The Mossi people originated in Burkina Faso, although significant numbers of Mossi live in neighboring countries, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Togo. In 1996, the estimated population of Burkina Faso was 10,623,323. Five to six million are probably Mossi; another 1.2 million Mossi live in Côte d’Ivoire.
Legendary origins[edit]
According to tradition, the Mossi come from the marriage of a Mamprusi princess and Mandé hunter.[citation needed]
Yennenga was a warrior princess, daughter of a Mamprusi king in upper east Ghana. While exploring her kingdom on horseback, she lost her way and was rescued by Rialé, a solitary Mandé hunter. They got married and gave birth to the first authentic Mossi, Ouedraogo, who is recognised as the father of Mossi people.[citation needed]
The Mossi are directly descended from the Mamprusi people and similarly live in upper east Ghana with a capital of Bawku/Nalerigu. These legendary origins apply only to the Nakomse (sing. Nakoambga), or the ruling class.citation needed]
French rule affected Mossi society and weakened the power of the Mossi emperor, the Mogho Naaba. Despite colonization, the Mogho Naaba was given some authority over the Mossi during the French colonial period. He is consulted today for crucial decisions, especially those affecting the destiny of society. Two great events have affected the status of the Mogho Naaba during colonization:
- During the initial phase of the French invasion, he retired to the Mamprusi kingdom with which the Mossi have always kept brotherly relations.
- In 1896, the Mogho accepted the French protectorate.
Mossi and several other peoples played a significant role in France’s military during World War II. They constituted part of the corps in the military troops of French West Africa, known in French as the Tirailleurs Sénégalais.[4]
Organization of Mossi society[edit]
The Mossi people have organised their society in an original hierarchic process in which family and state are the key elements.[2] The Mossi people are very heterogeneous. When horsemen invaded from the south they created a political or ruling class, called Nakomse (sing. Nakoambga), and a spiritual class called Tengabisi. All chiefs come from the ruling class. The Tengabisi include Saya (smiths), Nyonyose (farmers), Yarse (weavers and merchants), and others.
The origins of the Nyonyose are diverse: In the north their ancestors were Dogon and Kurumba, in the southwest their ancestors were Lela, Nuna, Sisala and others, and in the far east they were Gurmantche. These people were united into a new ethnicity called Mossi in about 1500.
It is a mistake to describe a “Nyonyosé tribe” or the “art of the Nyonyosé” because the Nyonyose do not exist outside Mossi society. All Nyonyosé are Mossi. At the same time, it is a mistake to assume that all segments of Mossi society are culturally identical, for the differences between the Nakomsé and the Tengabisi are striking; only the Tengabisi use masks, and only the Nakomsé use figures in the context of political celebrations. The Nakomse are the political class, and the Tengabisi are the spiritual class.
Mogho Naaba and the Nakomse[edit]
The highest position in Mossi society is that of the Emperor, who is given executive power. The Emperor’s role is to rule the entire population and to protect the kingdom. Today, he lives in Ouagadougou, the historical and present capital of Burkina Faso. Though the political dynamic of the country has changed, the Mogho Naaba (Emperor) is recognised by his people and has substantial authority.Naaba Zomb Wobgo, Andemtenga
Second to the Emperor come the nobles, Nakomse (“people of power”; sing. Nakoambga), who all are from the family of the Emperor, whether they be brothers, sisters, cousins, or otherwise. All dignitaries come from the Emperor’s family. The Nakomse are often assigned territories in the kingdom as governorships and rule in the name of the Mogho Naaba. As in the past, the Emperor needs the support of the “ancient ones”, his Nyon-nyonse (or gnon-gnon-sse) subjects to fully exercise his power. The Nyon-nyonse are the peoples who lived in Mossi-controlled regions before the Mossi.[5]
Mossi society is divided vertically into two major segments: the descendants of the horsemen who conquered the peoples on the Mossi plateau are called the Nakomse, and all Mossi chiefs come exclusively from the Nakomse class. These people use figures as political art to validate their rule over the peoples they conquered. The descendants of the ancient farming peoples who had occupied the land from the beginning of time and who, by right of first occupation, were and are the owners of the land are called the Tengabisi (“people of the earth”). These Tengabisi can be further divided into groups of smiths (Saya), groups of traders (Yarse) and, most important, groups of farmers (Nyonyose). Generally the smiths and the traders do not use masks, but the Nyonyose are the principal makers and users of masks in Mossi society.
Craftsmen and ordinary citizens[edit]
Arrival of a band of Mossi, 1892
They constitute the larger part of the population and are all subjects of the emperor. These two groups are generally fused but have internal subdivisions, each one having its own ruling family; they perform ceremonies and other important events. Mossi people often identify with groups; hence, at all levels, there is a hierarchy in Mossi society. In everyday life, the family hierarchy is most important, and family is often directly associated with the notion of hierarchy for the Mossi.
‘Mogonaba’ was what Leo Frobenius was told was the appropriate term for the emperor of Mossi at Wagadugu when he visited the country in 1904-6. His is one of the few disinterested reports as he was an anthropologist and not a missionary, representative of a European company, or military. He describes a court much like a European one (he may have an anti-aristocratic bias) with nobles in intrigues over commerce, power and industry. This report alone caused disbelief in Europe as no European source had ever considered Africans to be socially like Europeans. The lack of racism in Frobenius’ report and his discovery of an industrious people and what some would describe as a glorious past interested W.E.B. Du Bois in Frobenius’ other writings on Africa. Rudolf Blind’s translation in English of the Voice of Africa, published by Hutchinson & Co., produced some racist comments he thought necessary to conform with English sensitivities — otherwise he believed no Englishman would consider the book realistic.
An important contribution was made in the 1960s by the historian Elliott P. Skinner, who wrote at length about the sophistication of Mossi political systems in The Mossi of the Upper Volta: The Political Development of a Sudanese People. This was at a time when many African countries were gaining independence, and Skinner strongly made the point that African peoples were very clearly qualified to govern themselves.[6]