Mapouka

Mapouka, also known under the name of Macouka, is a traditional dance from the south-east of the Ivory Coast in the area of Dabou, sometimes carried out during religious ceremonies. It is also known as, "La danse du fessier" or "the danse of the behind (buttocks)".

This dance has daring choreography that can be very sexually suggestive. The dances mostly involve women shaking their buttocks (erotic) sideways vigorously, facing away from their audience. In the years 1980, artists of the Ivory Coast tried without much success to popularize it. One of the most well known groups is Tueuses de Mapouka.

There are two forms of the dance, the original and the modern. The modern is danced mostly by young people and is considered more obscene and improper by some due to its suggestive nature.

In 1998, the government of the Ivory Coast decided to prohibit its performance in public. It is, paradoxically, following this prohibition that the dance now enjoys a very fast-growing global following, especially in the sub-Saharan countries and western nations with large Francophone communities.

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