Burkina Faso People Groups

According to the latest estimates, there are 13.9 million people living in Burkina Faso, which is roughly the size of Nevada. Interestingly, Nevada has a population of only 2.3 million, even though it is similar in size and climate. The population of Burkina Faso roughly compares to the population of the state of Pennsylvania or Ohio.

There are 63 distinct people groups in Burkina Faso each with its own language. The Mossi people make up about 50% of the population. Other major groups are the Gourmantche, Fulani, Lobi, Senoufo, Gourounsi, Bwa, and Bobo.

In northeastern Burkina Faso where Verbree International is establishing a demonstration farm, there are three primary people groups.

Mossi

Geography

The land of the Mossi is the central high plateau region of Burkina Faso. Elevations there range from 3,200-5,000 feet. The area is drained by the White Volta River. Major Mossi towns include Ouagadougou, Kaya, Ouahigouya, Kongoussi, and Koudougou. The plateau was once open savanna with scattered trees, but has mostly been cleared for farmland. The Mossi are primarily farmers who grow millet, sorghum, maize, peanuts, and sesame.

History

Sometime around 1400, as Mossi oral tradition states, a certain young warrior princess named Yennenga fled to Burkina Faso from the northern Ghanaian kingdom of Dagomba and married a elephant hunter named Riale. They had a son, whom they named Ouedraogo, which means “horseman”. Ouedraogo, with the help of his grandfather's cavalry, conquered the local peoples in southern Burkina Faso and established a kingdom there. Successive kings or “Mogho Nabas” moved the capital to Ouagadougou and conquered other peoples of the plateau as far north as Yatenga. The Mossi kingdoms successfully held off invasions by various outside forces including the Fulani until the French came and took control in 1897.

Government and Social Groups

The invading Mossi forces were known as the “Nakomse” and became the ruling class, while the conquered people called “Nyonyose” or “Tengabisi” (meaning “children of the earth”) remained farmers. The tengabisi were put under the control of a “tenganaba” (chief) who collected taxes, raised armies, and maintained order. Even though these two groups intermarried throughout time, there are still cultural differences that remain between them, especially with the making and use of masks. A subgroup of tengabisi, called the “Saaba” (blacksmiths) are still around today.

Language

The Mossi people speak Moore (pronounced moor-ay). It is part of the Voltaic group of languages and holds many similarities with the languages of northern Ghana. Most scholars agree that Moore was brought in with the invading Nakomse and that the conquered people were forced to learn it.

Community

The Mossi live together in extended families in a compound (zaka) with a number of round, mud-brick huts having conical straw roofs. Surrounding the compound is a mud-brick wall. The higher the wall, the wealthier and higher-ranking the family. The head of the family lives in a rectangular building with a flat, beaten earth at the center of the compound and each of his wives lives in her own round hut with her young children. Older, unmarried children live together in separate huts as do married couples. Buildings for grain and animal storage are located inside the compound as are areas for grinding grain and preparing meals. Zakas are often separated by large areas of fields and bush. Several zakas in a vicinity make up a “budu” or patriclan. A Mossi village may be composed of several budus. Villagers are usually part of the same sub-group (i.e. Nakomse, Saaba, or Tengabisi).

Religion and Culture

Although some Mossi have converted to Islam or Christianity, many still practice an animist religion. They believe in a supreme being called Wende who “animates” himself in all of nature. Thus, the Mossi believe that everyone, including those living and ancestors long dead, has a soul that is linked to an animal. Each clan has an animal-totem, or a certain animal that contains their clan's souls-it may be a crocodile, serpent, rabbit, etc. Clan members must not kill or eat this animal for to kill this animal will result in the death of someone in your clan. Each clan has a myth or legend to explain why they have a particular animal-totem.

The Mossi are also concerned with keeping the ways of their ancestors, for ancestors have control over the forces of nature and can benefit or harm a descendant. They can punish with a disease, drought, or other physical infirmity or they can reward with a good harvest and the birth of many children. The Mossi seek to communicate with and appease ancestors by offering sacrifices at the ancestral shrine of the clan. Carved wooden masks of animal-totems are also used to communicate with ancestors and are seen as the reincarnation of dead ancestors. They are principally used at funerals to guide the spirit of the dead to the other world, to protect the individual's wild fruit trees, and as altars for sacrifices.

Carved figurines are similarly used in religious sacrifices and rituals, and they also often symbolize local political power. They may be made from wood or brass. Many other things such as wooden dolls, statutes, head dresses, costumes, dancing, and songs are a part of Mossi religion and culture.

Gourmantche

Geography

The Gourmantche occupy the eastern and southeastern part of Burkina Faso. They are also present in the neighboring country of Niger. Major Gourmantche towns include Fada N'Gourma and Bogande. The Gourmantche cultivate crops during the rainy season and herd during the dry season. They primarily grow millet, sorghum, and groundnuts.

History

According to tradition, a certain king named Jaba Lompo emigrated from northern Ghana about the same time as the Mossi invaders. He became ruler over the local people and established himself at Fada N'Gourma.

Language

The Gourmantche speak the Gourma language

Community

The Gourmantche live in round mud-brick huts in a circular compound surrounded by a woven grass fence. These types of compounds are distinctive from others in Burkina Faso.

Fulani (Peul)

Geography

The Fulani are nomadic herders and traders. They are the largest nomadic people group in the world. They live all across the Sahel region of West Africa from Senegal to Central African Republic. The Fulani make up 8-10% of the population in Burkina Faso, and primarily live in the north and northeast part of the country. The Fulani trade meat, milk, and leather goods from their cattle to sedentary farmers for agricultural products. Some Fulani are semi-nomadic with women and children remaining in settled villages.

History

Over a thousand years ago, the Fulani lived in the Sahelian grasslands of Senegal and by the seventeenth century spread eastward, living among more settled people. They retained a separate identity and political structure from the people they settled among, but are credited with spreading Islam throughout much of the region. In the eighteenth century, the Fulani were united under Usman dan Fodio, who waged holy war or jihad against the Hausa peoples of northern Nigeria. Fodio successfully established kingdoms in Nigeria and Niger, but failed to conquer the Mossi states in Burkina Faso. Eventually, Fulani kingdoms fell to the French by the 1890's.

Government and Social Groups

Fulani leaders rule over people who may pay tribute or gifts in exchange for having their interests protected. There are four basic social groups including the nobility, merchant class, blacksmiths, and descendants of slaves. The Fulani are lighter-skinned than other African peoples possibly because they are of North African or Arabic origin.

Language

The Fulani speak Fulfulde, a language of the Niger-Congo group.

Religion and Culture

Most Fulani practice Islam in varying degrees. The wealthy and powerful are typically more devout though many Fulani adhere to a “Folk Islam” that includes some animist beliefs. The Fulani are a proud people concerned with beauty and not showing any emotion or fear. Cattle are very important to them. The number of cattle a person owns is a sign of his wealth.

References

• African People and Culture, Fulani
• Art and Life in Africa Online
• CIA World Factbook, Burkina Faso, 2006
• Gurma Culture
• History of Africa, Kevin Shillington, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1995
• US Census Bureau, State and County Quick Facts
• The Art of Burkina Faso, Christopher Roy, 2002