Have you ever heard about the rebel town or the city of the red rider? Well, these are the names given to Koudougou. Located 98 km west of the capital of Burkina Faso, Koudougou has an area of about 580 km2 with a population of 120,000 inhabitants (2018). Its emblem is the baobab tree and its demography and socio-economic and political development make it the third largest city in Burkina after Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Koudougou is the birthplace of several personalities such as Maurice Yaméogo (1921-1993), first president of Burkina Faso (Upper Volta at the time) as well as Norbert Zongo and Philippe Zinda Kabore. I had the opportunity to visit this city during an excursion with the AEM/UJKZ (Association of Medical Students section Joseph Ki Zerbo University). And it's there that I will take today.
Our stay lasted just 48 hours (from 12/09/2020 to 13/09/2020). Brief stay, yes, but really enriching. It was my first time to travel with so many people that I didn't know. Because out of the total of 53 people, I was familiar with only two of them. Even if I was a bit apprehensive, I was also very excited. The starting point was the Joseph Ki Zerbo University. We drove a little over 2 hours before entering the rebel city.
The first stop was, of course, the courtyard of the Lalle Naaba (Chief of the canton of Koudougou) where we talked for a while with His Majesty and some members of his court. During this meeting, he told us about the history of the construction of the ancient palace. He also launched a heartfelt appeal to the goodwill to safeguard this heritage because the state of this old palace was, unfortunately, deteriorating over the years. He encouraged us to always be ambassadors of our culture and to defend everywhere the values dear to our country. After a brief photo session, we said goodbye to His Majesty, our minds enriched with history and good advice.
The second stop was the Rayimi Museum, which opened its first room in July 2010. The museum has 4 rooms where are exhibited, pictures of the "Peres Blancs" from Romes evoking the arrival of Catholicism in the region; history of cotton, which is one of the economic factors of the city of Koudougou. In the third room there is an exhibition of musical instruments, masks, women's ornaments, weapons, while the last room recalls the history of the men and women who have marked the Issouka district. After lunch, we visited the Maasme palace and the museum in small groups. And at the end of the visit, we also talked with the chief of the place, His Majesty Naaba Saaga I.
From there, we headed to the Manon's caves (Important note: Never, ever go there in sandals, terrible idea haha). In fact, I hadn't foreseen that we would have to climb, so I didn't have any spare shoes and therefore I had to do with the sandals I had worn since the morning. The climb was not so difficult, but was very tiring though. I quickly forgot the tiredness when we reached the top where we visited the caves and contemplated a beautiful sunset. After that, we reach our residence (the St Abbe Pierre's hotel). After everyone settled down and taked a shower, we went out for dinner. The bus came back without us, so we walked back to the hotel. Most of went outside to explore 'Koudougou by night' but I needed to 'recharge' and the next morning, I had something else planned so, evening ended quietly for me.
Indeed, Koudougou is also the hometown of one of my friends in China. So I took the opportunity to greet his family. His cousine to picked me up early in the morning and brought me back a little before the breakfast time. The program of the day was not busy. Morning was reserved for SCOPH (The Standing Committee on Public Health activities) and various parlour games. We then packed our bags and stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, we stopped at a Gapal's store for those who wanted to buy some. Yet, it was time to say goodbye to the rebel town. But before returning to Ouagadougou, we went to the sacred crocodile pond of Sabou where the guide explained to us the history of the place. The bravest among us took pictures nearby the crocodiles (I was of course one of them haha).
Externals sources:
I really liked the experience 'cause I got to visit a city I did not visit before and rediscover a culture and a history that I knew only partially. It was also for me the opportunity to meet new people and to get out of my comfort zone. The stay was brief, but very interesting and instructive. I hope to have made you travel for a few minutes, and I wish you will be able to go there one of these days. Koudougou is waiting for you! Thank you for reading. May God bless you, take care.
Waouh !!! Tu as vraiment une bonne mémoire. Ça été vraiment une belle expérience