Zaouli

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Zaouli dancers

Zaouli or the Zaouli mask dance is a traditional dance in the center of Ivory Coast in the Sassandra-Marahoué district , the region of the Guro speakers. The dance is based on a very fast movement of the legs, while the upper part of the body appears immobile or only moves slowly horizontally.

history

The masks used in the dance were not created until the early 1950s. The aim was to revive old Ivorian rituals and cultures of bygone centuries for committed preservers of tradition. Some sources speak of a young woman named "Djela Lou Zaouli" (Zaouli, daughter of Djela), who inspired the masks. There are seven different types of Zaouli masks, each of which embodies its own legendary story. A woman is depicted in the masks, just as the cult around the masks pays homage to the female gender. It takes up to six days to make a mask. A recurring element of the masks are two framing snakes.

dance

In every guru village there is a local zaouli dancer (but always a man) who performs at funerals and celebrations. About ten musicians begin, accompany and fuel the dance with percussion instruments and flutes. A second dancer, the “male dance partner”, animates the Zaouli dancer, who then begins his dance. The dancer carries tassels in his hands . According to the legend, wearing a Zaouli mask also puts the wearer into a kind of trance.

Popular culture

The British rap artist MIA released her music video "Matahdatah Scroll 01: Broader Than A Border" in November 2015 in which this African dance was prominently staged ( in the last third of the video and without a mask ) and made it even more popular.

Short videos of traditional Zaouli dances are also circulating on the Internet, the soundtrack of which has been replaced by fast, apparently matching rhythms of techno music.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/zaouli-de-manfla-the-zaouli-dance-of-the-ivory-coast-west-africa
  2. ↑ CNN report from October 11, 2016
  3. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Site
  4. ↑ LSD MUSIC ॐ: CAPTAIN HOOK & ASTRIX - BUNGEE JUMP (ZAOULI DANCE) ♮ LSD MUSIC ॐ. December 15, 2016, accessed August 12, 2018 .

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