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Within the Man region of the Ivory Coast, the young Yacouban acrobatic girl dancers dances to the beat of the tom toms giving the public a ritual show that at its heart has spiritual roots. As if made of rubber, the girl is bounced to and fro in front of a mesmerised audience and then is thrown into the air by the maestro and then caught on the tip(s) of a dagger (right picture notice the dagger in his right hand, normally performed with two) without any harm.
The acrobatic girls say that they can withstand the brusque movements of the maestro’s because they are convinced that a spirit is protecting them and with no fear is what makes them a daring acrobat. They take regular shows from town to town and when the girls turn eight years of age, they leave the stage and return home with a portion of the money raised by the performances and the maestro’s then choose another girl under seven years of age to take their place.
