Mossi

The Mossi is one of the largest tribes (about 2,2 mil.) living in Burkina Faso.
Major Mossi towns are Ouagadougou, Kongoussi, Kaya and others.

The Mossi people have some communities: Tengabisi, Saaba, Yarsé, Nyonyosé and other. Saaba and Nyonyosé may be divided into groups that use totemic ancestral masks, and other peoples that do not use masks.

Fully 70 % of all Mossi practice their traditional, animist religion. Only 25 % have become Moslem, and the remaining 5 % are Christian.

The basic unit of Mossi society is the Yiri, the polygamous (more than one wife) nuclear family with a single adult male head, the Yirisoba.

The Mossi believe in a single crator named Wend, who animates all aspects of the environment with his force.

The Mossi mask represents an animal, wild or domestic, or human beings. This masks are totemic and include ram, small antelope, large antelope, hornbill, human albino and others.

Tghe Mossi produce several types of figures, including wooden figures that are used in burials, where they replace the corpse of the deceased chief. Smaller wooden figures are used in village ceremonies that honor the chief. Animal figures represent the ideal characteristics of the Mossi chief.