureto induce them to set their own cultural values 

and to get rid of the inferiority complex, a lingering legacy of colonialism, 

had not been a venture for the faint-hearted. But in the end the effort proved to be worthwhile.

Ifang Bondi have achieved their goal - to create something African for Africans - beyond expectations.

Throughout the years, Ifang Bondi has continued to develop

 its unique music which reflects the enormous variety and richness of authentic styles,

 be it Wolof, Mandingo, Fula, Jola or other.

by Charles Easmon
read also 

a tribute to Paps Touray 
&
The rediscovery of African values: a portrait of Badou Jobe

Saraba