Benefitting country(ies): Côte d'Ivoire

Overview:

To be implemented by the Office Ivoirien du Patrimoine Culturel (the Ivoirian Cultural Heritage Office), this two-year project aims to ensure the viability of the Gbofe, a transverse trump and a performance of the Tagbana community that encompasses music, song and dance. The element was incorporated in 2008 in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (originally proclaimed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001). Mainly performed in the village of Afounkaha, the Gbofe is an important part of ritual and traditional ceremonies. However, the practice is disappearing due to decreased interest in the instrument and displacement caused by the military and political crisis, which has led to a break in the chain of transmission of the practice. This safeguarding project involves implementing community-based inventorying and conducting an awareness-raising seminar and workshops to train youth to perform the Gbofe. The activities also include training young people to produce the instruments and planting the plants and trees used to manufacture them. This project is expected to mitigate the risks posed to Gbofe and to support its transmission to future generations, while raising awareness of the practice and of intangible cultural heritage in general. It will support funding and research for the element and the establishment of music groups and regional festivals.

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