Ivory Coast
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People & Culture
People | Languages | Religion | Events & Festivals |
Cooking & Recipes | Music |
Art & Craft
PEOPLE
The population of the Ivory Coast is approx
16,400,000 (est. July 2001).
There are more than 60 ethnic groups, the
key ones being the Baoulé in the center, the Agri in the east, the
Senufo in the north, the Dioula in the northwest and west, the
Bété in the center-west and the Dan-Yacouba in the west.
Houphouët-Boigny promoted his own group, the Baoulé, who account
for 23% of the population. The succession of Konan Bédié, another
Baoulé, has annoyed many groups, the Bété in particular.
Migrants from other west African countries account for up to 40% of the
population.
Akan
Among the Akan-speaking peoples of southern
Ghana and adjacent Côte d'Ivoire ritual pottery and figurative
terracottas are used in connection with funeral practices that date at least to
the 1600s.
(read more...)
Akye
Akye are an Akan peoples living in southern
Côte d'Ivoire. The rise of the early Akan centralized states can be
traced to the 13th century and is likely related to the opening of trade routes
established to move gold throughout the region.
(read
more...)
Anyi
The most important art forms among the Anyi are funerary images and
monuments. A family can demonstrate its affluence through grave monuments to
the ancestors.
(read
more...)
Aowin
Aowin are an Akan peoples living in southern
Côte d'Ivoire. The rise of the early Akan centralized states can be
traced to the 13th century and is likely related to the opening of trade routes
established to move gold throughout the region.
(read more...)
Baule (Baoulé)
The Baule belong to the Akan
peoples who inhabit Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Three hundred years ago the
Baule people migrated westward from Ghana when the Asante rose to power. The
tale of how they broke away from the Asante has been preserved in their oral
traditions.
(read more...)
Dan
The Dan are an extremely musical people.
They don't do anything without music. Rice, Death, Marriage, Birth, Weather are
all celebrated with music
(read
more...)
Senufo
The Senufo are made up of a number of
diverse subgroups who migrated into their current location from the north
during the 15th and 16th centuries.
(read more...)
Listen to Ivory Coast National Anthem
Words of the
Ivory Coast
National Anthem
LANGUAGES
National or official language is French.
Other Websites
Languages of Cote d'Ivoire
RELIGION
12% Christian
25% Muslim
63%
Traditional Beliefs
The majority practise traditional religions
involving ancestral worship. They believe that the dead are transformed into
spirits and remain in constant contact with the living; through various
rituals, the living seek their blessings and protection. Magic is also common,
and good magic keeps evil spirits away.
Medicine men or juju priests
dispense charms, tell fortunes and give advice on how to avoid danger. They
also bless grisgris, necklaces of charms that ward off specific evils. The
Senoufo people in particular have held very strongly to their traditional
beliefs. Children are instructed over many years in the history and social
mores of the Senoufo and are then secretly initiated.
EVENTS & FESTIVALS
One of Côte d'Ivoire's
most famous festivals is the Fêtes des Masques (Festival of Masks), which
takes place in the region of Man occurs in November. Numerous small villages in
the region hold contests to determine the best dancers and to pay homage to
forest spirits who are embodied in the elaborate masks.
Another
important event is the week long carnival in Bouaké each March.
In April, the Fête du Dipri in Gomon, near Abidjan. This festival starts
around midnight, when women and children sneak out of their huts and, naked,
carry out nocturnal rites to exorcise the village of evil spells. Before
sunrise the chief appears, drums pound and villagers go into trances. The
frenzy continues until late afternoon of the next day.
The major Muslim
holiday is Ramadan, a month (around December) when everyone fasts between sunup
and sunset in accordance with the fourth pillar of Islam. Ramadan ends with a
huge feast, Eid al-Fitr, where everyone prays together, visits friends, gives
presents and stuffs themselves.
COOKING & RECIPES
The traditional diet in
Cote d'Ivoire is very similar to that of neighboring countries in its reliance
on grains and tubers, but the Ivorians have a particular kind of small,
open-air restaurant called a maquis which is unique to them.
Attiéké (grated cassava) is a popular Côte
d'Ivoirian side dish. Côte d'Ivoire's claim to culinary fame, maquis
normally feature braised chicken and fish smothered in onions and tomatoes,
served with attiéké, or kedjenou, a chicken dish made with
vegetables and a mild sauce.
One of the tastiest street-vended foods is
aloco, which is ripe banana in palm oil, spiced with steamed onions and chilli
and eaten alone or with grilled fish. Bangui is a local palm wine.
Chilled Avocado
Soup from the Ivory Coast
Halibut Ivory Coast
Cucumber zucchini Salad
Sauce Claire And Fufu
Aloko
a side dish from Cote d'Ivoire containing
plantaine bananas at iAgora.
MUSIC
World famous reggae artist Alpha Blondy is
Côte d'Ivoire's best known singer, though his music isn't necessarily
representative.
The country's traditional music style is characterised
by a series of melodies and rhythms occurring simultaneously, without one
dominating the others. The Dan are an extremely musical people. They don't do
anything without music. Rice, Death, Marriage, Birth, Weather are all
celebrated with music
Historically, this music has been the prerogative
of just one social group, the griot (village entertainers), who use only
instruments they can make with local materials, such as gourds, animal skins
and horns. instruments used include Talking drum, djembe, Kpalogo, Shekere
(Youroo), Akombe, Cleavers
ART & CRAFT
The Baoulé, the Dan (or
Yacouba) and the Senoufo - all known for their wooden carvings.
No one
produces a wider variety of masks than the people of the Ivory Coast. Masks are
used to represent the souls of deceased people, lesser dieties, or even
caricatures of animals. The ownership of masks is restricted to certain
powerful individuals or to families. Only specifically designated, specially
trained individuals are permitted to wear the masks.
It is dangerous
for others to wear ceremonial masks because each mask has a soul, or life
force, and when a person's face comes in contact with the inside of the mask
that person is transformed into the entity the mask represents.
Visit
our Ivory Coast Art & Craft Shop for a huge
variety of art, craft and fabric from Ivory Coast
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