Culture of Burkina Faso

{{Short description|none}}

{{Culture of Burkina Faso}}

The culture of Burkina Faso in West Africa is also called the Burkinabé culture.

Two key elements of culture in Burkina Faso (a country once known as Upper Volta) are its indigenous masks and dancing. The masks used in this region of the western Sahel are made for rites of sacrifice to gods and animal spirits in the villages. Native dance, on the other hand, is employed to demonstrate the villagers' desire for blessings by the spirits.

Literature

{{main|Literature of Burkina Faso}}

Literature in Burkina Faso is based on the oral tradition, which remains important.{{cite book

| last = Salhi

| first = Kamal

| title = Francophone Voices

| publisher = Intellect Books

| date = 1999

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=G9u9TeDegXMC

| isbn =1-902454-03-0

| page = 37 }} In 1934, during French occupation, Dim-Dolobsom Ouedraogo published his Maximes, pensées et devinettes mossi (Maximes, Thoughts and Riddles of the Mossi), a record of the oral history of the Mossi people. The oral tradition continued to have an influence on Burkinabé writers in the post-independence Burkina Faso of the 1960s, such as Nazi Boni and Roger Nikiema.{{cite book

| last = Allan

| first = Tuzyline Jita

| title = Women's Studies Quarterly: Teaching African Literatures in a Global Literary

| publisher = Feminist Press

| date = 1997

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QD8TgZVWugYC

| isbn =1-55861-169-X

| page = 86 }} The 1960s saw a growth in the number of playwrights being published. Since the 1970s, literature has developed in Burkina Faso with many more writers being published.{{cite book

| last = Marchais

| first = Julien

| title = Burkina Faso

| publisher = Petit Futé

| date = 9 December 2006

| pages = 91–92

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6jsBLSzJWYsC

| language = fr

| isbn =2-7469-1601-0 }}

Slam poetry is becoming increasingly popular in the country, in part through the work of Malika Ouattara.{{Cite web |date=2018-02-06 |title=Malika la Slameuse |url=https://www.qgjeune.org/malika-la-slameuse/ |access-date=2021-02-23 |website=QG JEUNE |language=fr-FR }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Theatre

{{main|Theatre of Burkina Faso}}

Theatre of Burkina Faso combines traditional Burkinabé performance with the colonial influences and post-colonial efforts to educate rural people to produce a distinctive national theatre.

Cuisine

{{main|Cuisine of Burkina Faso}}

Cuisine of Burkina Faso, typically of west African cuisine, is based around staple foods of sorghum, millet, rice, maize, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams and okra.{{cite web

|title = Oxfam's Cool Planet - Food in Burkina Faso

|publisher = Oxfam

|url = http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/burkina/food.htm

|access-date = 2008-05-21

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120517115414/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/burkina/food.htm

|archive-date = 2012-05-17

}}

Media

{{main|Media of Burkina Faso}}

Art

{{Main|Art of Burkina Faso}}

File:Burkina faso artisan painted gourds.jpgs in Ouagadougou.]]

In addition to several rich traditional artistic heritages among the various peoples, there is also a large artist community in Burkina Faso, especially in Ouagadougou. Much of the crafts produced are for the growing tourist industry. Tigoung Nonma was set up by a group of disabled artisans and sells crafts to provide a sustainable income for disabled artisans in Burkina Faso.[http://www.internationalservice.org.uk/where_we_work/burkina_faso/partners_burkina_faso.aspx Our partners in Burkina Faso] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407084259/http://www.internationalservice.org.uk/where_we_work/burkina_faso/partners_burkina_faso.aspx |date=2014-04-07 }}. internationalservice.org.uk

Cinema

{{main|Cinema of Burkina Faso}}

File:BoboDioulasso-CineSanyonE.JPG

The Popular Theatre in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, is a center of social and cultural events for the country. Ouagadougou, is a major hub of activity for those involved in African cinema, and hosts a Pan-African film festival every year called FESPACO, the Pan-African film and television Festival of Ouagadougou, which is a world-renowned affair. Culture and art are further displayed at Laongo, an area of exposed granites where artists from the entire world are invited to sculpt on the rock.Burkina Faso (2006b). Sculptures de Laongo Burkina Faso Retrieved 04/12/ 2006 from [http://abc.burkina.faso.free.fr/] Idrissa Ouedraogo is from Burkina Faso.

Music

{{main|Music of Burkina Faso}}

Religion

{{main|Religion in Burkina Faso}}

While exact statistics on religion in Burkina Faso are not available and vary widely, the Government of Burkina Faso estimated in its most recent census (1996) that approximately 60 percent of the population practice Islam, and that the majority of this group belong to the Sunni branch, while remaining minorities adhere to the Shi'a branch, and significant numbers of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi, or Salafi traditions.[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90084.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Burkina Faso]. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Ahmadiyya Islam also has a large following.{{Cite book|title=Breach of Faith|quote=Estimates of around 20 million would be appropriate|publisher=Human Rights Watch|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yi8ONIe1fv4C&pg=PA8| date=June 2005}} The Government also estimated that 24 percent of the population maintains traditional indigenous beliefs, 17 percent practices Roman Catholicism, and 3 percent are members of various Protestant denominations.

Holidays

{{main|Public holidays in Burkina Faso}}

class="wikitable" style="float: center;"

|+Holidays{{cite web| title =Burkina Faso Public Holidays 2008| publisher =World Travel Guide| url =http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/45/public_holidays/Africa/Burkina-Faso.html| access-date =2008-06-06| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080531120143/http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/45/public_holidays/Africa/Burkina-Faso.html| archive-date =2008-05-31}}

style="font-size: smaller;" | Date

! style="font-size: smaller;" | English Name

January 1

| New Year's Day

January 3

| Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d'État

March 8

| International Women's Day

May 1

| Labour Day

August 4

| Revolution Day

August 5

| Independence Day

August 15

| Assumption

October 15

| Anniversary of the 1987 coup d’état

November 1

| All Saints' Day

December 11

| Proclamation of the Republic

December 25

| Christmas

References