The Calao

Although many Senufo have officially embraced the Muslim or Christian religion, most of the population also follows the local spiritual tradition of Poro. The phrase indicates at the same time a secret society all Senufo men are initiated into and the beliefs associated with it. In the Senufo mythology, the Calao plays various roles – it is one of the first five animals that appeared on earth, a protector of the community and the animal that carries the souls of the dead. The stylized wooden statues of the Calao emphasize the big belly of the bird, a symbol of fertility and prosperity, and the big and reclined beak, supposed to evoke the attitude of ‘one who knows a lot but speaks little’. In Korhogo, the largest city of Northern Côte d’Ivoire, these statues can be seen in many houses and public building. 

In 2002, Côte d’Ivoire experienced an armed rebellion, which failed to take over the capital, but got in control of most of the North of the country. From about 2002 to 2011, the area of Côte d’Ivoire where the Calao statues originate from was under the authority of the rebels of the Forces Nouvelles (FN). The Senufo community played an important role in this event. Many rebel leaders and foot soldiers of the FN were Senufo. Alassane Ouattara, who has become Ivorian president in 2011 and has been re-elected in 2015 and 2020, is also a Senufo. That said, the community is not homogeneous, and members of prominent Senufo families have figured in the leadership of all major Ivorian political parties.

In 2010, after the launch of a peace process marred by blockages and delays, presidential elections were held in the country. At that time, I spent two months covering Korhogo and the surrounding region as a Long Term Electoral observer for the Carter Centre. The election took a rather dramatic turn when the incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept his defeat, claiming that fraud had happened in the rebel-controlled area – a claim that, as electoral observers, we were able to disprove. Eventually, Gbagbo was ousted by the FN with the controversial support of French troops and UN peacekeepers.

Although I did not have the opportunity to return to the city of Korhogo after 2010, between 2017 and 2022 I have been involved in various research project that looked at rebel governance in Northern Côte d’Ivoire and its long-term implications. We were particularly interested in understanding how the inhabitants of Northern Côte d’Ivoire perceived the state institutions that were redeployed after 2011 and related to them.

So, because of its importance in Northern Côte d’Ivoire, the Calao represents various phases of my research and involvement in the country. I am envisaging it also a symbol of hope for a country that has emerged from a violent conflict, has experienced a decade of impressive economic growth but still faces many challenges.