Unknown Dan

The Dan are a Mande ethnic group from northwestern Ivory Coast and neighboring Liberia.[1] There are approximately 700,000 members of the group and their largest settlement is Man, Ivory Coast. Neighboring peoples include the Krahn, Kpelle and Mano. They are officially known as Yacouba (or Yakouba) in Ivory Coast. In Liberia, they are also known as Gio (Bassa for "slave"), which is considered a derogatory exonym.

They speak the Dan language, a Southeast Mande language. The Dan are known for their art, especially their mask rituals (Ge or Gle), as well as their secret society, Gor. Gor (Dan for "leopard") is a peacemaking society, not to be confused with the brutal Ekpe (leopard) society of Nigeria.