Liberia – Ivory Coast
Dan (also called Gio or Yakuba)

Ivory
19th Century
Height: 22.75cm / Length: 6cm / Width: 6cm
Aerophone – Edge-blown – Flute/Whistle

The Dan people believe that everything can be divided into two separate and clear categories. The primary dichotomy is between village and bush, which to the Dan people, are things that one can control and things that one cannot control. This cultural belief is clearly evidenced in this tapered ivory flute with deep relief carving of the janus form showing two seated figures that represent both good and evil. The Dan people, who are also known by the name Yacuba, live in the western part of the Ivory Coast and into Liberia where the land is forested in the south and bordered by a savannah in the north. The 350,000 Dan people make their living from farming cocoa, rice and manioc. Before unifying secret societies were set up at the turn of the century, each Dan village was an autonomous socio-political unit governed by a chief elected on the base of his wealth and social position. Today, the leopard society acts as a major regulator of Dan life and initiates young men during their isolated periods of three to four months in the forest. Dan people have achieved notoriety in the area for their entertainment festivals which were historically village ceremonies, but are today performed largely for tourists. During these festivals, masked performers dance on stilts.