This morning we left Odienne, today it was mainly dedicated to the meeting of the Yacuba or Dan; one of the most interesting populations of the Ivory Coast and Liberia.

We are traveling South and, just after the town of Touba, we turn left and take a dirt road.

We drive about 4 km and then turn left again, at a sign indicating the direction to the village of Silakoro.

Visit to the Dan Village of Silakoro and the catfish

When we arrive at the Danvillage of Silakoro we get out of the car and many children run towards us, they look at us curiously and, when we start walking around the village, they follow us; most of them are shy and just look at us, those a little braver take our hands or ask us for a photograph.

The village is very nice and tidy, the huts are scattered, they are round and with a thatched roof; some also have painted exterior walls, but this does not seem to have a particular meaning, they have been painted only for aesthetics.

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We cross the whole village and we arrive where the forest begins, here is a puddle with water, inside there are some catfish; for the Dan the catfish is a sacred animal, besides not eating it, they venerate it and many reach this pool on pilgrimage from the villages of the area.

The reason why they worship the catfish is because a legend tells that long ago the catfish, not only managed to survive the drought, but also led the men to a source of water, saving their lives.

We take some pictures of the pool and the forest and then decide to go back, while we found ourselves surrounded by the whole village, not only the children but also the women came to see us and ask for the photos.

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It is fun to take their photographs and see their reactions when they are immortalized on the photo; we laugh with them and, even if almost no one speaks French or English, we can understand each other by gestures.

Crossing the village by taking pictures, they are not annoyed, they even call us to photograph their home or their goat; at one point a lady called Silvan and motioned him to get closer, he thought she wanted a picture but she put the hoe in his hand, she wanted to make him work, too much laugh!!

A little reluctantly we have to go, we would have been here a bit longer to joke with them.

Visit to the Dan Village of Godoufouma and dance on stilts

We drive a little way, about 1 km, and we stop again, we are at the village of Godoufouma; this is also a Yacubavillage and we are here for a specific reason: to witness their tribal dance.

This is a dance of joy that is practiced on festive occasions, such as births, marriages and funerals, its peculiarity is that one of the masks dances on stilts.

We cross part of the village, even here some houses are painted, we take some pictures but then we continue, they are waiting for us in what looks like the central square.

They let us sit down and while 3 men play drums, a group of women, wearing a white cloth over a dark-colored skirt, start to sing; what a nice atmosphere, it's exciting.

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After a while some men arrive and start dancing, first in groups and then individually; despite not wearing a mask but western clothes, they are still beautiful to see.

Then some women start to dance, while the others continue to sing, it's really nice to be here and the rhythm is engaging.

The people of the village, with these songs and dances, are calling the masks that live in the forest; at a certain point, in fact, a mask arrives on stilts, it is really very high.

This mask is called Gueblin or Gue Gblende.

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First of all, the mask with stilts goes around to greet and bless all those who are attending the ceremony, then heads to the center of the square and begins to dance, making vaulting on a single stilt; it is not easy to balance on two stilts, imagine just on one.

As she whirls, some people stay close to the mask to assist her in the event that she falls, but the mask has performed its vaults and jumps without ever wavering.

It's the most acrobatic dance we've seen here in Ivory Coast, along with the Senoufo panther dance.

When the mask with the stilts ends her dance, a second mask arrives, this does not have stilts, but has a wide straw skirt and a wooden mask on the face that has a sort of big beak; this is the Ge Gon mask, it is an anthropomorphic mask that in the past represented the wisdom, while today, more and more often, she dances more to entertain.

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Even this mask goes around to bless all those present, then goes to the center of the square and dances, twirling and doing some movements that remind a little of a bird.

When the Ge Gon mask finishes dancing, the dancing is over; it was very nice to take part in this dance because we felt the transport of the whole village and the atmosphere was exceptional.

We say goodbye and, accompanied by the children, we return to our car and we leave, but we do not go far: it's time for lunch and we go to Touba.

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