Péléforo Gbon Coulibaly Regional Museum
| Péléforo Gbon Coulibaly Regional Museum of Korhogo | |
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| Photo by Emmanuelle Kakou | |
| Type: | Cultural Museum |
| Country: |  |
| Establishment: | 1992 |
The Péléforo Gbon Coulibaly Regional Museum (French: Musée Régional Péléphore Gbon Coulibaly) is a museum located in the town of Korhongo north of the Ivory Coast, dedicated to show ethnographic objects such as sculptures and masks used in ceremonies of various Senufo communities.
History
The museum was opened following the Katana Festival, where descendants of Gbon Coulibaly's family encouraged the public to donate artifacts. In addition, the National Museum took about 2 weeks to establish part of the collections including sculptures, textiles, canvas paintings as well as pottery and blacksmith items.[1]
The museum is located in Gbon Coulibaly, a local chief of the Senufo communities in the North Ivory Coast. In addition, the museum has acquired traditional Senufo masks including Wambêlê, alternatively written as Wabêle, used in events.[2]
The construction of the original building began in 1938 and was completed in 1950, in which several members of the Coulibaly family lived, then until 1987, the building remained completely uninhabited. In 1989, work began on converting the building into a museum and then in 1992, it was officially opened to the public.[3]
Gbon Coulibaly was the local leader of the Tiembara communities during his lifespan he faced forces of the Kénédougou and Wassoulou Empires, led by Babemba Traoré and Samori Ture respectively.[4]
Collections
The museum has several exhibition rooms dedicated to displaying objects used in daily life, Senufo musical instruments, in addition to masks, statues and ethnographic objects. The museum had to close for a decade since 2002 following insecurity in the region, but in 2022 it has gradually started to open to the public.[5] In addition, the museum has furniture that includes carved chairs and tara, a type of bamboo bed used on the Ivory Coast.[3]
Terminology
- The Katana Festival is celebrated by Fodonon communities residing north of the Ivory Coast, where traditional masks are used to perform festival events and dances. (Source: L'art de danser en Côte-d'Ivoire (Page 111) by Famedji-Koto Tchimou)
- The Wambêlê, a sacred mask from the Senufo communities, has two faces and is commonly used in funeral ceremonies and special occasions. (Source: ReseauIvoire)
- Tiembara is one of the groups of Senufo communities, mainly residing in Korhongo, Boundiali and Niéllé; additionally the name "Tiembara" derives from the nickname given to Nanguin Soro, a local Senufo chief credited with the migration of communities from Kong. (Source: "Histoire d’une localité coloniale tiembara: Diawala ou la cité héritière de Sordi (1893–1899)" by M'brah Kouakou (Page 2))
- Tara is a loanword from the Mandinka language, alternatively known as Mandekan, which means low traditional bed generally made of vegetable fibers. (Source: La traduction italienne de Les Soleils des indépendances d’Ahmadou Kourouma by Chiara Brandolini (Page 6))
Gallery
References
Savane, Y. (1993). West African Museums Programme Bulletin. International African Institute, London School of Economics. (Page 34) (in French)
Koaukou, E. (2022-02-15). Le Musée Péléforo Gbon Coulibaly. Pepesoupe. (in French)
N’Gana, S. (2021-04-11). Korhogo: Les collections du musée Péléforo Gbon Coulibaly. VoixVoie de Femme. (in French)
Ouattara, T. (2000). Museums & History in West Africa. James Currey Publishers. ISBN: 1-56098-805-3 (Page 114)
Yao, P. (2023-09-23). Tourisme: Musée de Korhogo, la culture sénoufo en miniature. Le Tamtam Parleur. (in French)
