Bondoukou

---

title: "Bondoukou" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["french-west-africa", "sub-prefectures-of-gontougo", "district-capitals-of-ivory-coast", "communes-of-gontougo", "regional-capitals-of-ivory-coast", "1899-establishments-in-the-french-colonial-empire", "wangara-trade-towns"] topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondoukou" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Bondoukou
other_name	Bonduku; Bontuku
settlement_type	City, sub-prefecture, and commune
image_skyline	Bondoukou kourouby c1910.jpg
imagesize	300px
image_caption	Bondoukou in 1910
image_map	File:Txu-oclc-6595921-nc30-15 crop southwest.jpg
mapsize	340px
map_caption	Region around Bondoukou town, showing international border in red, c. 1957.
dot_x
pushpin_map	Ivory Coast
pushpin_label_position	bottom
pushpin_mapsize	300
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Ivory Coast
coordinates_footnotes	tags --
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Ivory Coast
subdivision_type1	District
subdivision_name1	Zanzan
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_name2	Gontougo
subdivision_type3	Department
subdivision_name3	Bondoukou
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Kone Hiliassou
established_title2
established_title3
unit_pref	Metric
area_total_km2	725
area_land_km2
population_as_of	2021 census
population_footnotes
population_note	(2014 census)
population_total	141568
population_blank1_title	City
population_blank1	88783
population_density_km2	auto
population_density_urban_sq_mi
timezone	GMT
utc_offset	+0
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m	343
postal_code_type
::

|name = Bondoukou |other_name = Bonduku; Bontuku |native_name = |nickname = |settlement_type = City, sub-prefecture, and commune |motto = |image_skyline = Bondoukou kourouby c1910.jpg |imagesize = 300px |image_caption = Bondoukou in 1910 |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |image_map = File:Txu-oclc-6595921-nc30-15 crop southwest.jpg |mapsize =340px |map_caption = Region around Bondoukou town, showing international border in red, c. 1957. |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = Ivory Coast |pushpin_label_position =bottom |pushpin_mapsize =300 |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Ivory Coast |coordinates_footnotes = tags -- |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Ivory Coast |subdivision_type1 = District |subdivision_name1 = Zanzan |subdivision_type2 = Region |subdivision_name2 = Gontougo |subdivision_type3 = Department |subdivision_name3 = Bondoukou |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Kone Hiliassou |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 =
|established_date2 = |established_title3 =
|established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref =Metric |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = 725 |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2021 census |population_footnotes = |population_note = (2014 census) |population_total = 141568 |population_blank1_title = City |population_blank1 = 88783 |population_density_km2 = auto |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = GMT |utc_offset = +0 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m =343 |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type =
|postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = Bondoukou (var. Bonduku, Bontuku) is a city in northeastern Ivory Coast, 420 km northeast of Abidjan. It is the seat of both Zanzan District and Gontougo Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Bondoukou Department.

Bondoukou is situated near the border with Ghana, just across the border from the Ghanaian town of Sampa. The city lies at the junction of the main A1 highway, with roads to Sorobango to the north and Ghana to the east.

History

Founding

The area that would become Boundoukou was originally inhabited by the Gbin, Loro and Nafana clans. The town was founded by Soninke Wangara merchants (the ancestors of the Dyula people) in the mid 18th century shortly before or immediately following the destruction of Bighu at the hands of the Ashanti Empire.

Bonduku became the "premier settlement of the Bighu Juula after the collapse of the older town." "This town was established by the major part of the inhabitants of Bego...the Hausa have given it the name of Bitu...regarding it as simply having changed its location."

Originally a Dyula trading center, Bondoukou was conquered by the Abron, an Akan people, in the early seventeenth century; it soon became the economic hub of the Gyaaman kingdom. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Pg177_Bondoukou.jpg" caption="Map of Bondoukou in 1892"] ::

Colonial Period

On 13 November 1888, the French officer Treich-Laplène signed a Protectorate treaty with the Abron king of Bondoukou, but the city fell to Samori between September 1895 and July 1897. Unlike nearby centers, he did not destroy the old city, but deposed the Abron in favour of the Muslim Dyula. The French incorporated the town into French West Africa in 1899. At the end of the colonial period, the town had shrunk to large village, eclipsed by the nearby administrative center of Loti.

Post-Independence

In 1964 Boundoukou was made administrative center for its region, and as since regained its status, and is the seat of the Prefect governing Bouna, Tanda, and Bondoukou Departments. In 1980, the town came to prominence as the home of the first secondary school strikes by students opposed to the PDCI-RDA government. On the dividing line between government and rebel zones of control during the Ivorian Civil War, Bondoukou became the main north-eastern base of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI).

The 1990s and 2000s saw periodic ethnic conflict between the Bondoukou Kulango farmers (a Gur people who form the Nkurang of Ghana) and the Lobi people, recently migrated from Bouna Department. Conflicts between the two ethnic groups date from at least 1993, when clashes erupted over attempts by Lobi pastoralists to resettle in the area. Clashes and counter clashes have killed several dozen people in the villages of Abouabou, Gonzaqueville, and Marahui with escalations taking place during the Ivorian Civil War in 2002 and in 2008. The informal ceasefire line of the Civil War ran through Bondoukou Department, leaving most of Zanzan (excluding Bouna Department) under central government control.

Population

In the 2014 census, the city had a population of 117,453. This represents a dramatic increase from an estimated 45,000 in 2005, and 60,000 in 2007.

The city's role as a trade center has made it home to a diverse population. The walled old city (Medina) includes ethnic neighbourhoods from far flung groups who originally came to the area as part of long distance trade networks. These include the Donzoso of the Donzo-Ouattara Dyula (related to the warrior Ouattara clans of the Kong Empire), the Jiminiso/Limamso of the Timité Dyula (which is home to the most prominent Muslim schools), the Hausa merchant town quarter of Malagaso, as well as the mostly Christian Bambaraso quarter. Other traditional Muslim neighbourhoods, each with their own clan leader and identity, include the Karidyulaso, Kamagaya, Koko, Hwelaso, Neneya, and Koumalaso quarters. Neighborhoods, like the Abron Mont Zanzan area, lie outside the old city, which is bounded by the Wamo river on the southwest. The Baya river also borders the suburbs to the west. Because of the influence of populations from the north, many Bondoukou mosques are of the Sudanic architectural style, more common northern cities like Timbuktu or Djenne. This further led to the town's importance as a center of religious learning.

The French introduced Christianity, and the town is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bondoukou. Prominent buildings include the house used by French explorer Louis Gustave Binger, Samori's headquarters, the old market building which houses the "Bondoukou Museum of Art and Traditions" ("Musée des Arts et des Traditions"), and the Limamisso and Kamagaya mosques. Outside the old town, major neighbourhoods include "Mont Zanzan", "Lycée", "TP", and "Camp Militaire."

Outside the town, historic sites include an Akan ceremonial center at Soko (just east), pottery works at Montiamo, the treasure house of the Abron war-leader at Wéletchéi (just north), and the French colonial era plantations at Goli (just west). The town is also known for cultural events, including the yam harvest festival, and the Sakaraboutou (warriors' parade) and Kourouby women's parade (both celebrated at the end of Ramadan). Apart from Diola, Mande, and Akan peoples, the Gontougo Department is home to a patchwork of ethnic groups including the Nafaanra, Koulango, and Lobi.

Administration

In 1978 Bondoukou was made one of the 27 communes de plein exercice or self-governing towns in the nation. In the 2011 reorganisation of the subdivisions of Ivory Coast, Bondoukou became a sub-prefecture.

::data[format=table title="style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"| List of Mayors"]

Date of Election	Name	Party
1980	Fétigué Koulibaly	PDCI-RDA
1985	Yaya Ouattara	PDCI-RDA
1990	Lamine Ouattara	PDCI-RDA
1995	Félix Kouakou Dapa	PDCI-RDA
2001	Félix Kouakou Dapa	PDCI-RDA
::

Services

The town is home to several schools (from primary to post-secondary), a regional hospital and an Ivorian second division Football club, Scaraboutou sports de Bondoukou. Bondoukou has an airport, Soko Airport, with IATA code BDK. In 2014, the population of the sub-prefecture of Bondoukou was 117,453.

Villages

The twenty eight villages of the sub-prefecture of Bondoukou and their population in 2014 are:

1. Bondoukou (88 783)
2. Goli (434)
3. Motiamo (1 779)
4. Ouélékéi (1 174)
5. Sanguéi (566)
6. Soko (6 501)
7. Songori (1 432)
8. Abéma (566)
9. Assouangui (271)
10. Bodem (156)
11. Boromba (3 070)
12. Ganhimi (755)
13. Gbagnagassié (321)
14. Gbaki (271)
15. Gbokoré-Pinango (336)
16. Guimini (347)
17. Kiendi-Ba (1 437)
18. Kouassi-N'dawa (1 654)
19. Nagabaré-Gboko (505)
20. Pougouvagne (501)
21. Sabi (463)
22. Sama (151)
23. Séréoudé (2 461)
24. Similibi (571)
25. Sipa (739)
26. Sogobo (622)
27. Témogossié (860)
28. Tissié (727)

Climate

|location = Bondoukou |single line = Yes |metric first = Yes |Jan high C = 33.7 |Feb high C = 35.0 |Mar high C = 34.5 |Apr high C = 32.8 |May high C = 31.6 |Jun high C = 29.5 |Jul high C = 27.9 |Aug high C = 27.6 |Sep high C = 28.7 |Oct high C = 30.5 |Nov high C = 32.0 |Dec high C = 32.2 |year high C = 31.3 |Jan mean C = 26.4 |Feb mean C = 28.0 |Mar mean C = 28.2 |Apr mean C = 27.5 |May mean C = 26.6 |Jun mean C = 25.2 |Jul mean C = 24.3 |Aug mean C = 24.0 |Sep mean C = 24.3 |Oct mean C = 25.3 |Nov mean C = 26.0 |Dec mean C = 25.5 |year mean C = 25.9 |Jan low C = 19.6 |Feb low C = 21.6 |Mar low C = 22.5 |Apr low C = 22.5 |May low C = 22.2 |Jun low C = 21.3 |Jul low C = 20.9 |Aug low C = 20.7 |Sep low C = 20.7 |Oct low C = 20.9 |Nov low C = 21.1 |Dec low C = 19.7 |year low C = 21.1 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 7.9 |Feb precipitation mm = 26.9 |Mar precipitation mm = 92.3 |Apr precipitation mm = 123.7 |May precipitation mm = 156.1 |Jun precipitation mm = 160.2 |Jul precipitation mm = 96.5 |Aug precipitation mm = 90.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 175.1 |Oct precipitation mm = 130.5 |Nov precipitation mm = 31.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 11.1 |year precipitation mm = 1101.9 |Jan sun = 227.0 |Feb sun = 221.0 |Mar sun = 212.9 |Apr sun = 205.4 |May sun = 207.0 |Jun sun = 157.7 |Jul sun = 111.4 |Aug sun = 90.4 |Sep sun = 118.7 |Oct sun = 186.5 |Nov sun = 196.6 |Dec sun = 202.9 |year sun = 2137.5 |source 1 = NOAA{{Cite FTP | url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/IV/65545.TXT | server = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | title = Bondoukou Climate Normals 1961–1990 | accessdate = March 8, 2015}} |date=March 2015

Notable people

• Timité Sekou (born 1985), Ivorian footballer

References

• Muhammad, Akbar. The Samorian Occupation of Bondoukou: An Indigenous View. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2 (1977), pp. 242–258.
• Drinking the Word of God. Expressions of Faith and the Search for Well-Being in Two West African Communities. March 18, 2001 - January 20, 2002. Short history and photo gallery, Michigan State University, retrieved 2008-09-10.
• Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article :fr:Bondoukou, 2008-09-10.

References

1. "Ivory Coast Cities Longitude & Latitude". sphereinfo.com.
2. [https://www.citypopulation.de/en/ivorycoast/sub/admin/ Citypopulation.de] Population of the regions and sub-prefectures of Ivory Coast
3. [https://www.citypopulation.de/en/ivorycoast/cities/ Citypopulation.de] Population of cities & localities in Ivory Coast
5. [http://www.rezoivoire.net/news/article/3306/ Conflit foncier dans le nord ivoirien : 8 morts et 21 blessés]. Places Bondoukou 424 km NE of capitol. APA : 8/9/2008
6. (2000). "The Wangara, an Old Soninke Diaspora in West Africa?". Cahiers d'Études Africaines.
7. (2012). "Imams of Gonja The Kamaghate and the Transmission of Islam to the Volta Basin". Cahiers d'Études Africaines.
8. Wilks,Ivor. Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. (1997). "Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas". Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited.
9. [http://www.rezoivoire.net/cotedivoire/patrimoine/131/le-royaume-abron-de-bondoukou.html Le royaume Abron de Bondoukou], retrieved 2008-09-10
10. [https://arpanonair.blogspot.com/2008/04/bondoukou-cote-divoire-ii.html Bondoukou, Cote d'Ivoire], reflections of UN Worker, 2008.
11. [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kzc Ethnologue code "kzc"]
12. [http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=86&art_id=nw20080908151726585C250460 Ethnic violence flares up in Ivory Coast], IOL News, September 08 2008.
13. (November 2016)
14. "Côte d'Ivoire".
15. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080414153525/http://www.geocities.com/bondoukou2000/ bondoukou2000 website], retrieved 2008-09-10.
16. As these neighbourhoods are important for the traditional parades, they are detailed in Arnut, pp. 121-150.
17. [http://www.aodl.org/bondoukou.php "Mosques of Bondoukou" photo collection] {{webarchive. link. (December 1, 2008 : Ray Silverman (1987), [[African Online Digital Library]])
18. Drinking the Word of God, 2002
19. link. (2009-03-19 . Chapter II: 'Sakaraboutou is a Bondoukou custom': an investigation into ritual spaces and performative positions. pp.115-202, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Ghet (2004).
    "la ville aux mille mosquées" [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027094738/http://geocities.com/bondoukou2000/tourisme.htm bondoukou2000 website] & [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027094745/http://geocities.com/bondoukou2000/tradition.htm ''Traditions''] on the same site.)
20. Loi no 78-07 du 9 janvier 1978
21. "RGPH 2014, Répertoire des localités, Région Gontougo".

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