Baoule

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Also see: Baoulé Language

Physical Characteristics and Background Information

Just as residents of Canada are referred to as Canadian, residents of the Baoulé community of the Ivory Coast in West Africa are referred to as Ivorian. Ivorians are dark-skinned beings, who are friendly, outgoing and energetic. With respect to the female sex, mature Baoulé women tend to be overweight and have long hair, usually upto their shoulders or scapulae. Baoulé girls and young women on the other hand, tend to be very thin with short hair, usually no longer than their neckline. In the context of the male sex, boys and men tend to be slim, or have a light to medium build, and they often have very short hair, no longer than roughly half a centimetre in height.

Leisure

One of the favourite pastimes of the energetic Ivorian populace is a game referred to as “Atté,” which is similar to the North American version of marbles. However, it must be noted that Ivorians utilize nuts, not marbles. An odd number of nuts are placed in a circular pattern in the centre of two opposing teams. The two teams, roughly 30 metres apart, take turns throwing nuts at the circle of nuts. Once a nut has been hit, it is eliminated, and the team that hit the respective nut gains a point. The game ends when all the nuts have been eliminated, and the team with the most points wins. Another pastime of the Ivorian populace, specifically Ivorian women, is gossiping at the village pump.

Ivorian Children

Ivorian children begin aiding their parents with the everyday chores of life at very young ages. As soon as they are old enough, they either carry water from the village pumps or heavy loads of food and firewood to the village market. The boys, when old enough, may even help their father with clearing vegetation.

Education of Ivorian Children

Ivorian children utilize slate to perform their simple arithmetic calculations. They may also likely utilize slate to write down new words that they have learned, or perhaps even sentences. Slate is utilized because it is an economically efficient alternative to paper.

Baoulé Economy

With regard to the Ivorian economy, coffee is referred to as the chief cash crop, because it is exported to America in exchange for relatively large sums of money. With respect to the local Ivorian economy, resources such as firewood and yams are transported to local markets and sold to other Ivorians or even foreigners. Within the local marketplace, one can find a wide array of goods, including tailored clothing, boiled eggs, popcorn and lingerie.

Baoulé Diet

The staple food of the Ivorian diet is the yam. The yam is boiled, and, when cooled, pummeled into a mush to be eaten. Yams, in addition to corn, are stored until they are needed. Foods other than yams are obtained from the local market. The most important food of the market is fish, which is wrapped in palm leaves, an economically efficient alternative to wrapping paper. Ivorians typically receive their meat from goats, sheep and chickens, which happen to be shared by the entire community. They receive their milk from their goats and their eggs from their chickens.

Baoulé Tools

One of the basic tools employed by the Baoulé populace is the machete. The machete’s uses can include clearing vegetation or the construction of a paddle or canoe from logs. Another one of the tools employed by the Baoulé populace, is the snail shell, which is used for grounding and pounding tobacco, for the manufacture of snuffs.

Political Structure

The Baoulé political structure is simple; several senior village leaders get together and discuss various issues affecting their village. Everyone has a say, and everyone is friendly and social.