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Ngoni 🪕 The jeli Ngoni (also djeli n’goni, pronounced like jelly, then nn-GO-nee) is a traditional Mande instrument, a lute played by the jelis. It consists of a hollow body with goat skin covering (like a drum) with a fretless fingerboard and four to seven fish-line strings, strung over a bridge and tensioned by leather straps. The djeli ngoni is likely the ancestor of the modern-day banjo, and is still very popular today in traditional and modern Mande music. These instruments are built to pr