Bondoukou
Encyclopedia
Bondoukou Department
Bondoukou Department is one of the departments of Côte d'Ivoire. It is one of three departments of Zanzan Region....
of Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, located in the Zanzan Region, 420 km Northeast of Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
. The administrative center and largest town of the Department is Bondoukou, while other towns include Bandolé, Boudouye, Sandégué
Sandégué
-References:*This article was initially created from the French Wikipedia....
and Tanbi.
Bondoukou Department
Located at the northeast corner of the nation, Bondoukou Department borders GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
its neighbor to the north (Bouna Department) also borders Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
. The area has long been in the path of trade routes, primarily for the transport of kola nut and gold from the forested south to the empires of the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
. This importance has continued since the demarcation of borders under colonialism.
Bondoukou town
Its central town, also named Bondoukou, is the Departmental capital and capital of ZanzanZanzan
Zanzan is one of the 19 regions of Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. The region's capital is Bondoukou. Covering 38,000 km², its population is 839,000.The region is divided into three departments: Bondoukou, Bouna, and Tanda....
Region. It in the southeast section of the Department, near the Ghana border and the Department of Tanda. Just across the border is the Ghanaian town of Sampa
Sampa
Sampa may refer to:* Sampa, the short nickname for São Paulo, Brazil* Sampa, Ghana* Sampa, Burkina Faso* Sampa, goddess commemorated in Paganism in the Eastern Alps...
. The town lies at the junction of the main A1 highway with roads to Sorobango
Sorobango
-References:*This article was initially created from French Wikipedia...
to the north and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
to the east.
History
Originally a Dyula trading center, the capital was conquered by the AbronAbron
The Abron or Bono are an Akan people of West Africa. They speak the Abron language.In the late sixteenth century, the Abron founded the Gyaaman kingdom as extension of Bono state in what is now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.-References:...
, an Akan people
Akan people
The Akan people are an ethnic group found predominately in Ghana and The Ivory Coast. Akans are the majority in both of these countries and overall have a population of over 20 million people.The Akan speak Kwa languages-Origin and ethnogenesis:...
, in the early seventeenth century; it soon became the economic hub of the Gyaaman
Gyaaman
Gyaman also spelled Jamang was a medieval African state of the Akan people, located in what is now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Gyaman was founded by the Abron, a branch of the Akan, in the late 15th century...
kingdom. On 13 November 1888, the French officer Treich-Laplène signed a Protectorate treaty with the Abron king of Bondoukou, but the city fell to Samori
Samori
Samory Toure was the founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic state that resisted French rule in West Africa from 1882 until his capture in 1898.-Early life and career:...
between September 1895 and July 1897, and unlike nearby centers, he did not destroy the old city, but deposed the Abron in favour of the Muslim Dyula. The French incorporated the town into French West Africa
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...
in 1899. At the end of the colonial period, the town had shrunk to large village, eclipsed by the nearby administrative center of Loti. In 1964 it was made administrative center for its region, and as since regained its status as the largest town, and is the seat of the Prefect governing Bouna, Tanda
Tanda, Côte d'Ivoire
Tanda is one of the departments of Côte d'Ivoire, located in Zanzan Region.-Communes:*Tanda*Adoukro...
, and Bondoukou Departments. In 1980, the town came to prominence as the home of the first secondary school strikes by students opposed to the PDCI-RDA government. On the dividing line between government and rebel zones of control during the Ivorian Civil War, Bondoukou became the main northeastern base of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire
The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire is a peacekeeping mission whose objective is "to facilitate the implementation by the Ivorian parties of the peace agreement signed by them in January 2003"...
(ONUCI).
Population
The city had an estimated population of roughly 45,000 in 2005, and 60,000 in 2007. The town's role as a trade center has made it home to a diverse population. The walled old city (Medina) includes ethnic neighbourhoods from far flung groups who originally came to the area as part of long distance trade networks. These include the Donzoso of the Donzo-Ouattara Dyula (related to the warrior Ouattara clans of the Kong EmpireKong Empire
The Kong Empire , also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in north eastern Cote d'Ivoire that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso.-Early Period:...
), the Jiminiso/Limamso of the Timité Dyula (which is home to the most prominent Muslim schools), the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
merchant town quarter of Malagaso, as well as the mostly Christian Bambaraso quarter. Other traditional Muslim neighbourhoods, each with their own clan leader and identity, include the Karidyulaso, Kamagaya, Koko, Hwelaso, Neneya, and Koumalaso quarters. Neighborhoods, like the Abron Mont Zanzan area, lie outside the old city, which is bounded by the Wamo river on the southwest. The Baya river also borders the suburbs to the west. Often Muslim, each group centered around their own Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, earning the town the nickname "the city of a thousand mosques." Because of the influence of populations from the north, many Bondoukou mosques are of the Sudanic architectural style, more common northern cities like Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
or Djenne
Djenné
Djenné is an Urban Commune and town in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 32,944. Administratively it is part of the Mopti Region....
. This further led to the town's importance as a center of religious learning. The French introduced Christianity, and the town is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bondoukou. Prominent buildings include the house used by French explorer Binger, Samori
Samori
Samory Toure was the founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic state that resisted French rule in West Africa from 1882 until his capture in 1898.-Early life and career:...
's headquarters, the old market building which houses the "Bondoukou Museum of Art and Traditions" ("Musée des Arts et des Traditions"), and the Limamisso and Kamagaya mosques. Outside the old town, major neighbourhoods include "Mont Zanzan", "Lycée" , "TP", and "Camp Militaire." Outside the town, historic sites include an Akan
Akan people
The Akan people are an ethnic group found predominately in Ghana and The Ivory Coast. Akans are the majority in both of these countries and overall have a population of over 20 million people.The Akan speak Kwa languages-Origin and ethnogenesis:...
ceremonial center at Soko
Soko
Sokoband, formerly known as Soko, is a jazz fusion duo, featuring pianist Michael Sokolowski and bassist Houston Ross. The group formed as a trio in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991, with Sokolowski, Ross, and drummer John Gilmore. The group performed live for several years, then released their...
(just east), pottery works at Montiamo, the treasure house of the Abron
Abron
The Abron or Bono are an Akan people of West Africa. They speak the Abron language.In the late sixteenth century, the Abron founded the Gyaaman kingdom as extension of Bono state in what is now Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.-References:...
war-leader at Wéletchéi (just north), and the French colonial era plantations at Goli (just west). The town is also known for cultural events, including the yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
harvest festival, and the Sakaraboutou (warriors' parade) and Kourouby women's parade (both celebrated at the end of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
). Apart from Diola, Mande, and Akan peoples, the Department is home to a patchwork of ethinc groups including the Nafaanra
Nafaanra language
Nafaanra is a Senufo language spoken in northwest Ghana, along the border with Côte d'Ivoire, east of Bondouko. It is spoken by approximately 61,000 people. Its speakers call themselves Nafana; others call them Banda or Mfantera. Like other Senufo languages, Nafaanra is a tonal language...
, Koulango, and Lobi
Lobi
The Lobi are an ethnic group that originated in what is today Ghana. Starting around 1770 many of the Lobi migrated into southern Burkina Faso and later into Côte d'Ivoire. Currently the group consists of around 160,000 people...
.
Administration
In 1978 Bondoukou was made one of the 27 Communes de plein exercice or self-governing towns in the nation.| Date of Election | Name | Party |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Fétigué Koulibaly | PDCI-RDA |
| 1985 | Yaya Ouattara | PDCI-RDA |
| 1990 | Lamine Ouattara | PDCI-RDA |
| 1995 | Félix Kouakou Dapa | PDCI-RDA |
| 2001 | Félix Kouakou Dapa | PDCI-RDA |
Services
The town is home to several schools (from primary to post-secondary), a regional hospital and an Ivorian second division FootballFédération Ivoirienne de Football
The Fédération Ivoirienne de Football is the governing body of football in Côte d'Ivoire and is in charge of the Côte d'Ivoire national team amongst other footballing matters...
club, Scaraboutou sports de Bondoukou. Bondoukou has an airport, Soko Airport
Soko Airport
Soko Airport is an airport serving Bondoukou in Côte d'Ivoire....
, with IATA code
IATA code
IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-character combinations that uniquely identify locations, equipment, companies, and times to standardize international flight operations...
BDK.
Rural ethnic conflict
The 1990s and 2000s saw periodic ethnic conflict between the Bondoukou Kulango farmers (a Gur people who form the Nkurang of GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
) and the Lobi people, recently migrated from Bouna Department. Conflicts between the two ethnic groups date from at least 1993, when clashes erupted over attempts by Lobi pastoralists to resettle in the area. Clashes and counter clashes have killed several dozen people in the villages of Abouabou, Gonzaqueville, and Marahui with escalations taking place during the Ivorian Civil War in 2002 and in 2008. The informal ceasefire line of the Civil War ran through Bondoukou Department, leaving most of Zanzan (excluding Bouna Department) under central government control.
