THE SACRED MONKEYS OF SOKO

In the town of Bondoukou lies the village of Soko — the last village before crossing into the neighboring country of Ghana. This village owes its fame to the monkeys with whom its people once lived side by side. The story goes that Nana Mela, the great hunter and founder of the village, returned from a hunt one day to find monkeys inside his home. Rather than driving them away, he chose to feed them, and they continued to share his space. Whenever he received visitors, the founder would ask them not to harm the monkeys, for he considered them his "brothers." The village land chief explains that every true descendant of Nana Mela must share their food with these monkeys. Before 2007, the monkeys would roam freely through the village, living alongside the villagers. However, since that time, they have retreated into the forest — partly due to the village's growth and development, and partly because the village children began throwing stones at them. There is a rather amusing story from the days when the monkeys still lived among the villagers: it was nearly impossible to send a child out to buy bread, because the moment a monkey spotted the child on their way back, it would swiftly snatch the loaf and devour it on the spot!