IVORY COAST: Land of Masks and Dance

IVORY COAST – LAND OF MASKS AND DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS WITH WILD IMAGES

West Africa’s Ivory Coast (Côte D’Ivoire) is one of the greatest hidden gems of African culture on the continent.  It is home to around sixty different cultures, all of which are woven together in an intricate tapestry of animism, voodoo and the ancient tradition of African masks.  Wild Images is proud to pioneer Ivory Coast photography tours in this exciting, yet little visited, West African country.

For years the civil wars in Ivory Coast blocked off tourism to the outside world.  When these wars ended in 2011, Ivorian people began to live in peace and their country has had very few problems since.  While tourism is very much in its infancy, for intrepid photographers who really want to experience uniquely beautiful African cultures, visiting Ivory Coast is a sensual journey of photographic art, great food, ancient monuments and wild, fascinating African masked dances.

During our tour we will experience one of Africa’s most famous cultural performances, the Zaouli, a uniquely Ivorian dance that has been listed as an act of cultural significance by UNESCO and the athletic performances of the Senufo people including Boloye (the Panther dance), Gla, N’Goro (the Fire Dance), Balafon and the Danse des Jongleurs (the Dance of the Jugglers).  Other wildly fascinating dances we will see are the dance of the Komians, some of West Africa’s most famous traditional healers, the forest-born stilt dance of the Godoufou people and the masculine/feminine spirit dance of Goly with the Baoulé people.

We will visit the largest Christian Basilica in the world at Yamoussoukro and two of the best preserved mud mosques outside Mali, in the ancient trading city of Kong.  Departing from these monotheistic faiths we will explore the animist monuments of the Niofoin Fetish houses and the sacred sacrificial rock at Mont Sienlow.

Ivory Coast is also home to a talented variety of artisan weavers, sculptors, bead makers and music that will all feature heavily on our tour.

Finally, we will wander through lively bustling markets and visit some of the crumbling old French colonial houses and fishing villages of Grand Bassam for some beautiful and spontaneous street photography.

THE TRADITION OF MASKS IN IVORY COAST

Ivory Coast is perhaps the most iconic West African country in terms of mask diversity and beliefs. If you are a collector of masks, or if you have seen African masks for sale across the African continent or overseas, there is a very good chance that many of the masks you have admired will have either been directly made in or inspired by those stemming from the Ivory Coast. Carefully crafted and spectacular, masks that are worn by dancers across West Africa are usually accompanied by headdresses, costumes and musical instruments that transform the wearer from an ordinary person into someone who has been taken over by the spirits.

Protectively shrouded when not in use, some of the masks we will see emerge in full force at dances that are performed for a variety of reasons including channelling the divine, consulting with ancestral wisdom, escorting the departed, celebrating the living or marking the natural cycles of existence.  They may also accompany young men and women on their initiation rituals.

It is strictly forbidden to touch them if you are uninitiated and almost all masked dancers are accompanied by a guardian to protect onlookers from accidental contact and also guide the masked dancer through his spiritual routine.

Learning about Ivorian cultures through the various dances of our tour is truly a mesmerising experience.

KOMIANS

Unique to the Akan culture of Ivory Coast and Ghana, Komians are the most celebrated traditional healers in the country.  Komians are not only consulted for their knowledge of medicinal plants but also for their “power” to ward off evil and predict the future. Without their intervention, no enthronement of a king or chief can take place.

We will travel to a traditional centre for Komian training in the small town of Anassiué to witness their traditions and beautiful circular dance which is performed to the music of tam tam drums and bells.

ZAOULI

A relatively recent addition to the cultures of Ivory Coast, the spectacular dance of Zaouli has rapidly become one of the best known cultural performances in Africa.  On average it takes a Zaouli dancer around seven years to perfect his craft and once he becomes a master, he is able to perform the wildest dance of masks whereby his upper body remains still while his feet and legs zigzag their way through a dance.  Performed mostly for funerals and celebrations by the Gouro people, Zaouli is danced only by men and usually by members of the same family.

Young dancers are revered as part of Guro society and watching them dance, even in plain clothes is a true highlight of our tour.  Once a dancer graduates to a fully costumed performer he will don colourful tights, leg poms, bells and one of several symbolic masks depending on the meaning of the celebration.

GOLY

Ivory Coast’s Baoulé people are a sub-culture of the Akan people and the powerful Ashanti kingdom that once spread across West Africa from its homeland of Ghana.  They are best known for their beautiful handwoven Kita fabric that is spun in a similar way to Kente cloth in Ghana.

We will visit a Baoulé community to learn about their tradition of Goly through special masked dances that are often performed during celebrations or funerals.  These twinned masks appear as almost identical but they are representative of the male and female spirits that exist within all of us.  It is possible we will see two different styles of Goly mask on our tour including Kpan, or human faced masks and Glan masks which are inspired by a mythical creature that is a cross between an antelope and a crocodile.

BOLOYE – THE PANTHER DANCE

As we travel deeper into the country we will enter the lands of the Senoufo people, an ethnic group that is now found mostly in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Mali.  Senufo people are the most culturally rich people we will meet on our tour and a highlight of learning their culture will be attending a Boloye, or Panther Dance.

Senoufo people believe that the spirit of a deceased person will still wander their village long after they have died so, fearing that these deceased spirits might bring ills to their community, they exorcise the spirits through a long funeral rite in order to send their spirit into the afterworld.

A key part of this funeral rite is the dance of the Boloye, or Panther.

Although their society is matrilineal, young Senoufo men undergo a twenty-year training at a forest school called Poro, before they are initiated into a highly secretive men’s society.  On the last day of a Senoufo funeral, a young Poro initiate is tasked with leading masked dancers called Nufori into the arena.  These dancers are masked in a costume fashioned out of traditional dyed mud cloth that has been daubed with paint spots and designed to terrify women and children in the audience as they are normally excluded from these events.

Accompanying them are musicians playing large Bolon instruments and rattles made from local calabashes.  The excitement builds as each Nufoir enters the arena and dances an acrobatic series of movements including somersaults, headstands and flips.  While it feels like a great source of entertainment., these dancers are both respected and feared by villages at once.

BALAFON

The Balafon of Ivory Coast’s Senoufo people is a pentatonic xylophone fashioned out of natural gourds, or calabashes, carved wood and sisal twine that is constructed around a trapezoidal frame.  Used traditionally in all celebrations, Balafon players start to learn their music from a very young age with a small Balafon before they graduate to larger instruments with time.  Known locally as Negele, the Balafon is either played singly or as part of an ensemble at festivals, prayer services and funerals of the Senufo.

A performance of Balafon is an act of great appeal to Senufo people who join the musicians in performing a lively, circular dance to the rhythmic strumming of drums and Balafons.

N’GORON – THE DANCE OF FIRE

One of the most spectacular dances we will see on our tour is the Dance of Fire or N’Goron.  Performed by the Senoufo people, it is a traditional dance of passage for young Senoufo virgins and it is overseen by a master of ceremonies who, in between dance moves on top of a flaming fire where he picks up live embers and chews on them, cracks a huge whip to keep the audience in check!

It begins with the music of drums and balafons which ring out across the village of the performance.  A group of young initiated men wearing white tasselled trousers appear and dance in circles blessing the musicians and visiting dignitaries.  Soon after the virgins appear.  Naked from the waist up, beautiful Senoufo girls dance their way into the ceremony with poms made from paper and raffia grasses.  The rhythm and variety of acts in a performance of N’Goron are both fascinating and infectious leaving the viewer with the feeling of never wanting it to end!

THE STILT DANCE OF GODOUFOU

Lying deep in the countryside near Touba, in a small traditional Yacouba village sits adjacent to a sacred forest.  It is here that a community of Dan, or Yacouba, people believe that the spirits of their ancestors reside.  These spirits control the fortunes and lives of the living and they must be honoured with sacrifices and masked dances that feature athletic men on stilts up to three metres high.

The ceremony begins with a group of newly married women dressed in white (for purity) and indigo (for self-respect) who sing about the course of married life.  Soon after they are joined by elderly women who act as their spiritual guardians.

Later they are joined by a group of young initiated men.  While all of this is occurring, a sacrifice is performed in the forest to honour the ancestors of the village and finally, two masked dancers emerge from the forest in a procession towards the village dance. They are Koma and Godoufou and they both perform a series of acrobatic moves to the rhythmic beating of drums.  Koma is there to entertain.  Godoufou, or the stilt dancer, is there to herald the start of the deportment process for young Yacouba women.  This masked creature speaks in a shrill language of tongues that is incomprehensible to outsiders but it gets very excited when donations are offered from the crowd.  Performed mostly at sunset, the stilt dance of Godoufu is an exhilarating part of our trip!

DANCE OF THE JUGGLERS (DANSE DES JONGLEURS)

Deep in the forest clad mountains of Man, we will seek out other spectacular dances of the Dan (Yacouba, Guéré, We), a sub-culture of the Senoufo people including the Dance of the Jugglers, one of the oddest performances of our tour.  Here young girls are dressed up and placed into a trance before they are tossed into the air and caught safely by an older male performer.  The trance emboldens the young girls in their performance, allowing them to fearlessly approach their guardian who twirls them, tosses them and swings them around as part of the act.

GLA

Another performance of the Dan people, Gla is the literal term for ‘mask’. Connecting the living with the spirits of the sacred forest, large masked dancers appear in a performance to celebrate aspects of Dan society.  We will see a variety of masks during this performance, each of them guarded by a young man who yells to keep the dancer in control and also to translate the dancer’s language to the crowd.  On our first tour, we met three individual dancers – the Zehego (Chameleon), Zeblion (Monkey) and Gambié (Comedian) but many exist and they are brought out depending on the demands of the community on the day.

Much celebrated for their art and export globally Dan masks are usually carved from timber and they are dressed in a variety of costumes including long strands of raffia and fabric.

AN ODYSSEY OF ARTS

We will explore some of the deep traditions of art in Ivory Coast including mask carving, weaving, bead making, painting and blacksmith work.  Each of these visits gives us a stunning insight into the breadth of talent that exists across the country.  From hand-painted beads to wall murals, brass bells and colourful fabric it is very hard to avoid buying artwork in Ivory Coast.  These brightly coloured artisan traditions are beautiful to photograph as they form an integral part of the cultural tapestry we will explore during our tour.

MEET WEST AFRICA’S ORIGINAL FOREST HUNTERS – THE DOZO

While they are not classified as an ethnic group, the Dozo are groups of men who wander the forests of Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast dressed in traditional ‘fatigues’ of brown mud cloth and wearing a series of hand made leather protective amulets called gris-gris, as traditional hunters.  They are sometimes found presiding over ceremonies or acting as guards at self-imposed checkpoints on roads in northern Ivory Coast.  These fascinating men, who are very hospitable and good-natured, form fraternities called Donzo Ton and they are often viewed by farming or pastoralist neighbours as possessing special power, wisdom, and strength.  During our tour, we will visit a community of Dozos to learn more about their fascinating way of life while joining them for a ceremony at their sacred forest and sacrificial rock.

WEST AFRICAN TEXTILES

One of the more elaborate features of artisan work in Ivory Coast is the creation of traditional textiles which are hand-spun and then handwoven on large wooden looms.  Cotton has been an agricultural industry in Ivory Coast for over a century and Ivorian weavers in the Senufo people of the north now create stunning local Korhogo cloth at a large weaver community close to the city of the same name.  Further south, the Baoulé people weave Kita fabric in a centuries-old tradition that stems from an ancient tradition of the Akan people who are related to the Baoulé culturally.

These beautiful African fabrics join other celebrated textiles in West Africa like Bogolan, or mud, cloth that is made in Mali and also Kente and Adinkra cloth from Ghana.

LAND OF THE SPIRITS

Similar to many other West African countries, the vast array of cultures in Ivory Coast are linked by the monotheistic beliefs of Christianity or Islam which are intertwined with animism and voodoo.

In Ivory Coast monuments to people’s beliefs take on spectacular and ancient forms and during our tour, we will visit four key places of worship for Ivorian people.

THE BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF PEACE

Unbeknownst to many across the globe, the largest church devoted to the Christian faith in the world is actually in the administrative capital of Ivory Coast, Yamoussoukro.

In 1983 the then president of Ivory Coast, Hourphouët-Boigny chose Yamoussoukro to be the new capital of his country.  As part of his plan for the city, the president wanted to memorialise himself with the construction of a basilica with a view to it becoming the key pilgrimage site for African Catholics.

Featuring a dome that is twice the diameter of St Peters in Rome it seats up to 7,000 people in the nave with standing room for a further 11,000.  While photography is not permitted in many of the areas inside, it is still possible in some areas and visiting the Basilica gives a breathtaking glimpse into the strength of the Catholic belief in Africa.

MISSIRIBA & MISSIRIDENA – THE MUD MOSQUES OF KONG

Thought to date back to the 12^th century Missiriba, the largest mosque in the northern city of Kong is a stunning example of the Sudano Sahelian style architecture that is so reminiscent of similar structures over the border in Mali, like the Great Mosque of Djenné.  Smaller in size, yet no less impressive, Missiriba is the crowning glory of the city of Kong, a former seat of trade between the Dyula caravan leaders and the animist cultures of the Senoufo and Tyefo people in northern Ivory Coast.

With a quietude that belies its bustling past, the small town of Kong is home to two mud mosques built in the same style, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Wandering around Missiriba, we will spend time photographing its hand-sculpted minarets and architectural detail.  If a visit inside is permitted we will explore the numerous prayer caverns while padding quietly along the sandy floors of the mosque’s corridors.  Oddly a small colony of Guinean Horseshoe Bats has taken up residence here which is significant considering their listed status as Endangered due to their tiny distribution and fragmented habitat.

We will linger in Kong for a short while enjoying street photography in the street outside the mosque where colourful locals shop for wares in tiny stores or wander in and out of the mosque to pray.

NIOFOIN FETISH HOUSES

In the small town of Niofouin in northern Ivory Coast is one of the country’s most peculiar architectural oddities. It is home to two significant structures, the Niofoin Fetish Houses.

Wandering the local neighbourhood of Niboladala, we will wind our way through paths between traditional mud-brick roundhouses and hand-sculpted, stilted granaries to take photographs and meet with some of the friendly Niofoin locals.  Thesekafo paths eventually lead to two mushroom-like buildings that hold roles of significance for the animist beliefs of the local people, the Niofoin Fetish Houses.

Handcrafted in an adobe-style, the roofs of these houses spiral whimsically towards the sky.  Instead of being replaced every year with thatched grasses like so many other African structures, the roofs of these two houses are simply added to after each rainy season.

Guarding two fetishes, Diby and Kalegbin, these curious structures each play a role in protecting the people of Niofoin.  Each has a house of sacrifice next to them and a kafodan, or public meeting place, in front.

Visiting Diby and Kalegbin gives you a glimpse into the living belief of animism not only in Niofoin but in Ivory Coast as a whole.

MONT SIENLOW SACRIFICIAL SITE

Deep in the foothills of Korhogo, at the end of a road lined with wild cashew trees, lies the peculiar sacrificial site of Mont Sienlow.  Located on a large granite koppie, this sacred site is visited by pilgrims who offer sacrifices to animist gods in order to wish for goodwill.  The reasons for sacrifice could include more money, a child, a happier marriage or good health.

It is quite a starkly beautiful place with huge granite boulders creating a shrine where animal bones and small hand-carved Touboubele dolls are offered as items to worship

Present at the site is a fetish priest who oversees the sacrifices that take place daily at Mont Sienlow.  Accompanying him are also fortune-tellers who, for a small fee, will tell your future using a collection of small cowrie shells.

EXPLORING IVORY COAST’S FRENCH COLONIAL PAST

During the final days of our tour, we will spend time relaxing and doing some street photography around Grand Bassam, the UNESCO World Heritage former French trading outpost on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Surf lined beaches and charismatic fishing villages abound here.  We will stay at a wonderful lodge right on the beach and enjoy fresh seafood meals in between walking the beach, exploring the work of local artists and visiting some of Grand Bassam’s incredible French colonial buildings, many of which are now sitting in ruin as they are slowly engulfed by time and strangler fig trees.

On an architectural photography walk here we will visit Ganamet house, one of Grand Bassam’s most iconic buildings.  The house of a Syrian/Lebanese trader who lived in Grand Bassam to trade coffee and cocoa with the Akan people, Ganamet House has an eclectic mix of French and Middle Eastern architectural features including a mansard roof which is unusual of the Bassam houses.  These days it lays open to the elements and is slowly being strangled by figs.  We will explore the ruined headquarters of Grand Bassam’s slavery master and other buildings to photograph their beautiful crumbling façades with their curious mix of French and African styles and architectural features.

We will visit the pretty local fishing village of N’Zima in the French Quarter which has a lively fishing community that lives in a labyrinth of grass huts at the foot of ancient coconut palms.  It is here we will learn about smoking and drying fish while meeting the friendly locals around the villages and the parked pirogues that ply the waters off Grand Bassam to supply its community with fresh fish every day.

Grand Bassam is also home to some wonderful Ivorian artists so if you wish to purchase anything from African masks, to French antiques, local paintings or other wares this is the perfect way to end our tour.

Why travel to Ivory Coast with Wild Images

Wild Images is the proud pioneer of photography tourism in Ivory Coast.  Our inaugural expedition across the country was extremely successful. We attended 8 different masked dances, explored the ancient mud mosque in Kong and hand-sculpted fetish houses at Niofoin in between street photography around lively bustling markets and the crumbling historical buildings of Grand Bassam.

Our leader has over thirty years of experience in Africa and knows West Africa extremely well.  We travel to remote villages where we will most likely be the only photographers present at incredible local masked dances.  We also believe that the best images come from the photography of people in a two-way situation.  We encourage our guests to chat to local people, laugh with them, engage with them and simply enjoy the experience of being immersed in their world.  As the body of work from our tour shows, we take the time to pay attention to the tiny things that make Ivory Coast such a special place.  While it lacks the spectacularly decorated tribal people of other African countries, it makes up for that lack with some of the most ancient and fascinating ceremonies in West Africa.

Accommodation & Road Transport

Road transport is by minibus.

Accommodation is in very basic yet comfortable hotels.

Walking

The walking on this tour is mostly easy.

Climate

The weather in Ivory Coast will be hot and often humid. There is likely to be a mixture of sunny and overcast conditions. Rain is unlikely.

Photographic Equipment

For most photography of the people in West Africa, a travel lens of around 24-105mm on a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless body will be essential. A wide-angle lens of around 16mm or smaller will be perfect for working with people inside smaller rooms.

If you prefer to photograph people from a distance, then please consider bringing a larger zoom or telephoto lens. It is our experience that sometimes people can feel a bit intimidated by large cameras and lenses so you may wish to bring a smaller sized zoom lens like a 100-400mm which doesn’t appear as intimidating as a large fixed focal length telephoto lens. Such a lens can also be useful for the ceremonies we will attend as you will often be standing in a crowd and a longer lens will allow you to shoot past other onlookers.

If you bring a good quality bridge camera instead of a DSLR or mirrorless it will be best if it has an optical zoom of 18-20x or more, combined with a reasonable wide-angle at the other end of the zoom range.

If you have a phone or tablet that can be used for photography, you may find these quite useful around people. Similarly, if you have a Polaroid camera like the Leica Sofort or an Instax Mini, these are wonderful to have on hand when you spend time with tribal people. If you decide to bring one of these, please bring lots of film with you as the photographs you produce will be quite popular!

Drones are particularly wonderful to use in Ivory Coast and they provide a very unique perspective of life in West Africa. Ivory Coast has very few restrictions on flying drones, however, there are a few limitations you will need to consider when you fly.

If you would like to talk over suitable equipment, please contact our office. We will be happy to advise.

VIEW OUR GUEST’S PHOTOS

Before I went to Ivory Coast, whenever I talked with my friends that I booked a photo tour to Ivory Coast, a lot of them told me not much to see or they do not like West African. By then, I thought I probably had made the wrong decision.

In fact, I spent 14 fantastic days in Ivory Coast with Wild Images tour leader Inger Vandyke and other 3 fellow photographers. The tour itinerary surprised me every day: ceremonies, local markets, mask dances, landmarks, blacksmith factory, shea butter processing, wax block printer, and etc. The trip made me busy every day in shooting photos, learning about different cultures and rich history, and observing local’s daily life. This was an incredible adventure in Ivory Coast, and it goes above and beyond my expectations. Thank you and your team! – Rosalie Wang (guest on our 2023 tour to Ivory Coast). To view a gallery of Rosalie’s beautiful images (in colour and infrared), please click here.