West Africa • Language: More
The Mossi are a large ethnic group occupying the Volta River basin, south of the great curve in the Niger River in West Africa. They dominate the region between the Red and White Volts Rivers in Burkina-Faso and are the largest ethnic group in the country. They tend to live in small, walled-in compounds composed of several families, each compound approximately 100 yards from other compounds. These extended families have been broken up into nuclear families as the primary social unit. According to the tradition of Mossi’s ruling class, the Mossi descend from the marriage of a Yennenga, a warrior princess, and Rialé, a Mandé hunter. According to legend, they gave birth to the first authentic Mossi. The Mossi were able to conquer territories due to their mastery of the horse. They created a prosperous empire and kept peace in the region until the beginning of colonialism.
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Here is a collection of panAFRICAproject images by Lou Jones pertaining to the ethnographic group of "Mossi":
