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The Ivory Coast is the heart of West Africa
Boloye Dance - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We find ourselves in the Ivory Coast and more precisely at Korhogo, in the land of the Senoufo; we arrived this afternoon after an exciting day, spent between local markets, Baule dances and a journey of about four hours.
As soon as we arrived at Korhogo we checked in at the hotel and, after a little relaxation, we are ready for the last activity of today: we go and see the Boloye Dance or Panther Dance of the Senoufo.
On the road! - Photo Credits: Silvano Greco
We are in the Ivory Coast, we are in Korhogo and today we go to visit Kong; this small town holds two architectural jewels: two Sudanese-style mosques.
We have a hearty breakfast, today we do not know if and when we eat lunch, we check out and get into the car.
We cross the town of Korhogo, that we have not had time to visit until now; when we return, in the next few days, we will be able to visit the market, the wood craftsmen and we will see what else it will reserve for us, but now we cannot stop, Kongis waiting for us.
Kong Mosque - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are in Kong, in the Ivory Coast; this small town has an important past, in fact, it was on the trade route that, from the Atlantic coast, headed towards the Sahara Desert, to then reach the Mediterranean, and vice versa.
One of the unmistakable traces of its glorious past, and of the passage of Arab merchants, is the presence of two Sudanese-style mosques that, despite the invasions and the passing of the centuries, have managed to reach the present day.
Senufo village - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are in the Ivory Coast, today we visited the town of Kong, where there are two beautiful Sudanese style mosques.
On the way back, a dirt track that makes its way through the vegetation, we decided to stop to visit two Senoufo villages, and more precisely the Lameca 3 village and the Glanda village.
Why 2 villages? Because each village is different from the others, each has its own particularity and its history, each village is like an extended family and, like all families, each one is different from the others.
Ferke - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are at Ferkessedougou, in the extreme North-East of the Ivory Coast, this small town, that is often struggling to find on maps, is located on the only road that leads to Burkina Faso and Niger, therefore, over the decades , has assumed an important role in the trade between these countries.
Korhogo Market - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Ferkessedougou and Korhogo are not far away, only an hour's drive, although it is not one of the best roads in the Ivory Coast to be covered.
Before entering Korhogo we stop at the village of Koni, known as the village of blacksmiths.
We divided the visit to this village in two parts, the first part today, the second part will be tomorrow morning; the reason is very simple: we want to witness the whole process of iron extraction and, as it takes up to 24 hours, we must necessarily come in 2 times.
Koni: blacksmiths village - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are at Korhogo in the Ivory Coast; yesterday morning we went to the village of Koni, that is located 15 km North of Korhogo.
The village of Koni is known as the village of the blacksmiths; here in fact the master blacksmith Soro Chukama extracts and processes iron, still following the traditional procedure, that has been handed down over the centuries from father to son.
The process of extraction of iron takes about 24 hours, so we were here in the morning to attend the first part of the procedure and today we have seen the final part.
Senufo Village - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
We are in the Ivory Coast and this morning we left Korhogo, where we were able to get to know the culture of the Senoufo; we stopped at the village of Koni, where we met a family of blacksmiths who showed us their work.
Once we left the village of the smiths we drove to Boundiali, to the West, where we will sleep tonight.
Along the way we stopped to visit the village of Niofoin; this is also a Senoufo village, but its structure is a bit different from the villages we have seen so far.
Fulani people - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
This morning we left Korhogo, in the Ivory Coast, we visited the blacksmiths village of Koni and the Senoufo village of Niofoin; our journey then continued to Boundiali, tonight we will sleep here.
First we check in at the hotel and go to lunch at the hotel restaurant; today is a hot day, fortunately it is a dry heat, but it makes itself felt.
Ngoro Dance - Photo Credits: Romina Facchi
Today was a busy day, we visited the blacksmiths village of Koni, near Korhogo, we were at the Senoufo village of Niofoin, where we saw the houses of the feticheur, we visited a Fulani village, but our day is not over yet : we go to see the Dance of the Virgins in a Senoufo village, the Ivory Coast is thrilling us!