How the Baoule Tribe Got Its Name

March 28th, 2006

A tribe today known as the Baoule tribe of Ivory Coast, was once said to be slaves of the people of the Gold Coast, today known as Ghana. One night, tradition says, the slaves led by their Queen, began their escape from their captors. However, progress was stopped when they came to a huge river they could not cross. The Queen sought advice from the river god, who said a firstborn baby must be sacrificed to the crocodiles. After notifying her people of the river god’s demands and finding no volunteers, the Queen sacrificed her only child–a baby boy. As she threw her son into the river, she cried out in anguish, “Ba o wouli”, interpreted, “a child has died”. At that moment tradition says that lightening struck a tree which fell across the river, forming a bridge for the Queen and her people to walk over! After they had all crossed safely to the other side, a strong wind is said to have blown the tree downstream, so their captors could not follow them. The Queen named her people the “Baoule” tribe, because “Ba o wouli”, she cried, “‘a child had died’ to give us freedom!”