Bouaké

About Bouaké

Bouaké (or Bwake, N’ko: ߓߐ߰ߞߍ߫ Bɔ̀ɔkɛ́) is the second-largest city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 740,000 (2021 census). It is the seat of three levels of subdivision—Vallée du Bandama District, Gbêkê Region, and Bouaké Department. The city is located in the central part of Ivory Coast about 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Lake Kossou, the country's largest lake. It is approximately 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of Abidjan on the Abidjan-Niger Railway and about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Yamoussoukro, the capital of the country.

For the name of the city Bouaké, there are two possible origins:

The corruption of the chief name Kwa Gbéké that made the foundations of the city of Bouaké.

The name Bouaké coming from two Baoulé words: "Boua" which means sheep and "Ké" which means dry. Thus it is the place where sheep are dried, as they would have seen Jula drying sheep skins when they arrived in Bouaké.

In the 1800s a group related to the Akan, the Assabou and Baoulé settled in the vicinity of where Bouaké was, initially the village was named Gbèkèkro, so named after the leader of the Baoulé, Gossan Kwa Gbeke and kro meaning town...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.