WELCOME
University Of Education,
Winneba
Index numbers:
5150020166
5150020162
Lecturers:
Mr. Opoku Mensah Isaac
Mr. Okai Anti Ernest
HISTORY OF BAULE ART
CONCEPT OF BAULE ART
Baule is one of the largest ethnic group in the La
cote d’Ivoire. They belong to the Akan people
who inhabit Ghana and La cote d’Ivoire. They
are traditionally farmers who live in the Centre
of cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
Map of La cote d’Ivoire where Baule is
located
It is said, this tribe split off from the Ashanti
people. Three hundred years ago the Baule
people migrated westward Ghana when the
Ashanti people came to power.
During the Ashanti rise to power, the Baule
queen,“ Aura” or “Abla” Poku, was in direct
competition with the current Ashanti king.
Queen mother of Baule, Abla Poku
who led them
When the Ashanti king prevailed, the queen led
her people westward away from Ghana to the
shores of the Komoe river, the land of Senufo.
In order to cross the river, she sacrificed her own
son, a sacrifice that gave origin to the name
Baule, because Bauoli means “the boy is dead’’.
A scene at where the queen sacrificed
her son in order for them to cross the
Komoe river
Now about one million Baule occupy a part of
Eastern La cote d’Ivoire between the Komoe and
Bandama rivers that is both forest and savanna
land.
Map locating Baule between komoe and
Bandama river
THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEVES
The Baule religious world consists of three
realities:
• Domain of God (Niamien)
• The earthly world: Area of human beings,
animals and plants, as well as supernatural
beings with vast powers who reside in the
mountains, rocks, forests etc.
• The beyond (Blolo) where the spirits of the
ancestors resides.
THE BONU AMUEN DANCE
The Bonu amuen is a dance to protect the village
from threats and it appears at the
commemorations of death of notables.
• The Baule wore a wooden helmet that stands
for a Buffalo.
• Then they wore suits with raffia and metal
bracelets for the ankles.
• The snout of the costume has teeth, which they
believe a strong animal would defend them.
TYPES OF BAULE ARTWORKS
• Wooden Sculpture
• Metal casting
• Pottery
• Masks
• Textile
FUNCTIONS OF THEIR
ARTWORKS
• Sculpture: Baule people are noted for their
sculpture works, especially in the use of
hardwoods. Their sculpture include ancestral
and mythical figures, geometric patterns in low
relief, drums, stools, bowls, domestic objects,
masks etc.
Examples of Baule sculpture works
Blolo bian and Blolo bla
Monkey figure Gbekre
• Metal casting: Baule people are expert in
metal casting using the lost wax method.
Works produced using the lost wax method
include gold masks, jewels, pendants and
others.
Examples of their metal casting
• Pottery: Their pottery artworks were mostly
produced from clay. Their pots made were
decorated with linear designs and low reliefs
of mythical figures. These pots were
smoothened, blackened and used for the
storage of sheabutter.
Examples of their pottery artworks
• Masks carving: Baule mask range from the
realistic and refined to the abstract and
powerful.
Kplekple masks, representing junior males, are
simple, flat, round and horned.
Goli Clin masks, for senior males, are
aggressively complex and very sculptural.
Kpan pre masks, for junior females, are graceful
and horned.
Kpan masks, for senior females, represent
idealized women of beauty and wisdom.
• Textiles: Baule people created several
artworks. Textiles made help them in different
ways. It serve as a costume for performing
during event and also mostly wear during
wedding ceremony.
Examples of Baule textile works
The end