Dan

Dan, an ethnolinguistic grouping of people inhabiting the mountainous west-central Côte d’Ivoire and adjacent areas of Liberia. The Dan belong to the Southern branch of the Mande linguistic subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family. They originated somewhere to the west or northwest of their present lands, perhaps among the Malinke (Mandingo). The Dan are closely related to the Gere (also spelled Ngere, or Guere) to the south.

The roughly 1,500–4,000-foot- (450–1,200-metre-) high Dang (Dans) and Toura mountains are hot and humid and covered with lush vegetation. The area is isolated, and even the most general lines of history are unknown. The Dan and their neighbours are said to have a history of warfare, but it has been debated whether they actually fought the battles attributed to them or whether these are part of oral tradition and a cultural model. The isolation of the area probably served to accentuate myths of bellicose, “primitive” mountain people best avoided because dangerous. Christian proselytism proved difficult as well, as the Dan have preferred to maintain their own religious beliefs.

The Dan traditionally divided themselves into alliance groups associated with clans but of only occasional centralized political organization (i.e., in time of war). Neighbourhoods in larger villages (created as the government seeks more efficient administration) or towns in Côte d’Ivoire like Man and Danané reflect these older affiliations. Kinship is bilateral, involving important bonds to fathers’ and mothers’ patrilineages. Most marriages are monogamous.

Dan are known for the small dark hardwood masks they make. Dan masks also are made by other local groups and are used in important rituals. Large wooden “spoons,” representing first wives of important men, and murals painted on exterior house walls are other art forms.