Success Story Sent From Ivory Coast

We entered the West African village of round thatched huts just before dusk and went first to greet the chief, an old, toothless man in a long robe, gracious and dignified.

Then the panther dance began. Strange instruments of calabash, wood and metal led a procession of cartwheeling boys and dancing girls. Suddenly the panther-men and their cubs leaped in, covered from cat’s ears to paws in tawny spots.

Aglow in the sunset light, they danced the elaborate acrobatic mystery learned during Poro initiation in the Sacred Forest.

Our guide was used to a different world: The T-shirted Gaston lives among the glittering skyscrapers of Abidjan, 400 miles south. There the ambiance is distinctively French; 30,000 French still live in Ivory Coast. It’s a world of sidewalk cafes, elegant shops, corporate headquarters and a large international population, a city that pulses with success.

Successful Economy

Success is a big part of Ivory Coast’s story. The government has been successful from the start: President Houphouet-Boigny was one of the architects of independence from France and has been president ever since. And the economy has been successful: Ivory Coast is black-ruled Africa’s most prosperous nation, a magnet for Africans from all over the region.

But culture is just as big a part of the story. This country, with its 60 ethnic groups, is known for the rich complexity of its art and folklore; these traditions are still strong.

For the traveler, Ivory Coast is a chance to experience sophisticated modern Africa and the still vibrant culture of the African bush. As a bonus there are mosques, elephants, beach, scenery and the constant spectacle of the passing crowd. One sees men in embroidered robes and women in long, brightly patterned cotton skirts, blouses draped fetchingly off one shoulder, hair braided into baroque fantasies, babies on their backs and bundles on their heads.

Speeding into Abidjan on the six-lane freeway, the contrasts strike immediately: The roadside becomes a riot of pattern and color as laundrymen lay clothes out to dry. At a stoplight, traders hawk videotapes. In town, a woman in a flowing caftan walks past the Yves Saint-Laurent boutique with an enamel basin on her head; in the basin is a computer manual.

Set on a network of lagoons, Abidjan includes the city center on the Plateau, the traditional African quarters of Treichville and Adjame, and the posh suburbs of Cocody and Riviera.

Role of a Mask

Start a visit to Abidjan at the National Museum, a good introduction to the rich and living art that will surround you in Ivory Coast. The curator described the role of one mask in the ritual interrogation of a corpse to determine the cause of his death.

“Is this still done?” we asked.

“It was done in my village three months ago,” he replied.

If you’re thinking of buying some art, go to the Hotel Ivoire shop, a warehouse of Ivorian carvings. Examine these to get a feel for quality and price, then head for one of Abidjan’s treasure-packed markets.

Bargaining is an art form: Expect to knock the first price in half, and pay no more than 1/3 to 1/2 the Ivoire shop’s price.

Those who thrive on the din, smells, crowds and high-pressure salesmanship of a huge Third World market love Treichville Market; others prefer the upper-class Cocody Market, smaller, with more people who speak English.

There’s also the Senegalese Market on the Plateau, with art from all over Africa, but it’s not always worth the insistent sales pitch. All have heaps of masks, ivory, malachite, beads, tapestries and hand-woven cloth.

Cosmopolitan Choices

Mealtimes in Abidjan present a cosmopolitan choice, from French haute cuisine to African food, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Chinese, Italian or American cooking.

And evenings aren’t dull. We danced to live music at Treichville’s raunchy Canne a Sucre and attended the fashion show of an Ivorian Paris designer crammed with dressed-up Abidjan society.

Many tourists never leave Abidjan, but that’s a big mistake. Outside the city you really experience the charm of the Ivorians, the fascination of their culture and the richness of the land, with its 600 varieties of trees and abundant agriculture.

We flew 400 miles to Man, landing on a dirt runway amid green jungly mountains. At the airport a group of white-robed Muslims waited to greet a man returning from Mecca. We left immediately on a short drive into the hills to the Liana Bridge, a vine bridge strung across a ravine.

We stopped at the ivory carver and explored the Man market, a lively, friendly place where women sell cloth, fruit and vegetables arranged in artistic display, and men sell masks of the Dan and Gere tribes, hand-woven robes and bronze statues.

Festival Dance Time

Then on to the village of Blole to see a festival dance. The chief dancer, wearing a Dan mask and raffia from neck to toe, sent the village children shrieking in gleeful terror, then danced on parallel bars held aloft by the band.

He was almost upstaged by a little girl doing the latest Michael Jackson-style dance from Treichville, and the teen-agers who dragged each of us into the dance to the cheers and giggles of the grown-ups.

That evening three of us walked into town past lamplit snack stands to La Paillote, a patio restaurant. Enjoying the balmy air, we made new friends and tasted an Ivorian dish, kedjenou , spicy chicken stew cooked in an earthenware pot.

In the morning we visited the hill village of Gouessesso where there’s a small, modern hotel. Children led us by the hand to the chief hunter’s son, who invited us into his round mud hut. It was about 20 feet in diameter, with a couple of beds, a stove in the center and cassava roots tucked into the thatched roof to dry.

He told us his father has three wives, eight children and two grandchildren. Then we drove back into the 20th Century: Yamoussoukro, the president’s birthplace and political capital of Ivory Coast.

Decorated Dancer

In the lofty marble lobby of the Hotel President we sank into plush sofas and watched a Guro dance from a nearby village. The mask was yellow with Oriental eyes and a serpent and bird on top; the dancer wore bells on his ankles, striped stockings and a yellow raffia skirt, and waved fly chasers to chase away the bad spirits.

He danced closer and closer to one of our group until he was thrusting the garish mask right into her face. A bit shaken, she admitted, “I can see why children are afraid of the mask.”

We flew to Korhogo, 400 miles north of Abidjan in the heart of Senufo country, home of the Poro mysteries. The sights there were the highlight of the trip: a line of women stretching to the horizon, loads on their heads, walking to market; the haunting panther dance; an elaborate mosque in the middle of nowhere; visits to a weaver village and a village famous for painted tapestries; an unscheduled stop at the home of a trader who sells carvings to the Hotel Ivoire.

From a roomful of art I chose an elegant Guro mask--$23 from the trader, $80 at the Ivoire and $450 in New York.

Women From Niger

While we were bargaining, two astonishing women from Niger appeared in the trader’s courtyard. They had blue facial markings, red hennaed hands, and earlobes lined with huge brass earrings. They happily posed for pictures, breaking into delight when I gave them a Polaroid print.

At the suggestion of Raymond Noble, director of Mont Korhogo Hotel, we took off the next morning on a jarring ride to a place even our guide hadn’t heard of--Chez Marius in Tortiya, where colorfully dressed people from Mali dig and sluice for diamonds and gold.

Three hours off the main road into the bush we arrived at a slice of Hollywood Africa, the bar restaurant hotel of Marius, a 44-year-old Frenchman who has lived for 20 years at the edge of this remote river. Only Bogart could play the role. Seated under the thatched roof at the bamboo bar, playing with Jojo the chimp, we were oddly satisfied.

Returning to Abidjan from up-country, it’s easier to appreciate the wealth and sophistication of the city. We finished our visit with a tour of the new cathedral, opened by Pope John Paul last August. Its bold winglike shape, designed by Italian architect Aldo Spiritou, adds drama to the skyline: another monument to the success story of Ivory Coast.

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For further information, contact Ivory Coast Tourist Bureau, 117 East 55th St., New York 10022, phone (212) 355-6975.

Air Afrique flies to Abidjan from New York twice a week. GIT fare $1,066 ($1,191 summer); groups of 20, $756 ($832 summer).

A visa and yellow fever shot are required. Malaria prophylactic (chloroquine) is essential. Water in Abidjan is safe to drink; otherwise use bottled water.

Official language is French; with patience, English speakers can be found.

Tours: For itineraries of tours that include Ivory Coast, contact Air Afrique for the “Catalogue of Tours” at 888 7th Ave., New York 10106. All excursions described are offered by Abidjan tour operators; arrange Chez Marius with Noble at Mt. Korhogo Hotel.

Top hotels run $65-$85 double.

Police and customs stops on the road are routine; you are expected to carry a passport or other ID with picture. At the airport, the grabby, insistent porters are a problem; use only official porters in orange uniforms with numbers on back.