Zaouli Dancer | Exhibition Print

Edition: Limited to 10 
Size: 29.7cm x 40cm
Paper: Somerset Velvet for Epson - 255 gsm, 100% cotton rag

From the Guro communities of Bouaflé and Zuénoula, central Côte d’Ivoire.

Zaouli is a popular music and dance masquerade practised by Guro communities. Described as a homage to feminine beauty, it is inspired by two masks, Blou and Djela, and is also known as Djela lou Zaouli (“Zaouli, the daughter of Djela”). 

In a single event, it brings together sculpture (the mask), weaving (the costume), music (band and song), and dance; there are multiple Zaouli mask types, each tied to a specific legend. 

Zaouli plays an educational, playful, and aesthetic role, conveying cultural identity and promoting integration and social cohesion, kept alive through regular community performances, festivals, and inter-village competitions.