Countries and Their Cultures: Mossi

The Mossi are the most prominent ethnic group in the modern nation of Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta). They are also well known in the anthropological literature as a society with an especially high rate of labor migration to neighboring countries. They are noted historically for their resistance to the regionally dominant Islamic states and missionaries, although their culture shows numerous Islamic influences. Mossi areas of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. There are three major components to Mossi religion: African belief in an otiose "High God," who created the universe but has no role in its daily life; supernatural powers that govern the two major elements of life: soil fertility and rainfall; and the ancestors in one's patrilineage. Mossi men weave cotton cloth, using the strip looms common in West Africa. Pottery, made by specialist lineages, is decorated with inscribed and painted designs, and western Mossi share the traditions of wood sculpture and masked dancing.