Cultural Practices and Expressions Linked to Balafon and Kolintang in Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia

The balafon in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, and the kolintang in Indonesia, are traditional wooden xylophones made with keys of different lengths. Despite belonging to distant regions, these instruments share similarities in materials, forms, functions, methods of transmission and cultural values.
They are associated with mutual respect, tolerance, unity and peaceful coexistence. In Indonesia, the kolintang is performed during religious ceremonies and rituals, and is linked to ethical, philosophical and aesthetic meanings that connect people with one another and with nature.
Practitioners, musicians, craftspeople, researchers and educators help transmit the related knowledge and skills through community practice, education, culture, research and health-related activities. The tradition supports creativity, cultural diversity, inclusion, dialogue and social cohesion.

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Cultural Practices and Expressions Linked to Balafon and Kolintang in Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia was inscribed in 2025 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Mali, Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Ivory Coast.