Masks have often been called “arrested expressions” (Santayana), and sometimes, they are used in this way. To some extent, the masquerade kà pã cǎŋ, literally “we’ll see” [who will win],was and continues to be an “arrested expression” of political loyalty in Korhogo, northern Côte d’Ivoire. It was created in the late 1980s when two branches of the family that had dominated politics in Korhogo since the late 19^th century got involved in a conflict over the mayor’s office and its resources. The masquerade contested the legitimacy of the sitting mayor because he was not a direct descendant of the chief who had ruled the town before the arrival of the French in 1898 and who had been made an intermediary ruler by the colonial administration. This masquerade was soon counterbalanced by a similar one, sóló mugu jo, “say it aloud”, which had been created by the mayor to mobilise his own followers. The two masquerades performed and competed regularly on big public events, and fueled urban politics to a degree that neither branch of the family had anticipated: supporters of both parties repeatedly engaged in fist fights when the performance of the masks was over. The game got rough when the followers of both parties began to use clubs, knifes and machetes, causing severe injuries. The urban council tried to ban the masquerades, but the fighting only ended when the rebels took control of the city in 2002. By then, the masquerades were widely taken as a sign for Korhogo as a heavily politicised city.

Program of the Colloquium