Two World Systems Collide: Negotiating between Manding and American 1 Sensibilities

Summary When jaliya crosses cultural boundaries, distinct differences emerge between Manding and American sensibilities that throw into question whether relating at all is worth the effort. In this article, the author describes three weeks spent in New York where she produces an album for Famoro Dioubaté, a Guinean musician and oral historian called a jali in the Manding language. Historically, jalis render a service to the people in their community through their specialized music and words. In return they receive, sometimes handsome, donations on which they depend for their livelihood. As jalis move to cities like New York and Paris, their habitual ways of doing business do not translate across cultural lines. In this three‐week project, the author uses self‐reflection to describe the assumptions and tensions that mounted around the exchange of money and time. Drawing on their knowledge of both cultural systems, the players involved strive to reach common ground. The following is a detailed account of such interactions.