In the mid-1980s, when Gambian Jola scholar/musician Daniel Laemouahuma Jatta first began to research and document his people's folk lute, the "akonting", the tradition of making and playing the instrument was relatively unknown outside of the rural Jola villages found throughout Senegambia. Even within these Jola communities, there were very few young people interested in carrying on the "akonting" tradition. Recognizing this fact, Daniel's father, a traditional "akonting" player originally from the instrument's birthplace, the Casamance region of Senegal, implored him to take up the "akonting" and help perpetuate this vital element of their people's cultural heritage.