Coverage / Cote d'Ivoire
Cote d'Ivoire
Western Africa
West Africa's Atlantic economic powerhouse, Cote d'Ivoire runs from the skyscrapers and music scene of Abidjan to the misty mask country of the western highlands around Man, the colonial UNESCO port of Grand-Bassam, and the great primary rainforest of Tai on the Liberian border. It is a country of masks and drums, of the N'zima Abissa and the Dan mask dances, of cocoa and coffee, held together by a strong French-language culture and a fast-growing urban-music movement led by coupe-decale and the Anoumabo festival.
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What you can do in Cote d'Ivoire
Witness / Attend
- AbissaGrand-BassamOct NovAbissa is the great annual festival of the N'zima people of Grand-Bassam, a week when the community judges the year that has passed and renews itself before the next. Held in the historic UNESCO quarter, it blends the sacred and the carnival: masked and painted celebrants, drumming and the Abissa dance, a ritual airing of grievances in which even the king can be criticised through song, and days of processions and street parties along the old colonial verandas. At its heart is the Dipri and the sacred drum that opens the festival, and the whole town turns out in costume. There is no ticket office and no single organiser; the festival belongs to the N'zima community and unfolds on its own rhythm. For a visitor it is one of the most vivid living traditions on the Ivorian coast, an easy trip from Abidjan that pairs the colonial museum town with a genuine communal rite.
- Fetes des MasquesManJan Feb Nov DecThe mask dances of the Man region are among the most powerful living traditions in West Africa. In the forested hills of the far west, the Dan, Guere and Wobe peoples hold masked performances in which the mask is not a face covering but a full costumed spirit, understood to mediate between the human world and the world of the ancestors. Each mask has its own role, from the judge and the singer to the acrobatic Gue Gblen and the towering stilt dancer who spins and drops on wooden legs several metres high. The dances cluster in the dry season and around communal celebrations, when villages stage contests to honour the forest spirits and mark the important moments of the year. Some masks and rites are closed to outsiders, so this is a tradition to approach with a guide and real respect. For the traveller it is a rare chance to witness a masquerade culture that still holds its meaning rather than performing for a stage.
Best months at a glance
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