The best known Mandé music is played on the kora, a 21 or more stringed instrument, and it is performed by families of musicians known as Jeliw (sing. Jeli) or in French as Griots. The kora is a unique harp-lute with a notched wooden bridge. It is arguably the most complex chordophone of Africa. As for Griots, they are professional bards in northern West Africa, keepers of their great oral epic traditions and history, and trusted and powerful advisors of Mandé leaders. Among the most celebrated of these today are Toumani Diabate and Kandia Kouyaté.