I Coast king seeks to exorcise coronavirus

KRINDJABO: An aide to an influential king in Ivory Coast has said the monarch could order a procession of naked women to ward off coronavirus by seeking the protection of spirits.

The king of Sanwi, based in the southeast of the world´s top cocoa grower, held a special exorcism ceremony last week seeking divine intervention to protect his three million subjects against the epidemic. Traditional kings and local chieftains have great authority and the event would normally have been attended by hundreds but due to coronavirus restrictions keeping gatherings to less than 50 people, a handful turned up. “I ask God ... to protect the population and keep this virus away from the kingdom, Ivory Coast and the world,” King Amon N´Douffou V said, speaking through his official announcer as royals do not address the public directly. Traditional “komians” or women healers dressed in white purified the royal court by sprinkling alcohol to the strains of the “abodan”, a traditional beat.

Those attending then daubed their faces with the wet earth as a sign of obeisance to the king and lifted their heads towards the sun. Such ceremonies are held to ward off natural disasters such as droughts or floods. Ivory Coast has more than 1,000 cases of the new coronavirus with 14 deaths and the government has roped in traditional rulers to enforce social distancing and other measures.