The West African instrument you are thinking of is called the kora. It's popular in Senegal, Mali, Gambia. Try listening to Toumani Diabate. If you want to see a diagram and description of the kora, go to www.coraconnection.com/pages/WhatisKora.html The Senegambia region , the Guinea coast, Angola, and Kingdom of Kongo were in fact the source areas for the vast majority of enslaved Africans in the Americas. Cheers, Margaret