Zaouli: Côte d’Ivoire’s Mesmerizing Mask Dance

Dance is an integral part of the African culture, and today we are delighted to share with you a very exceptional and unique dance form from West Africa. Zaouli is regarded as a homage to feminine beauty. The dance was created in the 1950s by the Gouro, an ethnic group in the midwestern part of Côte d’Ivoire, with each Gouro village having a prized Zaouli dancer. The dance and accompanying music were inscribed on the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017. Let's now enjoy a spirited Zaouli performance. An interesting component of the distinctive dance is that it is always performed by a male! The costume consists of bright colors. The mask and cloth adorn the body from the head down to the shoulders and arms. They will perform at parties, social gatherings, and funerals. Zaouli is viewed as a peace-making component of West African culture. Ethnic Jewels Magazine describes the dance as “a celebration of calm following conflict.”