Songhai

Songhai may refer to:

Songhai (musical collaboration)

Songhai was a musical collaboration between the Spanish flamenco group Ketama, Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté, and English bass player Danny Thompson. They released two albums, Songhai (1988) and Songhai 2 (1994), both co-produced by Joe Boyd.

In October 1987, Ketama played five concerts in London, where they met Toumani Diabaté and musicologist and record producer Lucy Durán, who encouraged them to work together. After the group jammed with Diabaté, they performed together at a London club and agreed to record an album for Boyd's Hannibal label. The album was recorded in Madrid in April 1988, with a core line-up consisting of Diabaté, the four members of Ketama - Juan Carmona (guitar), José Soto (vocals, guitar), Antonio Carmona (percussion, vocals), and José Miguel Carmona (percussion, vocals) - and Danny Thompson (bass), with additional backing vocals by Diaw Kouyate and Djanka Diabate of Mory Kanté's band.

The album was well received as a successful fusion of different but related styles of music, but a follow-up was delayed for six years. The core line-up which reunited for Songhai 2 in 1994 was essentially the same as for the first album, although by that time Soto was working as a solo artist rather than as a member of Ketama, and Thompson only featured on three of the tracks. The album also featured bassist Javier Colina, and Malian musicians Kassemady (vocals), Kélétigui Diabaté (balafon), and Basekou Kouyate (ngoni).

Songhai Empire

The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak the empire was one of the largest in African history. The empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai people, the ruling elite in the empire. Sonni Ali established Gao as the capital of the empire, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the empire were Timbuktu and Djenné, conquered in 1468 and 1475 respectively, where urban-centered trade flourished. Initially, the empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (c. 1464–1493), but it was later replaced by the Askiya dynasty (1493–1591).

During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an important trading center and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered Gao towards the end of the 13th century and would remain under Malian hegemony until the late 14th century. But as the Mali Empire started to disintegrate, the Songhai reasserted control of Gao. Songhai rulers subsequently took advantage of the weakened Mali Empire to expand Songhai rule. Under the rule of Sonni Ali, the Songhai surpassed the Malian Empire in area, wealth, and power, absorbing vast areas of the Mali Empire and reached its greatest extent. His son and successor, Sonni Bāru (1492–1493), was a less successful ruler of the empire, and as such was overthrown by Muhammad Ture, one of his father's generals. He was later called Askia (1493–1528) and instituted political and economic reforms throughout the empire during his reign.

Gina

Gina may refer to:

GINA may refer to:

In Computing and Electronics

See also

Gina (Canaan)

Gina, mentioned in the Amarna Letters, was a town in ancient Canaan. The citizens of Gina were responsible for the death of Labaya. The town was later known as Beth-Hagan and was probably located roughly on the spot of the modern town of Jenin.

Amarna letter Gina

Amarna letter 250 records the only mention of Gina. It explains (in passing) the recent killing of Labaya, and the resultant of dealing with his two sons.

An excerpt of the mostly complete 60-line letter:

See also

References

Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)

Number Six is a family of fictional characters from the reimagined science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica. She is portrayed by Canadian actress and model Tricia Helfer. Of the twelve known Cylon models, she is the sixth of the "Significant Seven". Like the others of the "Significant Seven", there are several versions of her, including Caprica-Six, Shelly Godfrey, Gina Inviere, Natalie Faust, Lida and Sonja. She is the only model that does not use one particular human alias for all copies.

The character was named after Number Six, Patrick McGoohan's character from the show The Prisoner.

Appearance and personality traits

Six is a seductive, statuesque Cylon infiltrator. She was the first example shown of a new generation of Cylons capable of adapting to human form and emotions. Little else is known of her earlier years. She can, like other Cylons, retain memories which can be downloaded into another body if the original body is killed. Like her counterparts, her body was designed to mimic the human body at the cellular level, making her almost undetectable to testing procedures, and there are many copies of her in existence. Sixes and Eights are the Humanoid Cylon models shown most frequently. Sixes tend to have individualistic traits, and are considerably susceptible to the full array of human emotions. Although extremely effective and adaptive, Sixes always show certain disdain for their given chores and dislike being treated as expendable. Most versions of Six have platinum-blonde hair, including Caprica-Six, Shelly Godfrey and Sonja. Others such as Gina Inviere, Natalie Faust and Lida have honey-blonde hair, and one Six with black hair has been observed.