There was once no more harmonious paradise of diversity than Burkina Faso, the “land of upright people.”
Its 60 ethnic groups coexisted peacefully, thanks to “joking kinships” (parentés de plaisanterie), which allowed each group to gently mock the others, and vice-versa. Female genital mutilation had been partially eradicated, not by moral lectures (as morality isn’t universal), but by sending theater troupes (verbal culture) into villages to demonstrate its health risks.
The majority Muslims and Christians sometimes intermarried; it was enough for a spouse to adopt a false name to avoid causing discomfort. And animism remained the common foundation. Everything seemed so solid despite the poverty of this landlocked country!
It took only a few terrorist attacks to upset this balance. Some Fulanis were massacred, accused of complicity with the bandits. Coup plotters replaced elected leaders. Today, dissonances are observed within the government, as peace has still not returned. And who is relied upon to calm things down? The King of the Mossi, the majority ethnic group.
There is often a dual power structure in Africa, where the power inherited from the colonizer cannot do without customary chiefs. When things go wrong, people revert to the fundamentals.
On the Gapsmoov platform, see the gaps:
- Between written and oral.
- Between conflict and partnership.
- Between autocracy and empowerment.
The facts described in this editorial have been validated by our Burkinabe correspondent, Issaka.
Image: Mossi fertility doll and Lobi fetish.
