The Kouya of Ivory Coast. A forgotten forest people.
Ides and Kalends/Barbier-Mueller Museum| N° d'inventaire | 31707 |
| Format | 24.2 x 18.5 |
| Détails | 180 p., paperback |
| Publication | Geneva, 2019 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782825802977 |
The world described in this book has largely disappeared. Deforestation caused by intensive cocoa cultivation has been accompanied by a significant influx of migrants, disrupting the social balance. In addition, climate change and the intrusion of Christian missionaries in Côte d'Ivoire have, since the last decade of the 20th century, transformed the way of life of this endearing forest people, proud of their traditions.
The Kouya are one of the smallest and least known peoples of Côte d'Ivoire, and speak a language that was declared among the most endangered on the planet in 2001. Numbering just over twenty thousand individuals, they had the misfortune to find themselves at the heart of the conflict zone that ravaged the country in 2002-2003, and again in 2010-2011. Denis Ramseyer's account here traces the transformation of the traditional way of life and the rapid evolution of a forest society that found itself caught in a war that pitted the north against the south of the country and forced an entire population to adapt to a new and unstable situation.
For forty-five years, the author patiently assembled notes from field surveys, photo reports, and regular correspondence with a Kouya interlocutor and friend to publish a comprehensive synthesis. What are the beliefs of the Kouya? How do they manage conflicts? What is the true role of the village chief? The information gathered in the heart of the Ivorian forest allowed Denis Ramseyer to answer these questions, among many others.
A first-hand document, this work, both through its texts and its original photographic documentation, is a vibrant plea for a forgotten people.
The world described in this book has largely disappeared. Deforestation caused by intensive cocoa cultivation has been accompanied by a significant influx of migrants, disrupting the social balance. In addition, climate change and the intrusion of Christian missionaries in Côte d'Ivoire have, since the last decade of the 20th century, transformed the way of life of this endearing forest people, proud of their traditions.
The Kouya are one of the smallest and least known peoples of Côte d'Ivoire, and speak a language that was declared among the most endangered on the planet in 2001. Numbering just over twenty thousand individuals, they had the misfortune to find themselves at the heart of the conflict zone that ravaged the country in 2002-2003, and again in 2010-2011. Denis Ramseyer's account here traces the transformation of the traditional way of life and the rapid evolution of a forest society that found itself caught in a war that pitted the north against the south of the country and forced an entire population to adapt to a new and unstable situation.
For forty-five years, the author patiently assembled notes from field surveys, photo reports, and regular correspondence with a Kouya interlocutor and friend to publish a comprehensive synthesis. What are the beliefs of the Kouya? How do they manage conflicts? What is the true role of the village chief? The information gathered in the heart of the Ivorian forest allowed Denis Ramseyer to answer these questions, among many others.
A first-hand document, this work, both through its texts and its original photographic documentation, is a vibrant plea for a forgotten people.