© A. Alberghina
A little over 200 kilometres from the chaotic Abidjan, the country’s economic capital, is the small town of Abengourou, itself the capital of a small kingdom, the Agni of Indeniè. An iron but peaceful monarchy that relies on the wealth generated by the products of the land and shares with the Ashanti of neighbouring Ghana the cult of gold and the person of the king.
The Agni, descendants of a branch of the Akan group, migrated from Ghana to the Ivory Coast in the 18th century and, led by the sovereign Nanan Amoakon Dihye II, settled in the Abengourou region, which became the capital of the kingdom and, from 1883, the seat of the royal palace. A two-storey building, built entirely of bank, it was the residence of the Indeniè sovereigns until 1910, when King Boa Kouassi II ordered the construction of a second palace, larger and more sumptuous, in which to live with his family and court dignitaries.
The former residence, which had temporarily fallen into disuse, was recently renovated at the behest of the current king, Boa Kouassi III, the 17th of the Agni dynasty, and has become the seat of the royal court and an interesting museum housing artefacts relating to the history and culture of the Indeniè kingdom. Court traditions are still kept alive today thanks to the presence at the palace of dignitaries, notables and elders of the ‘chefferie’ council, who regularly hold lively celebrations that actively involve the entire population, who are called upon to bear witness to and renew their loyalty to their sovereign.