I haven't been online much lately mainly due to the rolling blackouts that the CIE (the national electric company) started last weekend. But I keep wanting to post some photos of the famous Yam Festival I attended last Friday at the king's palace (Nanan Boa Kouassi III, pictured on the left) in Abengourou.

According to the king's website, the Yam festival (or fête des Ignames in French), the origin of this festival is that during the hard times of the founding of the Indénié Kingdom a certain type of yams helped them fight hunger and survive, and establish themselves in this region. So honoring yams is a way of honoring the founding fathers of the kingdom, the ancestors and welcome a new and prosperous season. In fact, the Yam Festival marks the start of a new year for the Indénié Kingdom, and everything needs to be renewed, such as the embers in the fires and the water in the containers. And the mortars and other objects of daily usage need to be cleansed.

The celebration, which lasted several hours, included lots of dancing, drums and pantomime. But hte most important part of it was the ritual to honor ancestors, in which a line of royal stools from previous Indénié kings (it's interesting to note that in Europe crowns represent royal power whereas here it's a stool to sit on) were offered various gifts. Including gin, purifying herbs, yam powder and the blood of a freshly sacrificed ram.

Although I didn't enjoy watching the poor ram being killed and bled out, the offering ceremony was the most interesting bit of the day and the whole procedure was interesting to watch. Once that was done, bowls of pounded yam were offered to the attendees, since it was then ok to consume the sacred tubers. All the while some lively music and comic dancers entertained the audience.

And for some reason one goofy dancer (pictured on the right of the picture above) became infatuated with me and so I became the butt of a few jokes and loud laughs. Fortunately one of the distinguised guests (the mayor or some minister) helped me out with a 1000 FCFA note so I could get rid of my insisting admirer after he tried to kiss me several times.

Another anecdote I enjoyed more was being painted with kaolin, a type of white clay or porcelain that women use to paint their bodies as a sign of joy and purification (like the one pictured on the right). You can read more about the experience here, but basically once the women realized the white clay wasn't as visible as in their bodies (obviously), they were extremely amused and I'm sure they talked about it for days.

In spite of the blazing sun and the trying length of the event I felt fortunate to have witnessed it, and having been part of it, somehow part of the Abengourou community for a little fraction of time. My only frustration was not to hear the king's voice, since he never speaks in public but through a spokesperson. He just sits royally wisely observing everything.

> You can check the whole photo album of the famous Yam Festival of the Indénié Kingdom here.

> For more information on the Inénié Kingdom, you can visit their official website [in French].

Although I'm sure they abound in many other countries, it seems to me that in Côte d'Ivoire traditional healers are etiher extremely popular or very good at promoting themselves. Not only they advertise their services in the towns, but also on the side of the roads indicating their presence in the adjacent villages. Maybe it's just that Ivorians are better-versed at marketing, but I had never seen so many signs of traditional healers than here and so informative.

For example, take this one below seen in Abengourou. It says that the healer in question (guérisseur in French) is a Master in spiritual and natural sciences (although it doesn't say who gave him that title), and that he's a specialist in "mystical and spiritual ailments". He also fights against witchcraft, spells and curses. Even the price is listed on the sign: only 225 FCFA per consultation, which is just half a US dollar.

Since I haven't visited any of these healers I can't speak for their effectiveness, but I'm convinced that they serve a purpose for certain problems. Almost certainly I wouldn't trust them for things like malaria, HIV/Aids or other sexually transmitted diseases, it seems they have a placebo effect on mental health issues:

Usually we think of traditional healing as easy to “respectfully dismiss,” as clearly it’s not evidence based… right? Well, actually, there is some evidence supporting traditional healing. Joop de Jong, one of the founders of the global Transcultural Psychiatry Organization, presented some evidence just over a year ago that in a randomized clinical trial of counseling versus traditional healing in Burundi, the traditional healers had a much greater healing effect.

Next time I feel some mystical pains or somebody casts a spell on me, I'll have to visit my local healer to test his powers. I wonder if they have a cure for jetlag, though...