A patchwork of more than 60 ethnic groups
"Patchwork", "mosaic", "kaleidoscope" of different ethnic groups and peoples: there is no shortage of names to highlight the diversity of the Ivorian socio-cultural fabric. Although we generally speak of sixty ethnic groups, no official figure can give a precise ratio and the numbers still hesitate between fifty and eighty, including sub-groups of the various ethnic families. Nevertheless, behind the apparent complexity of this human geography, one can distinguish four major ethnic and linguistic groups that form a framework that simplifies the reading of the different settlements of Côte d'Ivoire: the Akans, the Gours, the Mandés and the Krous.
The great Akan family
Concentrated in the south-eastern quarter of the country, the Akans are the majority ethnic group in Côte d'Ivoire, accounting for 38 per cent of the population according to the National Institute of Statistics of Côte d'Ivoire. They emigrated in successive waves from the Kingdom of Ashantis in present-day Ghana to what is now Côte d'Ivoire between the late 17th century and the mid-18th century, when Ghana was at its height.
There are three main groups within the Akans.
The so-called border Ak
ans,which bring together the Abrons and the Agnis-Bafrés, who founded the Sanwi kingdom at the end of the 17th century, were the first to settle.
The Central Akans
(or Baoulés), guided by Queen Pokou in the 18th century, came from Ghana across the Comoé River to escape the wars of succession in the Ashanti kingdom.The lagoon Ak
ans, bringing together several small ethnic groups, mostly from the east as well, although of more diverse origins and at different times. Their presence is therefore more fragmented. Among them are the Adioukrous and the Abidjis (from the west), the Attiés, the Abbeys, the Alladians, the Ebriés, the Abourés, the Ehotilés and the N'Zimas (also called Apollonians).Societal model.
Among the Akans, it is organized in matrilineal lineages divided into several clans, constituted into kingdoms whose influence extends to the surrounding villages and provinces. The age class system, which guarantees peace, political stability and respect for values, governs the social functioning of the lagoon Akans. This system allows for the exercise of village and tribal democracy through the establishment of political equality and the periodic renewal of the political body, with power assumed by rotation over a limited period of time. The King exercises collegial power, since he reigns jointly with the Queen Mother and is assisted in the exercise of his power by a Privy Council, consisting of the heads of his clan's families, and a Council of Government, consisting of the heads of the Kingdom's major provinces. The attributes of power are the stool, or bia, which symbolizes the king's political and religious authority; the packet containing the weights to be weighed in gold, or dja (symbol of the reigning sovereign's economic power); and the ceremonial sword, a scimitar, a symbol of military strength. It was by submitting to this sword that the defeated peoples and their chiefs took an oath of loyalty and allegiance.The Akans' agriculture is essentially subsistence farming, based on yam, plantain, cassava and other secondary crops. Among the lagoons, fishing remains the dominant activity. As far as handicrafts are concerned, the Akans are distinguished by woodcarving, weaving with large baoule or bassamois chequered loincloths (also from the Ashanti kingdom), and very elaborate musical and choreographic traditions (talking drums, initiation dances). Finally, religion, as in many ethnic groups, is based on the belief in a single god, a force immanent to the will and power of secondary deities and men.
The Gours or Voltaics from the North
The Gours or Voltaics (derived from the former colonial name of Burkina Faso, the "Upper Volta"), found mainly in the northeast of the country, are one of the oldest peoples of Côte d'Ivoire. They represent 21% of the population according to the INS. Among them are three sub-groups: the Sénoufos, Lorhons-Koulangos and the Lobis. But the patchwork of ethnic groups is vast: Gbin, Niarafolo, Ténéwéré, Nafana, Tiembara, Degha, Lohon, Tagouana, Djamala, Djimini, Birifor, Samassogo, Djafolo, Camara?
The Sénoufos occupy the central part of northern Côte d'Ivoire, spilling over into neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso. Mainly the towns of Korhogo, Ferkessédougou, Boundali, Madiani, Séguélon, Katiola... The Sénoufos were the first to settle in the country. Their ancestors were the Pallaka (or Falafala) and the Myoro who lived by hunting and gathering. They were semi-nomadic and left Mali to head south in the 11th or 12th century, where game was more abundant, before being blocked by the tropical forest. The early arrival of the Mandés in the north of the country at the fall of the Mali Empire meant that the two ethnic families influenced each other and cohabited over the centuries.
The Lorhons-Koulangos ("those who are not afraid of death"), close relatives of the Senoufos, are mainly distributed in the northeast corner at the junction of the three borders Côte d'Ivoire Burkina and Mali, and present in Bondoukou. The Lorhons, ancestors of the Koulangos, are said to have been among the first occupants of the region for more than 2000 years. According to oral tradition, the Bounkani warrior, born of a Lorhon mother and a Dagomba father (an ethnic group from what is now northern Ghana), founded the Koulango kingdom of Bouna at the beginning of the 17th century. The Koulangos, originally animists, under the pressure of the Mande-Dioula culture, carried out a massive conversion to Islam, without however renouncing the cult of the spirits of nature which they perpetuated through secret societies responsible for initiation and whose masks are the main emanation and artistic expression.
The Lobis. Originally from what is now northern Ghana, they are mostly concentrated in the Bouna region. In particular, there are several Lobi villages in the Comoé National Park. A nomadic people par excellence, they are distributed between the Ivory Coast and neighbouring Burkina Faso. They are said to have entered Côte d'Ivoire in successive waves since the 18th century. Fierce warriors reputed to be excellent farmers and quite naturally formidable hunters, these peasants without a leader quickly overwhelmed the indigenous Koulangos and reduced them to slavery
Societal model. Among the Gours it is organized in groups of matrilineal filiation united by patrilineal marriages, although this trait common to many Voltaic peoples was masked among the Kulangos by the dynasty of Dagomba origin which imported a system of patrilineal succession to the establishment of the Bouna kingdom. The lineages are united by the cult of the ancestors and above all by the cult of the spirits of nature, perpetuated by large secret societies in charge of initiations, such as the poro of the Sénoufos and the dyoro of the Lobis. The Gours have developed equal skills in the fields of agriculture and handicrafts, which underpin all village life.
The Mandates to the north and northwest
They represent 28% of the population according to the INS. Mainly located in the northwest and northeast of the country, their presence in Côte d'Ivoire corresponds to some extreme advances of the Mandingo world, essentially centered in Mali, Upper Guinea and Upper Niger. A distinction is made between the Mande of the north (Malinke, Bamana, Dioula, Bambara, Koyaka, Mahouka ethnic groups) and the Mande of the south (Dan also called Yacouba, Toura, Gouro, Gagou...).
The Malinke, occupying the whole northwest, are the most numerous. A distinction is made between the "eastern" Malinke, concentrated in the regions of Kong, Bouna and Bondoukou, and the "western" Malinke (the most numerous), mainly present in Séguéla, Touba and Odienné.
The Dioulas are historically located in Kong, but also in Bouna and Bondoukou, trading cities where they founded important colonies in the past. Because of their trading activity, they are found throughout the north (around Korhogo) and the west (around Man).
The Koyakas. They were originally concentrated in the Worodougou region, around the towns of Mankono and Séguéla, sometimes as far as Touba. The sacred dance of the Koyaka is Doh, which is performed during the period of Ramadan (the Muslim fasting month).
Societal model. Mandingo society is organized into patrilineal lineages grouped into different clans, themselves constituted into villages agglomerated into cantons. The social stratification traditionally differentiates the nobles from the artisan castes (griots, blacksmiths, shoemakers) and from the slaves, but the apparently very strict hierarchy of this system is made ambivalent by a whole set of vertical relationships that short-circuit the socio-professional categorizations. The Dioulas, who specialize in trade, form professional associations with the hunters that have a very important role in society. In the arts, the Mandingo practice woodcarving, but excel especially in ironwork and weaving. Their traditional religion is based on ancestor worship and initiation societies, practices that they have managed to preserve while adhering to Islam in a harmonious syncretism. The Mande of the south occupy the forested areas of the central southwest. Among them are the Dans (or Yacuba) and the Touras, located in the mountainous regions of the west. Like the Krous, they are characterized by an essentially forest civilization and an absence of central power. Their social organization is based on lineage structures that are in principle all equal. The village is the main political entity and the various ritual and/or political functions are divided among the lineages, with primacy often given to the lineage of the village founders. Their economic activity is based mainly on gathering, as well as on the cultivation of rice and tubers. Their religion is based on the belief in an all-powerful god expressed through the spirits of nature and the ancestors, embodied by the many masks, all of superb workmanship.
The Krous in the south-central and west-central regions
They represent 11% of the population according to the INS. The Krou ethnic group can be divided into two main groups, composed of 21 tribes with related languages, including 6 ethnic groups on Liberian territory and 15 on Ivorian soil. In Côte d'Ivoire, they are found in the Centre-South and South-West, on either side of the Cavally River, from the Guinean-Ivorian mountains to the ocean. They were settled under the combined pressure of the "Mandingo push" from Mali between the 13th and 14th centuries. We can mention the most important ethnic groups: the Bété, Wé (themselves divided into Guéré, Wobé, Gnamboa), Aïzi, Bakwé, Wane, Kuya, Godié, Dida, Kodia, Nyabwa. The Krou languages, from a sub-group of the Niger-Congolese languages, are among the most complex tonic systems in Africa.
The Bétés
arethe main population of this ethnic group. Mainly located around the large regions of Gagnoa, Daloa and Soubré originally, but also many in Abidjan now, they maintain close social and cultural relations with the other ethnic groups of this group, the Dida, Wé and Kroumen, are the best known of the Krou ethnic groups.
Societal model. They are characterized by an essentially forest-based civilization and a society organized in patrilineal lineages that control economic, political and social activities. As a consequence of the relief of this part of the country and the "acephalism" characterizing their social organization (absence of central power, administrative machinery and judicial organization), their habitat is often dispersed and, with rare exceptions, the formation of political units rarely goes beyond the village, which is constituted as a sovereign community. Apart from the coastal areas and some northern areas affected by the cola trade routes, the Krous have long been isolated and unknown to the world. Economic life is based on hunting, agriculture (rice, cassava, maize, etc.) and slash-and-burn agriculture, while in terms of handicrafts, the Krous, particularly the Wés, maintain a remarkable tradition of woodcarving (masks). This ethnic group is also distinguished by its great mastery of music and dance. As for its religious beliefs, they are based on the existence of a distant supreme being, relayed by a host of secondary deities, genies and other spirits.
A great linguistic wealth
Reflecting its ethnic diversity, the country thus offers a wide variety of languages, and there are reportedly some 70 languages, of which only 17 transcend village and/or ethnic boundaries. Because of its status as a commercial lingua franca, Dioula occupies a privileged position and is said to be spoken as a second language by more than 7 million speakers, although it is the mother tongue of only 15 per cent of the population. The majority of Ivorian children are said to speak at least two local languages, including Dioula, Baoulé, Bété and Agni. As for French, it is the official language adopted by the State, taught in schools and used in government offices. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the population aged six years and over practice "a form of French", with nearly one million speakers using only a "pidginized" variety of French. Because of the large number of foreigners on Ivorian soil, the languages of Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea are also widely spoken.
Foreigners, a quarter of the Ivorian population
Foreigners are very numerous in Côte d'Ivoire, 6 million out of a total population of 24 million, or 25% of the population. They are 75% Muslims, upsetting the balance between Christians and Muslims in Côte d'Ivoire, the latter now being in the majority, without creating any particular tension. The most numerous: the Burkinabè, who have been present on Ivorian soil since the 1920s and 1930s, when Mossis, Bobos and Sénoufos from Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso) were forcibly brought to Côte d'Ivoire to build the railway and work on the national agro-industrial plantations. Their population is now estimated at more than 2 million people. Malians and Guineans are also very numerous. Immigration from these neighbours accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s, when Félix Houphoët-Boigny brought in foreign, hard-working labour to work in difficult conditions on the rapidly expanding cocoa plantations. The "Ivorian miracle" dragged a considerable population of foreigners over the decades. Population crystallized by national tensions when the great cocoa crisis arrived in the 1980s. The very concept of "Ivorianness" has been a matter of debate in a nation in the grip of the economic crisis in the 1990s until today, even though these foreigners have been living in Côte d'Ivoire for decades. There is a cosmopolitan population of Ghanaians, Liberians, Fulani, Tuaregs, Senegalese, Beninese, Togolese, Nigerians (especially Yoruba), Cameroonians, Congolese from Brazza and Kinshasa, and especially in Abidjan Lebanese, Europeans, Americans, Chinese, Indo-Pakistanis...
The Lebanese community
The Lebanese diaspora in Côte d'Ivoire is today the largest in Africa. It is estimated that this community has a population of 80,000 to 100,000 individuals, 90% of whom reside in Abidjan and most of whom hold Ivorian nationality. In 2017, the approximately 3,000 Lebanese companies operating locally contributed 8 per cent of the national GDP. Indigenous people call them "half-whites" because of their human warmth and their way of life, which is much closer to that of Africans than to Europeans. Initially specializing in local commerce, they sold their goods by peddling from village to village, then opened shops and grocery stores and quickly prospered, taking over the monopoly of small retail trade. The massive arrival of immigrants - mainly Maronite Christians from northern Lebanon (1880-1914) followed by Shiites from southern Lebanon (1918-1960) - continued until the independence of Côte d'Ivoire in 1960. A new wave of immigration, mainly due to the torments of the civil war in Lebanon (1975-1990) and the occupation of the south of the country by the Israeli army from 1982 onwards, precipitated a large number of Lebanese nationals on the road to exile. Mostly Shiites and less educated than their predecessors, they multiply their businesses, specializing in real estate, forestry, small industry and distribution. Often portrayed as corrupt, racist and inward-looking, this Levantine community will however always remain present in difficult times and will accommodate as best they can this "I love you neither" with the Ivorians. For a little more than a decade, we have been witnessing a new generation of Lebanese who are both more "Ivorian" and more "westernised" than their parents. Indeed, the massive departure of Westerners following the events of 2004 has left the community free to expand its commercial activities. This new generation, born in Côte d'Ivoire and having studied abroad, is more open to the world than the previous ones and often has a weaker link with Lebanon. It promotes closer ties between communities through mixed marriages, mastery of the French language and the adoption of local customs, as well as through the creation in 2010 of a chamber of commerce.
