Mapouka (also macouka,"la danse du fessier", or "the dance of the behind") is a modernized version of a traditional dance from the

Dabou Dabou is a port town in southern Ivory Coast. It is the seat of both the Lagunes District and the Grands-Ponts Region. It is also the seat of and a sub-prefecture of the Dabou Department. Dabou is also a commune. The town is served by Dabou ...

area of southeast Côte d'Ivoire originating from the

Aizi The Aizi (also known as Ahizi or Kpokpo) are a sub-group of the Kru people. The Aizi inhabit the Ébrié Lagoon The Ébrié Lagoon lies in Ivory Coast, separated for almost all of its length from the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow coastal strip. The ...

, Alladian and Avikam people. Mapouka entered the music scene in 1997 following the 1990s creation of

zouglou Zouglou ( , ) is a dance oriented style of music originated from Ivory Coast during the mid-1990s. It started with students from a college of Gagnoa drawing on elements of other styles of music. Zouglou recounts the various social realities e ...

music and the importation of foreign music genres such as

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and hip hop, and grew in popularity among the youth. The dance is mostly performed by

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

, shaking their rear end side to side, facing away from their audience, often while bent over. The dance is less tame and more sexually provocative than its claimed traditional origins, resulting in it creating public controversy. Some Ivorians have criticized Mapouka for allegedly "debasing the country's cultural heritage" and promoting depravity. In 1998, following complaints from citizens and women's rights groups, the government of Côte d'Ivoire banned Mapouka from public and television for being "sexually perverted, lewd and obscene".Orishi, Norimitsu (28 May 2000)
"Dance Has Africans Shaking Behinds, and Heads"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. However, the prohibition was ended in 1999 after President

Henri Konan Bédié Aimé Henri Konan Bédié (born 5 May 1934) is an Ivorian politician. He was President of Ivory Coast from 1993 to 1999. He is currently the President of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast - African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA).

was overthrown by

Robert Guéï Robert Guéï (; 16 March 1941 – 19 September 2002) was the military ruler of the Ivory Coast from 24 December 1999 to 26 October 2000. Biography Guéï was born in Kabakouma, a village in the western Man Department, and was a member o ...

in a military coup. Following the prohibition of Mapouka in Côte d'Ivoire, the dance enjoyed a global following elsewhere in Francophone West and Central Africa, where it faced similar controversy and was outlawed or chased away by authorities in

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBenin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

in western Africa and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

in central Africa. The dance is similar to what is referred to in belly dance as "shimmies". The fundamental difference is that in belly dance it is performed while upright and facing the audience, whereas Mapouka is performed more often while bent over and facing away from the audience. The hip movements are however the same.

External links

Youle sabina

Nigui Saff K dance -- Dr Pitté

References

{{reflist African dances Ivorian culture Grands-Ponts

See also

External links

References