the mali empire was founded in 1235 by sunjata, the first king of the mali empire., in fact, he is one of the people who is remembered in the songs of the kora. if you grow up in a society in west africa that has the kora music, you hear this music from the time that you're a child. and you begin to absorb it little by little by little. you start to hear names of people who are important in your society-- historical figures, and you start to learn about some of the things that they have done, and the information begins to be passed on to you. and the tradition has changed now. it used to function in a very narrow context for royalty, preserving their story and their history, but now it becomes an icon for the whole society. ♪ the soldiers traveled in from the north. ♪ ♪ the moon shine bright and clear. ♪ (narrator) the musical storyteller is important in many societies around the world. in the rural south of the united states, ballad singers share and reinforce cultural memory through song. while many ballads refer to events that occurred centuries ago in europe, th