The Baoulé People — Asante Cousins in Côte d'Ivoire

The Baoulé are one of Côte d'Ivoire's great peoples. Like the Asante they belong to the Akan family: the same matrilineal descent, the same love of gold and weaving, the same birth names tied to the days of the week. By tradition they descend from an Asante group that moved west in the eighteenth century under the leadership of a queen: Abla Pokou.

Queen Pokou and the Migration

Tradition makes Pokou the niece of Osei Tutu I and the sister of Dakon, a rival in the succession to Opoku Ware I after his death (around 1750). Refusing to join the central power, she led a breakaway group west, roughly between 1750 and 1760. The exact dates are debated by historians: this is an orally transmitted account on the border between history and legend.

The Asante state itself was then at its height: see The Asantehenes and the origins of the state.

The Legend of the Komoé

On reaching the banks of the Komoé river, in flood, the group could not cross. According to the legend, the priests declared that a noble child had to be sacrificed. Pokou offered her own son: hippopotamuses then formed a bridge and the people crossed. She is said to have cried "Ba ouli" — "the child is dead" — the phrase that gave the Baoulé their name.

A Kingdom Between the Komoé and the Bandama

Settling in the savanna, the Baoulé adopted an agricultural way of life and founded a kingdom. Pokou died shortly afterwards; her niece Akwa Boni succeeded her and extended the territory. Today the Baoulé inhabit central Côte d'Ivoire between the Komoé and the Bandama, with Sakassou as the former royal seat.

What the Asante and Baoulé Share

• Matrilineality: the maternal line determines inheritance and succession (see Society & Matrilineality).
• Gold and weaving: gold weights, jewellery, woven cloth — see Gold, Trade & Roads and Culture & Kente.
• Language: Baoulé and Twi are related Akan languages (not identical) — see The Asante Twi Language.
• Day names: both peoples give a name according to the day of birth, but the names and the days do not match (see the table below).