Zaouli, popular music and dance of the Guro communities in Côte d’Ivoire

Overview

Zaouli is a popular music and dance practised by the Guro communities of the Bouaflé and Zuénoula departments of Côte d’Ivoire. A homage to feminine beauty, Zaouli is inspired by two masks: the Blou and the Djela. Its other name, Djela lou Zaouli means Zaouli, the daughter of Djela. In a single event, the practice brings together sculpture (the mask), weaving (the costume), music (the band and song) and dance. There are seven types of Zaouli masks, each translating a specific legend. The bearers and practitioners include sculptors, craftspeople, instrumentalists, singers, dancers and the notables (the guarantors of the community’s customs and traditions). Zaouli plays an educational, playful and aesthetic role, contributes to environmental preservation, conveys the cultural identity of its bearers and promotes integration and social cohesion. Transmission occurs during musical...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Côte d'Ivoire
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Côte d'Ivoire
Countries: Côte d'Ivoire

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Language, Story and Memory Material Culture, Design and Technology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid35b3220c-7073-4bbd-901e-aea8953e9069

ich_public_ref1255

inscription_year2017

title_enZaouli, popular music and dance of the Guro communities in Côte d’Ivoire

title_frLe Zaouli, musique et danse populaires des communautés gouro de Côte d'Ivoire

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesCI

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/01255

concepts_primary_namesDance, Instrumental music

concepts_secondary_namesCommunity leaders, Costumes, Craft workers, Divination, Festivals, Legends, Masks, Offering, Oral tradition, Percussion instruments, Sculpture, Weaving

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/10842-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enDanseur masqué du Zaouli ou Zaouli Bozan du village de Maminigui

main_image_copyrightAka Konin/Office Ivoirien du patrimoine culturel (OIPC), 2015

main_image_authorAKA Konin

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/b48CRIII54c

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Dance Instrumental music Community leaders Costumes Craft workers Divination Festivals Legends Masks Offering UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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