In Search of Masks - an Expedition to Cote d'Ivoire and The Dan Mask Festival

Day 1 :

Friday

16/06/23

Flight to Abidjan (ABJ)

Flight to Abidjan.

On arrival transfer to Hotel Onomo or similar, overnight in a double room with services.

Day 2 :

Saturday

17/06/23

Abidjan/Grand Bassam

After breakfast assistance for the exchange of euros and for the possible purchase of a local phone card.

Transfer along the coast to GRAND BASSAM, former colonial capital at the time of the French occupation, UNESCO heritage site. Stroll through the sleepy streets of the quartier de France,
dotted with decadent vestiges such as Governor Binger’s
palace o, which houses the costume museum
and the old post office and customs house.

Lunch in a maquis on the lagoon.

Afternoon at leisure for shopping in craft boutiques (masks, ceramics, paintings, etc.) or relax at the beach/swimming pool.

Accommodation at Hotel Etoile du Sud or similar, overnight in double rooms with facilities.

Day 3:

Sunday

18/06/23

Grand Bassam/Abidjan/Abengourou

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure to Abengourou via Abidjan, stop on a fruit market on the way.

Once arrived, accommodation at Hotel Le Royaume or similar, lunch.

In the afternoon we visit the royal palace and the museum of the Agni Indenié, a people of Akan descent who emigrated from Ghana in the 17th century because of the expansionist aims of the Ashanti empire. We will meet some dignitaries dressed in traditional clothes, bringing them bottles of gin, and the king if available.

Overnight stay in double rooms with facilities.

Day 4:

Monday

19/06/23

Abengourou/Aniassué/Yamoussoukro

After breakfast, departure for ANIASSUE’, home to a school for animist priestesses, known as komian. Here we meet the feticheuses, guardians of ancestral divinities, and can watch the thaumaturgical dances they perform by smearing their bodies with kaolin.

Departure towards the capital, lunch with lunch box.

Arrival in the afternoon at YAMOUSSOUKRO, where we can watch the feeding of the sacred crocodiles  in front of the presidential palace.

Accommodation at Hotel des Parlamentaires or similar, overnight in a double room with facilities.

Day 5 :

Tuesday

20/06/23

Yakro/Baoulé Villages/Yakro

After breakfast, departure for a BAOULE’ VILLAGE where we can admire the work of the kita weavers and take part in the GOLY MASK DANCE.

Return to YAMOUSSOUKRO (also known as “Yakro”) for lunch in a restaurant.

In the early afternoon we will visit the basilica of Notre Dame de la Paix, the largest Christian religious building in the world, modelled on St Peter’s in Rome and strongly supported by Ivorian President Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

Overnight stay in a hotel in a double room with facilities.

Day 6 :

Wednesday

21/06/23

Yamoussoukro/Daloa/Man

After breakfast, departure for Man, stopping en route at a CACAO PLANTATION, where we will discover the secrets of the production chain of the country’s main export product.

Continue to DALOA, where we can visit the artcraft market and have lunch in a restaurant.

After arrival accommodation at Hotel Les Cascades or similar.

Overnight stay in a hotel in double rooms with private facilities.

Day 7 :

Thursday

22/06/23

Man/Dan Villages/Man (Festival)

After breakfast departure for DANANE towards the border with Liberia, a region inhabited by the DAN ETHNIC GROUP and characterized by its liana bridges over the Bandama River, said to have been created by forest spirits.

Return to MAN and lunch in a restaurant.

In the afternoon we’ll visit MAN: the sacred monkey forest of Gbepleu, the waterfall of Zadepleu, the handicrafts on red aloa wood, the boutiques of Dan masks, …

We will also take part in the INAUGURATION OF THE FESTIVAL DES 18 MONTAGNES.

Overnight stay in a hotel in double rooms with private facilities.

Day 8 :

Friday

23/06/23

Man/Yacouba Villages/Man (Festival)

After breakfast departure north to TOUBA, the the heart of YACOUBA COUNTRY.

We will visit the traditional villages, with their characteristic mud huts with thatched roofs, and watch the YACOUBA MASKS coming out of the sacred forest, including the Gue Gblen on stilts, characteristic for its acrobatic qualities.

Lunch in a restaurant and return to Man.

In the afternoon we will attend the events, concerts and mask performances during the FESTIVAL.

Overnight stay in a hotel in double rooms with private facilities.

Day 9 :

Saturday

24/06/23

Man/Wé Villages/Man (Festival)

After breakfast, we could depart with 4×4 to FACOBLY*, where in a small WE’ VILLAGE we will be able to watch an acrobatic performance by the “jongleurs de l’Ouest”, and an exit of the GUERE’ MASKS from the sacred forest.

Return to Man and lunch in a restaurant.

In the afternoon we will attend the events, concerts and mask performances during the FESTIVAL.

Overnight stay in a hotel in double rooms with private facilities.

*If Facobly jongleurs and We mask will attempt the festival, is no need to go to the village, as there will not be anyone to perform the ceremonies.

Day 10 :

Sunday

25/06/23

Man (MJC)/Flight/Abidjan (ABJ)

Breakfast and transfer to the airport for the Air Cote d’Ivoire flight* to Abidjan (ABJ).

Arrival in ABIDJAN, the chaotic and cosmopolitan economic centre of the country, built on a series of islands on the Ebrié lagoon connected by bridges.

If time allows, depending on the flights schedules, city tour of the Plateau district including the Cathedral, designed by Italian architect Aldo Spirito, the ethnographic museum with its enviable collection of masks, and the artifacts market CAVA.

Lunch in a restaurant or lunch box.

Some rooms in day use on request.

Transfer to the airport. End of services.

*Flight schedule and booking will be available only few months before the date, we really don’t know if there will be a MJC-ABJ flight on that day. If not, we could bring you to ABJ by road (600 km, 11 hours) with an additional cost of 100€/pax .

Day 11 :

Monday

26/06/23

Abidjan (ABJ)/Flight home

Arrival at the destination airport.