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Queen Pokou, or Awura, Aura, or Abla Pokou (c. 1730–1750) was Queen and founder of the Baoule tribe in West Africa, in what is today the Ivory Coast. She ruled over a branch of the powerful Ashanti Empire as it expanded westward. Also known as the Akan people, they became the ancestors of the largest tribe of modern Ivory Coast.
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Biography
Queen Pokou was born a princess of Kumasi, Ghana, daughter of Nyakou Kosiamoa, sister of Dakon, the ill-fated successor of Opoku Ware I, and niece of Osei Kofi Tutu I, a formidable king and co-founder of the Ashanti Empire.
Queen Pokou became leader of a breakaway group from the main Ashanti Confederacy, which she refused to join. Disagreements among the factions resulted in war in Ghana. Pokou led her group westward, through a long, arduous journey, to the Komoe River. Pokou asked her priest how to cross the river safely, and he told her a sacrifice was required. Pokou sacrificed her son, throwing the infant into the water and calling out "Ba ouli", "the child is dead". It is for this reason that her descendants are today known as the Baoule. After the sacrifice, hippopotamuses appeared and formed a bridge, by which Pokou and her people crossed to the other side.
After crossing the river, Pokou and her people settled into an agricultural way of life in the savannah of the area. The Baoule people today inhabit the territory between the Komoe and Bandama Rivers. The Baoule people are the largest tribe in modern Ivory Coast, having assimilated some smaller tribes over the centuries, but their influence has diminished since the 19th century. The story of Queen Pokou and the Baoule was retold by Maximilien Quenum in his Légendes africaines.
Legacy
Pokou has become a figure in popular culture within the Ivory Coast. She has been written about on several occasions, including Reine Pokou (translated into English as Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice?) by Véronique Tadjo, which won the Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire.
