by Kamaria Carnes
This week we had a lot of free time to explore the village, rest and take care of laundry. So I took the opportunity to get started on my final project with my partners, Charmaine and Tracy.
The ngoni performance we had on our first night really inspired me to turn the experience into my final project. A ngoni (pronounced “go-knee”) is a stringed instrument made out of a hollowed calabash that looks like a banjo but is played similar to a harp. Our instructor Siaka has performed since he was 10 years old, so he has a lot of experience!
![Kamaria with Siaka and his brother](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2012/08/06093147/photo-1_edited1.jpg)
We started by cleaning, carving and sanding while the leather soaked in water.
![Charmaine and Kamaria with materials](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2012/08/06093145/photo-2_edited.jpg)
![Tracy hard at work sanding](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2012/08/06093143/photo-3_edited.jpg)
![Sankofa bird](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2012/08/06093141/photo-4_edited1.jpg)
![Working on the instruments](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2012/08/06093140/Photo-5_edited.jpg)
After the leather dried overnight we added the strings and other hardwear.
![Charmaine with the newly finished instrument](https://uw-s3-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2012/08/06093138/photo-6_edited.jpg)
It took three days (about 10 hours total) to finally finish. Now I can’t wait to learn how to play!