Mantongouiné

Mantongouiné is a village located in the department of Danané in the area of the Eighteen Mountains , in the west of the Ivory Coast. Mantongouiné is a large village of approximately 3000 inhabitants with majority Yacouba, one of the 70 Ethnie S of the country. One finds there also populations alien: Malinkés, Guinean, Mossi S originating in the Burkina Faso and the Malians. It is located at 3 km of the main axis between Abidjan and Danané behind the villages of Monleu and Flampleu. Mantongouiné is to 12 km of Danané and to 700 km of Abidjan, the economic capital of the Ivory Coast.

History

As in all the Black Africa, the history of Mantongouiné is transmitted in an oral way from generation to generation. Thus to the dires of old, the first inhabitants of the village would come from Sipilou (Department of Biankouma), at the Guinean border . Having fled the wars of Samory Touré, those found refuge in the mountains of canton OAU before being installed finally on the current site of Mantongouiné. According to the legend, Beutoueu, the first founder of the village settled in the current site. It is only later that it was joined by a group of other runaways of the war of samory. Indeed this one after having made a success of the first fields of rice and manioc called upon its other compatriots who had settled in height of the Aha mountain to say to them that its site was quite fertile, in safety and especially near to the conveniences the such water points. It was joined by the brother Taha and Mieu, then transfers people who form today Gbéhéleu, Bialeu and Zonhonleu . they is all these people who formed the seven districts which compose the village nowadays. It is besides the reason for which the nationals of Beutoueukôleu are considered les" owners of the village".

Geography

Mantongouiné is located in the department of Danané in the area of the Eighteen Mountains . The village is located at 3 km of the main axis Abidjan - Danané, behind the villages of Monleu and Flampleu . Mantongouiné is to 12 km of Danané and 700 km of Abidjan, the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. It is one of the largest villages of the canton OAU which counts a trentaine.il of it is located under canton of zioleu. Mantongouiné is located in full forest at the bottom of the mountain Lonhon and the mountain doueu. The vegetation is green in season of rain from June to August when it can often rain during a whole week of the morning at the evening. Several rivers surround the village of which the river Goueusseguigni which one crosses after the limit of Flampleu, the close village. The entry of the village, a bridge allows the passage of the river Douê which surrounds by half the village of west in the south. In the east of the village, it there with the river Bahayi . Finally in the north of the village, it there with the source of the old village which is the younun . One also finds a source of water qu the gôho. Mantongouiné is located at the skirt of forest. The only villages located behind Mantongouiné are to about thirty kilometer after a classified tropical forest national site reserves. No trunk road nor communal passes there. only tracks between the campings and the roads traced by the forest owners are used.

Traditional village Yacouba

The houses of the village are constructions essentially of traditional forms. The round boxes made of straws or papots on the Banco roof and on the wall and the traditional houses of rectangular forms constitute the architecture of the village. With modernization, one finds some rare hard brick houses there with a covered corrugated sheet roof. Several small well traced lanes square the village and a main street divides Mantongouiné into two. The village gathers seven districts or clans whose members are dependant between them by the same ancestors. The districts are: Bialeu , Gbéleu the Top , Gbéleu Bottom , Mieukoleu , Kpankoleu , Zonhonleu , Beutoueukoleu . As in all the African traditional companies, the inhabitants of each district trains a clan. In general they have same and single ancestor who gave his name to the district. With the result that those are of the same brothers and sisters blood and it is to them strictly interdict to marry between them. What is regarded as incestueux. And those which do it are purified if not they risk the curse. However the inhabitants of a district can marry with those of another district with which they do not have any bond of friendship or any totem jointly. In Mantongouiné, only the inhabitants of the districts of Mieukoleu and Kpankoleu and those of Gbéleu bottom and Gbéleu the top cannot marry between them. Because the two founders of the first two districts were of the same brothers of father and even mother. But youngest Mieu of the two brothers fled the stories with repetition of its groin Kpan to only settle in its camping which trained its clan today. Of warlike and royal origin, those are the only ones to take the cheffery with Mantongouiné since its creation until our days. Their sign of royalty is them totem the lion and all félidés the carnivorous associated ones. As for the inhabitants of both Gbéleu, they are brothers of the same clan who moved in the village to train two clans or districts.

Attic of Danané

Like all the villages of Ivory Coast, Mantongouiné saw primarily Agriculture. The principal agricultural produce of export of Mantongouiné is the Café, the Cacao and the cola. Each year, Mantongouiné alone provides a few thousands of tons of these the first two products. Mantongouiné is a true attic for the town of Danané which is the place chief of the department as shows it the flood of cars and commercial which go there every Saturday evening for the purchase of the food products. One finds there the Riz, the Manioc, the Banane plantain, the potatos, the tarot, the vegetables (eggplant, green pepper, the Gombo) and the soft banana, the fruits the such orange, the Mandarine, the Citron etc… All the production of the village remains biological because poverty does not make it possible to the villagers to acquire artificial fertilizer whose prices remain exhorbitants. Hunting is very well developed in Mantongouiné and the game or meat of bush constitutes one of the essential components of the food of the village. Besides Mantongouiné owes its fame of attic of Danané partly thanks to hunting. Each Saturday evening, the villagers come from the fields or campings with driven out game to rifle or taken to the trap in the forest or the fields from rice or manioc. One finds there Agouti, Hérisson, hind, Gazelle, Singe, Rat, Perdrix and Chauve-souris etc…

A Large cultural village

Mantongouiné abounds in many groups of dances and traditional masks. The culture of the people of the west of the Ivory Coast in general, and Yacouba in particular, is a culture of Masque S. Ainsi, in Mantongouiné, there are several groups of masks: the crowned and protective masks of the village such as the Guéhé Gbonh , the Guéhé Doueu , the guéhé Tanon which deal with the mystical and sedentary protection of external Mantongouiné in the event of attack. The Mask S crowned Binty , Guian and Chacha Ponnun leave on exceptional occasions death great personalities the village or at the time of a ceremony of circumcision. Only the men circoncis and initiated can see it. It is strictly interdict with a woman to see it. In the contrary case, this one is cursed and must pay a strong fine. As regards woman, a female crowned mask called KÖHN leaves exceptionally at the time of the exit or the ceremony of excision of the young girls. No man is entitled to see it. In the contrary case, a fine, even a curse are marked for him. The mask fireman Sagbé deals with extinguishing fire during the dry season from February to May. During the festivals of rejoicing such as the exit of Circumcision of the young boys or the Excision of the young girls, the masks such as the very popular Guéhé Droho , the Gbaha , the Gbavian , the Guéhé fêh or even the sporting mask of race called the biaouleu Guéhé animate the village. One of most popular masks race is the Guéhé Laha . There are also traditional dances such as the Vouné , the Kohntan , the Bilé , the Kpeunan . Fallen the night, the children play and sing with moonlight to the sounds of the songs and dances of the Béhnzoualé . There is also a modern Fanfare directed by Gouet Jean Ferdinand. All these Dance S and traditional Masque S makes of Mantongouiné a very popular village not only in canton OAU but also in the department of Danané. Moreover all the occasions give place to imposing festivals with Mantongouiné. The ceremonies of Circumcision of young boys, of Excision young girls, the funeral, the festivals of Christmas and new year and especially the cultural weeks often organized by the association of the young people of the village and those of the girls amenable to the village are the regular festivals which rythment local life. Mantongouiné meaning on the mountains of in love , the love thus remains one of the favorite slogans of Mantongouiné.

Mantongouiné, a modern village

Mantongouiné is a village modern and electrified since 1988. One finds two elementary schools of six classes there each one. One also finds there bars, maquis (restaurants in ivory coast), trade (shops) and a non covered market. The day of the official market is saturdays. But one can see stalls of goods there the every day of the week. Mantongouiné, with the assistance of the Croix-Rouge began the construction of a dispensary and a maternity. Fountains (water pumps dug in the Ground water) constitute the source of drinking water of the village. Although it is not covered by the phone lines, Mantongouiné has just discovered on the heights of the mountain bôhô which it could collect the cellphone. A direct contact from now on is established between the village and the whole world. What makes it possible to the villagers to communicate with the nationals of the village as well with Abidjan as in Europe'

Some big families of Mantongouiné

In the village of Mantongouiné, there are seven large districts which are: Mieukôleu, Kpankôleu, Gbéleu top, Gbéleu bottom, Bialeu, Zonleu, Beutoueukôleu. In these various districts, some big families are known either because they are implied in the history and the management of the village or because they gave to the village big bosses even of large wire which make the pride of the village.

The family Taha de Mieukôleu

This family which bears the name of her founder Taha Sibily is very known and very famous at the village to be most commercial and to have provided two of the eight chiefs who reigned on the village. She is originating in the district of Mieukôleu to which she is bound by the phratry of the same Mieu ancestor. Of her founder at our days, the Taha family had famous men and women. She plays a big role thus and has especially an influence considerable in the social life, policy and economic of the village since always. Indeed since the creation of the village, several chiefs followed one another at his head. The third of those, representing the public authority in the village, was Kouê Gogon (about 1930). It is originating in the family Taha or Tahakôleu in yacouba (ethnos group of the west of the ivory coast. This one was a long time a chief under French colonization but very old, it has being replaced by one of its nephews when the colonists wanted to inflict hundred pairs of slaps to him in order to deserve its statute of chief.

The second wire of the Taha family to becoming chief or king de Mantongouiné was Doh Gouet Mamadou from September 3rd, 1969 to June 29th, 1981 goes back to his death in a deep sleep at one of his many mistresses in the village close to Flampleu.celui-Ci besides was youngest (29 years at the time) and one of the most popular chiefs of the village of a whole generation. And since its death until today, there remains famous everywhere in the village. During its reign, Mantongouiné made great strides of development and especially a popularity without fault which he knows today. because with the creation of the groups of dances, of the sports activities and cultural, all the youth of the village and even that of the canton OAU appreciated and was found in this new chief. the other assets of the Taha family are the trade and the purchase of the agricultural produce such as the coffee, the cocoa, cola and rice. No large purchaser of these products can come in Mantongouiné without passing through the family Taha.Car it has as a reputation to be dynamic and very skilful in this field. On the matter, the chief Doh Gouet Mamadou of alive sound had initiated many his brothers and cousins. His/her little brother Doh Taha Felix had besides taken the changing and became a large tradesman and purchasing of product before falling in bankruptcy in 1989.L' another brother from the former chief Doh Gueu Pierre , him also remains very influential so much by his dynamism in the purchase of the products but also in its participation in the activities of the village.il was besides president of the parents of pupils of the elementary school of the village, chair GVC (grouping with co-operative vocation of the village) and remains one of the large purchasers of products of the village. Today still, the Taha family remains influential in the village. Indeed as in all the African companies, to have several children in Europe, some frameworks working in Abidjan (whose very famous Goueu Endowed Pascal and with the many average nephews and nieces hard-working or senior officers in teaching, the public administration or multinationals etc, is a sign of family richness and especially of influence and respect in the village.

family YAKE KOUEGBEU

The family yaké is one of large and rich family of Mantongouiné. This family bears the name of her founder YAKE KOUEGBEU . It is a former colonial representative in canton OAU. It was only sons of his parents and had three soeurs' ZEHE, DAMUN and NONTE' , with a mother former slave named BONOMBA become the woman having largest equips in the old story of the village. The Yaké old man having had five wives because converted with Islam, and with its statute of colonial former executive, it had many grounds and fields of coffee and also much of children. those became thereafter executives, civils servant and hard-working rich person of Mantongouiné. Most known are fire YAKE Tokpa Marcel which was a large framework of the ministries for National Forestry Commission of Coast-in Ivoire.Il had there also fire Martin YAKE , rich person tallies of the Treasury deceased in October 1998. There is also the Lieutenant of the Customs of the Ivory Coast GOUANOU YAKE which count among the rich person of the village from its economic achievements and especially by its social success. Several small wire and little girls of the yaké old man are judge, professor, nurse, police officers, graded National Forestry Commission etc…

Family DOUEU MICHEL

It is one of the most brilliant families and the most provided as senior officers of the village Mantongouiné.Cette family which bears the name of its founder DOUEU Michel deceased very early with his first wife leaving more than seven orphans, remains to date more for village. The oldest son and second child of the family TANH DOUEU Raymond , adjudant of the military sappers firemen dealt with all his little brothers and sisters. DOUEU Michel Omer , magistrate of his state is one of the large executives of the village today. DOUEU Pink Michel, the third girl of the family is Social worker at the company abidjanaise of transport. DOUEU Michel Bruno the fifth wire is senior officer with the ministry for finances and director of pay to the public office of the Ivory Coast. The elder one had Tanh Doueu Raymond had several children of which five or six are teachers in the colleges and colleges of Ivory Coast.

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