Dan people

The Dan are an ethnic group located in the West African countries of Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. There are approximately 350,000 members of the group, united by the Dan language, a Mande language. Neighboring peoples include the Guere, Guro and Mano.

History

Oral traditions describe the Dan society of the 19th century, like many ethnic groups in the region, as organised at the settlement level, with shared Dan identity coming from language and a preference for intermarriage.

Economy

A forest people, the Dan have long pursued both sedentary agriculture and hunting.Contemporary Dan forest areas are economically dominated Diamond mining and rubber plantations.

Political Systems

Like many Mande cultures, societal organisation centers around "societies": either age group, caste, occupational, or geographic. In the recent historic period, Dan comunities were for the first (known) time allied into a political organization, created through the Leopard society ("go"). The Go spirit of the society focuses on peacemaking between communities which have often been in conflict. around the powerful spirit go, who is responsible for peacemaking. Although the power of go seems to Individual villages, even those unified under the Leopard society, still maintain a high degree of political independence.

Religion and tradition

The Dan have complex animist religious tradition. the "Tin" tradition of lavish gift giving, survives as a method of social advancement.

Art

Dan arts are notable for wood sculpture, producing a huge variety of masking traditions, each with unique forms and purposes. Artisan also produce traditional wooden spoons mancala board games.

References

* [http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Dan.html http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Dan.html]