The Dan are a
Mande ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
from northwestern
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
and neighboring
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
.
There are approximately 700,000 members of the group and their largest settlement is
Man, Ivory Coast
Man is a city in western Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both Montagnes District and Tonkpi Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Man Department. In the 2014 census, the city had a population of 149,041, making it ...
. Neighboring peoples include the
Krahn
The Krahn are an ethnic group of Liberia and Ivory Coast. This group belongs to the Kru language family and its people are sometimes referred to as the Wee, Guéré, Sapo, or Wobe. It is likely that Western contact with the Kru language is the p ...
,
Kpelle and
Mano
Mano may refer to:
People
* Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia
* Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul
* Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...
. They are officially known as Yacouba (or Yakouba) in Ivory Coast.
In Liberia, they are also known as Gio (
Bassa for "slave"), which is considered a derogatory
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
.
They speak the
Dan language
Dan is a Southern Mande language spoken primarily in Ivory Coast (~800,000 speakers) and Liberia (150,000–200,000 speakers). There is also a population of about 800 speakers in Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, G ...
, a
Southeast Mande language. The Dan are known for their art, especially their
mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
rituals (''Ge'' or ''Gle''), as well as their secret society, ''Gor''.
''Gor'' (Dan for "leopard") is a
peacemaking
Peacemaking is practical conflict transformation focused upon establishing equitable power relationships robust enough to forestall future conflict, often including the establishment of means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community, ...
society, not to be confused with the brutal
Ekpe
Ekpe, also known as Mgbe/Egbo (Ekoi language: ''leopard''; derived from the Ibibio term for the same), is a West African secret society in Nigeria and Cameroon flourishing chiefly among the Efiks. It is also found among a number of other ethni ...
(leopard) society of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
History
The Dan originally came from the western Sudan region to the north, part of present-day
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
and
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
. The location and movements of the Dan, Mano and We can be reconstructed from as early as the 8th century, at which time the Dan and Mano were located in the savanna region of the northern
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
.
In the tenth century, political turmoil, population growth and land depletion caused the Dan to migrate south of the Nimba range and into the high forests.
The Dan had a reputation as a fierce warrior society. One notable warrior chief was Grougbay Zobaneeay, who fought and pushed the tribes that once live in the present day
Nimba County
Nimba County is a county in northeastern Liberia that shares borders with the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in the East and the Republic of Guinea in the Northwest. Its capital city is Sanniquellie and its most populous city is Ganta. With the count ...
to as far as Loguatuo in Ivory Coast. Kipko Toh'ah-Gbeu drove the Kru men from what is now called Tapitah, Nimba County (prior to the arrival of Chief Tapeh); his last major war with the settlers was in
Sanniquellie
Sanniquellie is a city and the capital of Nimba County and Sanniquellie-Mahn District, Liberia. It is located in the north-east of the country at coordinates 07°21'49" N 008°42'40" W. The average altitude of the city is 420 metres above the se ...
. He retired when he was wounded in the Sanniquellie war. Kipho gave his daughter Lhe'kpahseu in marriage to Grougbay Zobaneeay. Bho'Yaah, who lived in today's Garplay, Nimba County- in an alliance with Kipho Toh'Gbeu, made a truce to quit fighting the settlers. He was actually one of the last chief warriors of the Dan to have resisted the Americo-Liberian military push into Nimba. Gonsahn Ghe'Gbeu was from Miampleu Yeezleu, Nimba County. He also drove the Kphelehs from Eastern Liberia.
After Liberia became a nation in 1847, the new government in
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
began pacifying the Dan people. By the early 1900s, peace had been achieved, and administrative controls had been established.
Economy
The Dan are primarily a farming people who annually clear forest land to grow their staple foods and cash crops, such as
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
,
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...
,
sweet potatoes
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...
, and a variety of maize.
Today, they also grow
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
,
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
, and
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
. Women are given a small plot of ground on which to grow their own vegetables to use in the households or to sell in the market. Greens are gathered from domestic and wild plants in the forest.
Palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
is extracted from the many wild palm oil trees and then used for such things as fuel and cooking.
Dan men do most of the agricultural work, but women help with the harvesting and weeding. Men also do all of the hunting and most of the fishing, while women tend to such domestic duties as caring for the children and preparing the meals. Children help by chasing cattle, or wild animals and birds away from the crops. The Dan also raise livestock such as cattle, cow, sheep, and goats, fowls, and chicken. Some of these animals (white ones) are eaten only on special ritual occasions involving much feasting, or to perform sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin.
Culture
![Schimpansenmaske kaogle Liberia Museum Rietberg RAF 428](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Schimpansenmaske_kaogle_Liberia_Museum_Rietberg_RAF_428.jpg)
The basic unit of Dan culture is the family. Dan culture is
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
and
polygamous
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...
, so this unit comprises a husband, one or more wives and their children.
Lineages, or groups of people descended from a common ancestor in the paternal line, live in distinct sections of the town, which are called ''quarters'' in Liberian English. Towns group together under a central government are called ''clans''.
Art
Dan arts are notable for wood sculpture, including a huge variety of masks, each with unique forms and purposes.
Dan masks are the most important art form of the Dan people. Artisan also produce traditional wooden spoons.
Men's societies
Dan men have their own fraternal societies, which marks their initiation into manhood and guides them throughout their lives. Men's societies, curator Barbara Johnson writes, "form the real socio-political unit of power in the Dan community today, as they did in the past."
These societies controlled by the elders and acts as a source of power for the community. Boys initiated into the society are prepared to encounter the mysteries of the spirit world and to learn the rules of adult Dan men. Women, too, have a similar society.
These societies demonstrate their power and effectiveness through masquerades, wherein they call upon and control tutelary spirits from the bush, who appear as masked figures in this context. Using these mask-spirits, the societies are able to settle disputes, enforce rules, and correct behavior. All males attend ''bon'', or bush school, during their initiation into these societies when they are adolescents.
Gor society
Like many Mande cultures, societal organisation centers around "societies": either age group, caste, occupational, or geographic. In the recent historic period, Dan communities were for the first (known) time allied into a political organization, created through the Leopard society (''Gor''). The Gor spirit of the society focuses on peacemaking between communities which have often been in conflict around the powerful spirit Gor, who is responsible for peacemaking.
Individual villages, even those unified under the Leopard society, still maintain a high degree of political independence.
Dan villages are divided into quarters, each housing an extended family or lineage. Each quarter is headed by a "quarter chief," who is chosen either for being the oldest male in the family or for having the most aggressive personality. Although the village or town chief administers authority over the whole village, the real power comes from the council of elders who assist the chief in all decisions.
Honorary chief titles can be given to non-tribe members who have assisted the tribe in charitable means. For example, U.S. Diplomat, John F. Moss (working for
VOA
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
), was bestowed by a Dan tribe in Liberia as an honorary chief after he commissioned a bulldozer to help them build a road through the jungle.
Religion
The Dan have a complex traditional religion. The Dan believe in
Zlan, a Supreme God who created the universe and everything in it. They believe that no one can reach him or see him physically. Instead, they worship ''Zu'', an independent spiritual power. The majority of the people believe in reincarnation, through which ''
Zu'' can enable a person to pass into another person or even an animal after death. The Dan believe that ''Zu'' is present in all aspects of the universe and is appealed to for many kinds of help. ''Zu'' is harnessed through masquerade or divination practices; the Dan harness du by creating an object for ''du'' to embody. Dreaming is the means through which people communicate with ''Zu''.
Architecture
Traditional Dan huts were small, single-room dwellings made of mud and thatch. Each wife of a man had her own hut where her children lived until they were old enough to move out. Today, houses are large and rectangular with several rooms. A lot of changes have been made to the old traditions, but while some of the old traditions are still being practiced, it's only in indigent regions.
References
webAfriqa. G. Murdock. Kru-Peripheroal Mande. Mande Tribes
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Ethnic groups in Liberia
Ethnic groups in Ivory Coast