Baoulé people

The Baoulé (or Baule, pron. [ba.u.le] in French, [bawle] in the Baloué language) are an Akan people and one of the largest groups in Côte d'Ivoire. The Baoulé are traditionally farmers who live in the centre of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), in a triangle shaped region (the Baoule “V”) between the rivers Bandama and N'Zi. This area broadly encompasses the regions around the cities of Bouaké and Yamoussoukro. The Baoulé have come to play a relatively important role in the recent history of Côte d'Ivoire : the State's first President, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was a Baoulé ; additionally, since the Ivorian cocoa boom of the 1960-70s, the Baoulé have also become one of the most widespread ethnicity throughout the country, especially in the Southern forests (the « Low Coast ») where they are amongst the most numerous planters of cocoa, rubber, and coffee and sometimes seem to outnumber the local native ethnic groups.

Legend

Legend goes that in the 17th century the Baoulé left present day Ghana and traveled west into present day Côte d'Ivoire under the lead of the Queen Pokou. According to oral tradition, the Baoulé were forced to leave Ghana when the Ashanti rose to power. While they were fleeing for their lives they came to the Komoe river which they were unable to cross. With their enemies chasing them they began to throw their most prized possessions into the river. It came to the Queen's attention that their most valuable possession was her son. The Queen realized that she had to sacrifice her son to the river and threw him in. Upon doing so hippopotami rose from the river and allowed them to cross, saving their lives. After crossing, the Queen was so upset about losing her son that all she could say was "baouli," meaning: the child is dead. From that point on they were known as the Baoulé.

Baoule cattle

The Baoule (also known as Lobi or Mere) is a breed of Savannah Shorthorn cattle found in north and central Ivory Coast and the southern tip of Mali. They are found in pure form in Bouaké, Bouna, and Dabakala. They are mostly kept by Fula herdsmen. They are dwarf animals with cows being 90–100 cm, and bulls being 100–110 cm. They have a massive head and short, stout horns with a short neck that is thin in cows and heavy in bulls. Their bodies are well rounded with a straight back-line. The tail-head is high and thick, and their coat color varies from mostly black to black pied. They produce 120–390 kg of milk in a lactation period lasting 280–340 days. The dressing percentage of a Baoule carcass is 50%. There were 350,000 of them in 1985.

References

Baoulé

Baoulé may refer to: