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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Ivory Coast
Index
Donvagne, village in eastern Côte d'Ivoire
Courtesy Robert Handloff
Voltaic cultures are found in northeastern Côte
d'Ivoire,
northern Ghana, and Burkina Faso. They share cultural
similarities
with the Mandé peoples to their west but have not
influenced the
political history of the region to the same extent.
Northern
Voltaic peoples--such as the Mossi, who are based outside
Côte
d'Ivoire--built large empires, but the Sénoufo and the
Lobi are
organized into small chiefdoms based on unilineal descent.
The Sénoufo occupy north-central Côte d'Ivoire, Mali,
and
Burkina Faso and are also known as the Seniambélé and
Siena.
Sénoufo is a Juula word meaning "speaker of Séné," but
language is
among the few culture traits that unify this heterogeneous
group.
They have several myths of origin, each popular in a
different
area. Several of these involve an ancestor known as Nangui
or
Nengué, who left the Juula capital of Kong to establish
the Sénoufo
city of Korhogo, which means "heritage." Sénoufo history
refers to
Juula traders as early as the thirteenth century, when
Islam
arrived in the region. The territory was raided by Samori
Touré in
the late nineteenth century, and the resulting decline
continued
into colonial times.
The Sénoufo economy is primarily agricultural. Commerce
is well
developed in the area, but in most cases it is conducted
by Juula
rather than Sénoufo traders. The close relationship
between the
Sénoufo farmer and the land is emphasized in religious
observances
and mediated through the lineage. Each lineage has a
mythical
ancestor, often identified with an animal that is said to
have
helped found the lineage. This animal, or "totem,"
occupies a
special niche in the Sénoufo worldview, as the subject of
a ritual
taboo and symbol of social unity. The head of the lineage
exercises
moral and religious authority and is believed to
propitiate local
gods and ensure good harvests. Aside from the lineage
head, status
distinctions are relatively few, although many people kept
slaves
from other societies until well into the twentieth
century.
Villages are unified by male age grades, uniting youths
close
in age within secret brotherhoods known as poro in
this
region and parts of Sierra Leone and Liberia. Poro
societies
have survived in part because they help maintain order,
especially
in times of social upheaval. They also serve as
repositories of
social customs and religious values, providing a
conservative
balance against the rapid acculturation in Ivoirian
society as a
whole.
Akan influence is fairly strong among the Sénoufo, some
of whom
have adopted matrilineal descent systems resembling that
of the
Akan. Villages were unified under the authority of an
appointed
chief during colonial times, a practice that drew
villagers into
the national system but also disrupted established
channels of
authority and was resisted by many of the culturally
conservative
Sénoufo people.
Adjacent to Sénoufo territory are the Lobi, Koulango,
and
several smaller Voltaic societies. They inhabit an
isolated,
relatively undeveloped corner of the country. They
probably arrived
in the area from the east and organized themselves in
autonomous
villages. They resisted the spread of Islam, which was
brought by
Juula traders and teachers over several centuries. More
recently,
they have rejected many aspects of European acculturation
and lack
the overall fascination with economic progress that
characterizes
much of the nation.
Data as of November 1988
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