CULTURE
The modernized sector of Côte
d’Ivoire’s population has been greatly influenced
by French culture. The indigenous culture of the country remains
strong, however, and is well known for its artistic creations,
especially masks. The French language is almost universally used
in the written literature of Côte d’Ivoire, to the
exclusion of the African languages.
The cultural milieu has remained
split rather more completely than in other African countries between
a maze of tribal cultures and a foreign intrusion that was sudden
and almost exclusively French. Traditional arts continue to flourish,
and the Abidjan museum offers a rich storehouse. The Senufo carve
masks, decorate doors with esoteric signs, and dance to the slow,
majestic rhythms of drums supported by xylophones. The mountaineers
of the Man forest wear masks showing horrifying faces, and they
dance at a quick pace governed by the sound of drums and led by
stilt-walkers. Versatile Baule artists make fine gold jewelry
and wooden sculptures.
An Ivoirian literature in
French was born in colonial times at the Ponty High School in
Dakar, Senegal. One of its graduates, Bernard B. Dadié,
became world-famous for autobiographical reminiscences in novel
form. His schoolmates Goffi Jadeau and Amon d'Aby won a large
local audience and many followers through their plays for a national
theatre. A younger playwright, Zadi Zaourou, launched a chair
in African literature at Abidjan University, and Ahmadou Kourouma,
a Muslim, inaugurated a new era of the Ivoirian novel.
