Odienné () is a town in the northwestern part of

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 ...

. It is the seat of both

Denguélé District Denguélé District (french: district du Denguélé, ) is one of fourteen administrative districts of Ivory Coast. The district is located in the northwest corner of the country. The capital of the district is Odienné. Creation Denguélé Distr ...

and

Kabadougou Region Kabadougou Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. Since its establishment in 2011, it has been one of two regions in Denguélé District. The seat of the region is Odienné and the region's population in the 2021 census was 289,806. ...

. It is also a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of

Odienné Department Odienné Department is a department of Kabadougou Region in Denguélé District, Ivory Coast. In 2021, its population was 156,730 and its seat is the settlement of Odienné. The sub-prefectures of the department are Bako, Bougousso, Dioulatièd ...

. The town of Odienné was founded by

Malinké The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic g ...

people under Vakaba Touré. Later,

Samory Touré Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day ...

founded a support base in the town. Features of Odienné include a large

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, nearby

gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: *Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD'' See also * ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith *Gold mining ...

s, and Vakaba Touré's tomb located in Odienné. The town is served by

Odienné Airport Odienné Airport is an airport serving Odienné, Côte d'Ivoire. Airlines and destinations See also *Transport in Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast invested remarkably in its transport system. Transport Infrastructures are much more develope ...

. The Stade Municipal is a multi-purpose stadium in the town. St. Augustine Cathedral serves as the cathedral and headquarters for the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Odienné The Roman Catholic Diocese of Odienné ( la, Odiennen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Odienné in the Ecclesiastical province of Korhogo in Côte d'Ivoire. History * December 19, 1994: Established as Diocese of Odienné from the Di ...

, of which Antoine Koné is the bishop.

History

It is thought that the area surrounding Odienné was first settled by the

Senufo people The Senufo people, also known as Siena, Senefo, Sene, Senoufo, and Syénambélé, are a West African ethnolinguistic group. They consist of diverse subgroups living in a region spanning the northern Ivory Coast, the southeastern Mali and the wes ...

and the

Mandinka people The Mandinka or Malinke are a West African ethnic group primarily found in southern Mali, the Gambia and eastern Guinea. Numbering about 11 million, they are the largest subgroup of the Mandé peoples and one of the largest ethnic-linguistic gro ...

. The founding of the town is credited to Vakaba Touré (1800–58), who also founded the

Kabadougou Kabadougou Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. Since its establishment in 2011, it has been one of two regions in Denguélé District. The seat of the region is Odienné and the region's population in the 2021 census was 289,806. ...

Empire, of which Odienné was the capital. The French explorer

René Caillié Auguste René Caillié (; 19 November 1799 – 17 May 1838) was a French explorer and the first European to return alive from the town of Timbuktu. Caillié had been preceded at Timbuktu by a British officer, Major Gordon Laing, who was murdere ...

visited Odienné in 1827. In 1898, during the French occupation of Cote d'Ivoire, a military post was established south of Odienné. During the

First Ivorian Civil War The First Ivorian Civil War was a civil conflict in the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) that began with a military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 2007. The conflict pitted the government of ...

, Odienné was a stronghold for

Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire The Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (English: ''New Forces of Ivory Coast''; abbreviated FNCI, FN or FAFN) is a political coalition that was formed in December 2002, in the wake of the first peace accords of the Ivorian Civil War. Compositio ...

. Its remote location meant that the town was somewhat peaceful during the war compared to other Ivorian towns.

Economy

Odienné relies on agriculture as its main industry. Fruits, cashews, yams, and cotton is grown in fields located in the Massif du Dienguélé valley. The town houses a rice-processing plant and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

is also produced in the area.

Sports

Stade Municipal is the primary stadium in Odienné, and is the home of

AS Denguélé The Association Sportive Denguélé is an Ivorian football club based in Odienné. Being a member of the Ivorian Football Federation The Ivorian Football Federation (french: Fédération Ivoirienne de Football, FIF) is the governing body ...

, the main football club, which currently plays in the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

division.

Climate

Villages

The 17 villages of the sub-prefecture of Odienné and their population in 2014 are: : In 2014, the total population of the sub-prefecture of Odienné was 50,506.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odienne Sub-prefectures of Kabadougou District capitals of Ivory Coast Communes of Kabadougou Regional capitals of Ivory Coast