Ivory Coast: Gboni – Yakuba People Mask & Stilt Dance

Next ethnic group we visited were the Yakuba people, also know as Dan people. This is a tribe of out 300,000 people in the west-central part of the Ivory Coast. They are renowned for their rich cultural heritage. We witnessed a long ceremony, starting with various performance with traditional musical instruments and costumed dancing, all a prelude to the world-famous Yakuba “mask show”. The Yakuba’s mask dances are integral to various initiations, funerals, and harvest festivals. Each mask, known as a “gle,” is an embodiment of a specific spirit with its own personality, preferences, dance style, and speech patterns. The dancer wearing the mask assumes the identity of the spirit it represents, bringing it to life through performance. After a masked dancer finished her (or his) act, it was the turn for a masked stilt dancer – the most stunning and spectacular of the Yakuba dance traditions. These stilt dancers execute acrobatic feats and intricate movements, leaping in the air and doing flips. The masks worn during these performances are sacred and are typically stored in special huts when not in use.