# Zaouli

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**Zaouli** or **Zawli** is a traditional [dance](/source/Dance#Cultural_traditions) of the Guro people (who speak the [Guro language](/source/Guro_language)) of central [Ivory Coast](/source/Ivory_Coast). It is performed by a single masked and costumed dancer, accompanied by musicians.

## History

The Zaouli mask, used in the dance, was created in the 1950s, reportedly inspired by a girl named "Djela Lou Zaouli" (meaning "Zaouli, daughter of Djela").[1] Claudie Haxaire traces its origin to the village of [Zougounéfla](/source/Zougoun%C3%A9fla).[2] However, stories on the origins of the characteristic mask are varied, and each mask may have its own symbolic history.[3] It was inscribed in 2017 on the Representative List of the [Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity](/source/Intangible_Cultural_Heritage_of_Humanity) by [UNESCO](/source/UNESCO).[4] Zaouli is also one of the most difficult dances in the world due its unique and difficult steps.[5][6]

The dance is performed by a single male dancer wearing a mask depicting a girl.[7]: 46 Each Guro village has a local Zaouli dancer (always male), performing during funerals and celebrations. The dance is believed to increase the productivity of the village that it is performed in and is seen as a tool of unity for the Guro community, and by extension the whole country.[citation needed]

Zaouli rose in prominence within the Ivory Coast because it was the favorite dance of Ivorian president [Félix Houphouet-Boigny](/source/F%C3%A9lix_Houphouet-Boigny) and was regularly broadcast on national TV as a result.[8]: 229

## In popular culture

The British-Sri Lankan rapper [M.I.A.](/source/M.I.A._(rapper)) included a clip of a Zaouli dancer in her music video for the song "Warriors", released as part of the video [Matahdatah Scroll 01: Broader Than A Border](/source/Swords_(M.I.A._song)#Music_Video) in 2015.

In 2022, the [K-pop](/source/K-pop) girl group [Nature](/source/Nature_(group)) released a music video for their single "Rica Rica", featuring choreography which is heavily inspired by Zaouli dance.[9] Some internet users have criticised this use as inappropriate.[10]

Short videos of traditional Zaouli dances are also circulating on the Internet, the soundtrack of which has been replaced by fast, seemingly appropriate rhythms of [psytrance](/source/Psytrance) music.[citation needed]

A Zaouli dancer appears in a crowd of people as part of a surreal musical sequence in the [2025 film *Sinners*](/source/Sinners_(2025_film)).[11]

## References

1. ["Zaouli de Manfla: The Zaouli dance of the Ivory Coast, West Africa - The Kid Should See This"](http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/zaouli-de-manfla-the-zaouli-dance-of-the-ivory-coast-west-africa). *thekidshouldseethis.com*. 3 November 2014.

1. Haxaire, Claudie (20 May 2022). ["D’une compétition l’autre : le Zaouli gouro, le patrimoine immatériel et le politique:"](https://shs.cairn.info/revue-politique-africaine-2022-1-page-49?lang=fr) (in French). *Politique africaine*. **165** (1): 49–71. [doi:10.3917/polaf.165.0049](https://doi.org/10.3917/polaf.165.0049). Retrieved 22 February 2026.

1. ["Guro Zaouli Mask of Ivory Coast"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151208193737/http://www.bibata-arts-africains.com/en/african-mask/97-guro-zaouli-mask-of-ivory-coast.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.bibata-arts-africains.com/en/african-mask/97-guro-zaouli-mask-of-ivory-coast.html) on December 8, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2016.

1. ["Zaouli, popular music and dance of the Guro communities in Côte d'Ivoire"](https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/zaouli-popular-music-and-dance-of-the-guro-communities-in-cte-divoire-01255). *[UNESCO](/source/UNESCO) Intangible Cultural Heritage*

1. [https://www.ndtv.com/feature/video-of-one-of-the-most-difficult-dances-zaouli-goes-viral-3688944](https://www.ndtv.com/feature/video-of-one-of-the-most-difficult-dances-zaouli-goes-viral-3688944)

1. [https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ivory-coast-s-zaouli-storms-internet-as-world-s-most-difficult-dances-11673600755335.html](https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ivory-coast-s-zaouli-storms-internet-as-world-s-most-difficult-dances-11673600755335.html)

1. Welsh-Asante, Kariamu (2010). [*African Dance*](https://books.google.com/books?id=eXDWJiRr0PYC&lpg=PP1&ots=dLrOHzXlZ7&dq=zaouli%20dance&lr&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q=zaouli). Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60413-477-3. Retrieved 22 February 2026.

1. Reed, Daniel B. (2008). "“The Tradition” and Identity in a Diversifying Context". *The Garland Handbook of African Music, Second Edition*

1. Xu, Kaiyang & Wilson, Tiara (March 2025). ["Interrogating the ‘African troupe’: The construction of Africanness and Blackness in Chinese consumption of K-pop videos"](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13678779241268131). *International Journal of Cultural Studies*. **28** (2): 389–407. [doi:10.1177/13678779241268131](https://doi.org/10.1177/13678779241268131). Retrieved 22 February 2026.

1. ["'Rica Rica': NATURE trends for 'downgraded' performance after cultural appropriation"](https://meaww.com/rica-rica-nature-kpop-choreography-cultural-appropriation-indian-bindi-african-tribal-dance-zaouli). *MEAWW*. 2022-01-29.

1. Tangcay, Jazz (4 December 2025). "The Past Visits the Present". *Variety*. **370** (7): 27. [ISSN 0042-2738](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0042-2738)

## External links

- [Zaouli de Manfla](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ572yLH9sc)
- [M.I.A. - Matahdatah Scroll 01 "Broader Than A Border"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJuFdkMOP20)
- [NATURE (네이처) - 'RICA RICA' MV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP0BkYmP7HY)
- [Respect zaouli) - 'Respect zaouli](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70PRYlQ5FHc)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Zaouli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaouli) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaouli?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.