Gboni stilt dancing > Ivory Coast > Africa
[Visited: April 2018]
- After a bumpy ride on tracks through the savannahs of northern Ivory Coast, where we visit several small, traditional villages with circular adobe huts, we arrive at Gboni. After passing a new-looking school building that contrasts sharply with the traditional mud huts, we park our car next to a row of others. Even though we were ahead of them, they passed us on our visit to a previous village. It is strange that we see not one person here. Soon, we understand why: when we arrive in an open space between the huts, a kind of village square, it is full of people. On one side: a row of women, all dressed in white. Three men play a rhythmic sound on their drums. A little further: a row of old men. In between: kids running around, some with white stripes painted on their faces. A row of young men walking around in circles, their upper bodies uncovered, with sets of white stripes painted on them.
- We quickly take a seat, and after some awkward discussion between our guide and another, can finally focus on the performance that has already started. The women are laughing and jeering at the attractive men walking around. I realize that some of the young women will undoubtedly see their future husband walking here. After all, this is a small, closed community. After the initiated young men have finished showing off their well-trained bodies, others arrive, even more decorated ones. They dance with sticks with hairs in their hands, flashing them around. When they come close, I notice how they are sweating. Even though it is the end of the afternoon, it is still hot outside and the sun is merciless. Our guide now motions us to follow him to the other side of the village. We stop at the entrance of the sacred forest, and there, a dancer fully dressed in colourful attire emerges, with a pitch black mask covering his face. He patiently waits for us to admire him and take pictures, before he strides to the small square to become the centre of attention.
- Masks are only to be worn by men, and are kept in the sacred forest, where only initiated men can enter. The mask-man now continues the show with yet another dance, then sits down with his big skirt all around him on the ground. Enter the stilt dancer - towering above everyone else. The guide whispers in my ear that stilt dancers start practising at an early age, and I can see why. It requires special skills to be able to not just walk, but dance on those wooden poles that are hidden underneath clothes. The longer he dances, the more daring he becomes, until he swings around one leg while dancing on the other. Two guys walk with him to catch him in case something happens, and indeed, in the end, he falls into a tree before catching himself and continuing his show. His face is hidden by a black tissue with a string attached to it. It is a fascinating sight. As is the case after all the dancing, the performers come to us for a tip. Then, the foreign ladies are invited to dance as well, and are given the sticks with hairs as decorative elements. I expect that the entire village will now take to the square for a dance, but alas - the ceremony is quite abruptly ended. One of the old ladies comes to me asking for an extra tip. When we pass the new school building on our way out, we realize we have seen a show in which the entire village was involved, and understand how they use the money they earn for a community project like a school for the scores of kids in Gboni. A good deal for both: we have had a fascinating insight into the peculiar masks and stilt dancing of the Dan people, have seen everyone taking a role with passion, doing their best to give us something to remember, and we have contributed to the good of the village.
