THE POTTERY VILLAGE OF TANOU SAKASSOU

It takes just ten minutes to reach the peaceful village of Tanou Sakassou, some ten kilometers from Bouaké. With just under 2,000 inhabitants, over 300 of whom make their living indirectly from pottery, this small village is renowned for its mastery of ceramic art and its black clay pottery encrusted with silica flakes. The zoomorphic or anthropomorphic shapes of the products (kédjénou pots, canaries, chef's vases, jars, a variety of crockery, as well as more contemporary objects decorated with geometric motifs inspired by Baule beliefs and rites) are distinguished by their finesse and originality: a neck with a woman's head, a vase with handles in the shape of a curved figure, gargoulettes with two spouts, a lid decorated with birds gathered in a circle, representing the family solidarity expressed by the communal consumption of the customary drink... Once the clay has been taken from nearby quarries and the pot shaped, the ornamental motifs are created in relief or engraved in the form of impressions made directly on the raw clay using corncobs or braided rope. The work is then kiln-fired, smoked with rice bran and dipped in a decoction of sea wood, or coated with a mixture of termite-mound earth and cashew bark decoction, which gives it a beautiful red-brown sheen. Most of the pottery here is made by women - who have been members of a cooperative since 1986 - but if you're visiting the area, don't hesitate to ask for Julien Yao Koffi, an artisan-potter who is passionate about his craft and a fervent defender of the magnificent Baule heritage. He'll tell you all you need to know about this little-known ancestral skill, so important for the empowerment of women and the development of domestic tourism. He may also tell you that he has worked with American museums interested in Tanou Sakassou pottery, and even taken part in the Foire de Paris. Finally, he may tell you that the village's Centre artisanal, created in 1972, was ravaged by fire in early 2016, and that thanks to the involvement of the Fonds de développement touristique de Côte d'Ivoire, it has been rebuilt in a more modern and better-equipped version, with a workshop and exhibition hall enabling the village's potters to produce and sell an average of 200 works a week.