Marka people
Maraka leads here. For other uses, see Maraka The Marka people are a Mande people of northwest Mali, they speak the a Manding language. Muslim merchant communities at the time of the Bambara Empire, the Maraka controlled the desert-side trade between the sahel communities and nomadic berber tribes who crossed the Sahara; the Bambara integrated Maraka communities into their state structure, Maraka trading posts and plantations multiplied in the Segu based state and its Kaarta vassals in the 18th and early 19th centuries. When the pagan Bambara empire was defeated by the Maraka's fellow Muslim Umar Tall in the 1850s, the Maraka's unique trade and landholdings concessions suffered damage from which they never recovered. Today there are only around 25,000 Marka speakers, they are integrated amongst their Soninke and Bambara neighbors. Richard L. Roberts. Warriors and Slaves: The State and the Economy in the Middle Niger Valley 1700-1914. Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-1378-2. Richard L. Roberts.
Production and Reproduction of Warrior States: Segu Bambara and Segu Tokolor, c. 1712-1890. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 13,No. 3,pp. 389–419
Provinces of Burkina Faso
The regions of Burkina Faso are divided into 45 administrative provinces. These 45 provinces are sub-divided into 351 departments or communes. Here is a list of the provinces, with their capitals in parentheses: Balé Banwa Kossi Mouhoun Nayala Sourou Comoé Léraba Kadiogo Boulgou Koulpélogo Kouritenga Bam Namentenga Sanmatenga Boulkiemdé Sanguié Sissili Ziro Bazèga Nahouri Zoundwéogo Gnagna Gourma Komondjari Kompienga Tapoa Houet Kénédougou Tuy Loroum Passoré Yatenga Zondoma Ganzourgou Kourwéogo Oubritenga Oudalan Séno Soum Yagha Bougouriba Ioba Noumbiel Poni Geography of Burkina Faso Regions of Burkina Faso Communes of Burkina Faso ISO 3166-2:BF Provinces of Burkina Faso at Statoids.com
FESTIMA
The Festival International des Masques et des Arts, or FESTIMA, is a cultural festival celebrating traditional African masks held in Dédougou, Burkina Faso. Founded to help preserve traditional cultural practices in the modern age, FESTIMA features masks and traditions from several West African countries, it is held biennially in even-numbered years. The next edition, the fourteenth, will be held from February 24 to March 3, 2018. In 1996, a group of Burkinabé students founded ASAMA, the Association for the Protection of Masks, in order to promote and preserve traditional mask practices. One of the concerns is; the masks' origins are religious in nature being associated with animism. Animism and other traditional beliefs are minority religions in modern Burkina Faso, with estimates indicating they are practiced by between 7.8 and 15 percent of the population. The majority religion in the country is Islam. However, members of ASAMA believe that traditional masks can still be important culturally to those for whom they are not important religiously.
According to Ki Leonce, executive director of ASAMA, "There are two aspects about masks. One is cult and the other is culture; the thirteenth edition of the festival was held from February 27 to March 5, 2016, featured masks from over 50 communities from six West African countries: Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali and Togo. ASAMA estimated; the primary events of FESTIMA are the performances, where mask wearers dance, accompanied by musicians playing hand drums and balafons. Sometimes, a translator is present to interpret the meaning of the dance; some of the ethnic groups whose traditions are represented are the Bwaba and Yoruba. FESTIMA includes seminars on historical and cultural topics, storytelling competitions, educational events for children, a marketplace. Official site
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, French Sudan, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta and Niger. The capital of the federation was Dakar; the federation existed from 1895 until 1960. Until after the Second World War none of the Africans living in the colonies of France were citizens of France. Rather, they were "French subjects", lacking rights before the law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote; the exception was the Four Communes of Senegal: those areas had been towns of the tiny Senegal Colony in 1848 when, at the abolition of slavery by the French Second Republic, all residents of France were granted equal political rights. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was French, they could vote in parliamentary elections, dominated by white and Métis residents of Senegal. The Four Communes of Senegal were entitled to elect a deputy to represent them in the French parliament in 1848–1852, 1871–1876, 1879–1940.
In 1914, the first African, Blaise Diagne, was elected as the deputy for Senegal in the French Parliament. In 1916, Diagne pushed a law through the National Assembly granting full citizenship to all residents of the so-called Four Communes. In return, he promised to help recruit millions of Africans to fight in World War I. Thereafter, all black Africans of Dakar, Gorée, Saint-Louis, Rufisque could vote to send a representative to the French National Assembly; as the French pursued their part in the scramble for Africa in the 1880s and 1890s, they conquered large inland areas, at first ruled them as either a part of the Senegal colony or as independent entities. These conquered areas were governed by French Army officers, dubbed "military territories". In the late 1890s, the French government began to rein in the territorial expansion of its "officers on the ground", transferred all the territories west of Gabon to a single governor based in Senegal, reporting directly to the Minister of Overseas Affairs.
The first governor-general of Senegal was named in 1895, in 1904, the territories he oversaw were formally named French West Africa. Gabon would become the seat of its own federation French Equatorial Africa, to border its western neighbor on the modern boundary between Niger and Chad. After the Fall of France in June 1940 and the two battles of Dakar against the Free French Forces in July and September 1940, authorities in West Africa declared allegiance to the Vichy regime, as did the colony of French Gabon in AEF. Gabon fell to Free France after the Battle of Gabon in November 1940, but West Africa remained under Vichy control until the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942. Following World War II, the French government began a process of extending limited political rights in its colonies. In 1945 the French Provisional Government allocated ten seats to French West Africa in the new Constituent Assembly called to write a new French Constitution. Of these five would be elected by five by African subjects.
The elections brought to prominence a new generation of French-educated Africans. On 21 October 1945 six Africans were elected, the Four Communes citizens chose Lamine Guèye, Senegal/Mauritania Léopold Sédar Senghor, Ivory Coast/Upper Volta Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Dahomey/Togo Sourou-Migan Apithy, Soudan-Niger Fily Dabo Sissoko, Guinea Yacine Diallo, they were all re-elected to the 2nd Constituent Assembly on 2 June 1946. In 1946, the Loi Lamine Guèye granted some limited citizenship rights to natives of the African colonies; the French Empire was renamed the French Union on 27 October 1946, when the new constitution of the French Fourth Republic was established. In late 1946 under this new constitution, each territory was for the first time able elect local representatives, albeit on a limited franchise, to newly established General Councils; these elected bodies had only limited consultative powers. The Loi Cadre of 23 June 1956 brought universal suffrage to elections held after that date in all French African colonies.
The first elections under universal suffrage in French West Africa were the municipal elections of late 1956. On 31 March 1957, under universal suffrage, territorial Assembly elections were held in each of the eight colonies; the leaders of the winning parties were appointed to the newly instituted positions of Vice-Presidents of the respective Governing Councils — French Colonial Governors remained as Presidents. The Constitution of the French Fifth Republic of 1958 again changed the structure of the colonies from the French Union to the French Community; each territory was to become a "Protectorate", with the consultative assembly named a National Assembly. The Governor appointed by the French was renamed the "High Commissioner", made head of state of each territory; the Assembly would name an African as Head of Government with advisory powers to the Head of State. The federation ceased to exist after the September 1958 referendum to approve this French Community. All the colonies except Guinea voted to remain in the new structure.
Guineans voted overwhelmingly for independence. In 1960, a further revision of the French constitution, compelled by the failure of the French Indochina War and the tensions in Algeria, allowed members of the French Community to unilaterally change their own constitutions. Senegal and former French Sudan became the Mali Federation, while
Boucle du Mouhoun Region
Boucle du Mouhoun is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. It was created on 2 July 2001 and had a population of 1,434,847 in 2006, it is the 2nd most populous region in Burkina Faso after Centre Region, contains 10.5% of all Burkinabé. The region's capital is Dédougou. Six provinces make up the Boucle du Mouhoun region—Balé, Kossi, Mouhoun and Sourou; as of 2010, the population of the region was 1,586,748 with 50.63 per cent females. The population in the region was 10.09 per cent of the total population of the country. The coverage of cereal need compared to the total production of the region was 187.00 per cent. As of 2007, the literacy rate in the region was 23.2 per cent, compared to a national average of 28.3 per cent. Most of Burkino Faso is a wide plateau is called falaise de Banfora. There are three major rivers, the Red Volta, Black Volta and White Volta, which cuts through different valleys; the climate is hot, with unreliable rains across different seasons. Gold and quartz are common minerals found across the country, while manganese deposits are common.
The dry season is from October to May and rains are common during the wet season from June to September. The soil texture is porous and hence the yield is poor; the average elevation is around 200 m to 300 m above mean sea level. Among West African countries, Burkino Faso has the largest elephant population and the country is replete with game reserves; the southern regions have Savannah and forests. The principal river is the Black Volta, that originates in the southern region and drains into Ghana; the areas near the rivers have flies like tsetse and similium, which are carriers of sleep sickness and river blindness. The average rainfall in the region is around 100 cm compared to northern regions that receive only 25 cm rainfall; as of 2010, the population of the region was 1,586,748 with 50.63 per cent females. The population in the region was 10.09 per cent of the total population of the country. The child mortality rate was 72, infant mortality rate was 69 and the mortality of children under five was 135.
As of 2007, among the working population, there were 60.40 per cent employees, 17.40 per cent underemployed, 20.80 per cent inactive people, 22.00 per cent not working and 1.20 unemployed people in the region. The main languages spoken in Boucle du Mouhoun as of 2006 were Moore and Samo. French is the official language throughout the country; as of 2007, there were 693.9 km of highways, 649.3 km of regional roads and 741.5 km of county roads. The first set of car traffic was 26, first set of two-wheeler traffic was 5,308 and the total classified road network was 2,085; the total corn produced during 2015 was 198,920 tonnes, cotton was 267,536 tonnes, cowpea was 67,212 tonnes, ground nut was 36,612 tonnes, millet was 254,707 tonnes, rice was 51,142 tonnes and sorghum was 262,942 tonnes. The coverage of cereal need compared to the total production of the region was 187.00 per cent. As of 2007, the literacy rate in the region was 23.2 per cent, compared to a national average of 28.3 per cent. The gross primary enrolment was 69 per cent, pos-primary was 21.2 per cent and gross secondary school enrolment was 6.
There were 356 boys and 155 girls enroled in the primary and post-secondary level. There were 16 teachers in primary & post-secondary level, while there were 692 teachers in post-primary and post-secondary level. Burkina Faso gained independence from France in 1960, it was called Upper Volta. There have been military coups until 1983 when Captain Thomas Sankara took control and implemented radical left wing policies, he was outsed by Blaise Compaore, who continued for 27 years until 2014, when a popular uprising ended his rule. As per Law No.40/98/AN in 1998, Burkina Faso adhered to decentralization to provide administrative and financial autonomy to local communities. There are each governed by a Governor; the regions are subdivided into 45 provinces. The communes are interchangeable. There are other administrative entities like village. An urban commune has 10,000 people under it. If any commune is not able to get 75 per cent of its planned budget in revenues for 3 years, the autonomy is taken off.
The communes are administered by elected Mayors. The communes are stipulated to develop economic and cultural values of its citizens. A commune has financial autonomy and can interact with other communes, government agencies or international entities
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It covers an area of around 274,200 square kilometres and is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north; the July 2018 population estimate by the United Nations was 19,751,651. Burkina Faso is a francophone country, with French as the official language of government and business. 40% of the population speaks the Mossi language. Called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara, its citizens are known as Burkinabé. Its capital is Ouagadougou; the Republic of Upper Volta was established on 11 December 1958 as a self-governing colony within the French Community, on 5 August 1960 it gained full independence, with Maurice Yaméogo as President. After protests by students and labour unions, Yaméogo was deposed in the 1966 coup d'état, led by Sangoulé Lamizana, who became President, his rule coincided with the Sahel drought and famine, facing problems from the country's traditionally powerful trade unions he was deposed in the 1980 coup d'état, led by Saye Zerbo.
Encountering resistance from trade unions again, Zerbo's government was overthrown in the 1982 coup d'état, led by Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. The leader of the leftist faction of Ouédraogo's government, Thomas Sankara, became Prime Minister but was imprisoned. Efforts to free him led to the popularly-supported 1983 coup d'état. Sankara renamed the country Burkina Faso and launched an ambitious socioeconomic programme which included a nationwide literacy campaign, land redistribution to peasants and road construction and the outlawing of female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy. Sankara was overthrown and killed in the 1987 coup d'état led by Blaise Compaoré – deteriorating relations with former coloniser France and its ally the Ivory Coast were the reason given for the coup. In 1987, Blaise Compaoré became President and, after an alleged 1989 coup attempt, was elected in 1991 and 1998, elections which were boycotted by the opposition and received a low turnout, as well as in 2005.
He remained head of state until he was ousted from power by the popular youth upheaval of 31 October 2014, after which he was exiled to the Ivory Coast. Michel Kafando subsequently became the transitional President of the country. On 16 September 2015, a military coup d'état against the Kafando government was carried out by the Regiment of Presidential Security, the former presidential guard of Compaoré. On 24 September 2015, after pressure from the African Union, ECOWAS and the armed forces, the military junta agreed to step down, Michel Kafando was reinstated as Acting President. In the general election held on 29 November 2015, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré won in the first round with 53.5% of the vote and was sworn in as President on 29 December 2015. The 2018 CIA World Factbook provides this summary of the issues facing Burkina Faso. "The country experienced terrorist attacks in its capital in 2016, 2017 and 2018, continues to mobilize resources to counter terrorist threats". In 2018, several governments were warning their citizens not to travel into the northern part of the country and into several provinces in the East Region.
The CIA report states that "Burkina Faso's high population growth, recurring drought and perennial food insecurity, limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens". The report is optimistic in some aspects concerning activities being done with assistance by the International Monetary Fund. "A new three-year IMF program, approved in 2018, will allow the government to reduce the budget deficit and preserve critical spending on social services and priority public investments". Called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara; the words "Burkina" and "Faso" both stem from different languages spoken in the country: "Burkina" comes from Mossi and means "upright", showing how the people are proud of their integrity, while "Faso" comes from the Dyula language and means "fatherland". The "bè" suffix added onto "Burkina" to form the demonym "Burkinabè" comes from the Fula language and means "men or women".
The CIA summarizes the etymology as "name translates as "Land of the Honest Men". The French colony of Upper Volta was named for its location on the upper courses of the Volta River; the northwestern part of present-day Burkina Faso was populated by hunter-gatherers from 14000 BC to 5000 BC. Their tools, including scrapers and arrowheads, were discovered in 1973 through archaeological excavations. Agricultural settlements were established between 3600 and 2600 BC; the Bura culture was an Iron-Age civilization centred in the southwest portion of modern-day Niger and in the southeast part of contemporary Burkina Faso. Iron industry, in smelting and forging for tools and weapons, had developed in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BC. From the 3rd to the 13th centuries AD, the Iron Age Bura culture existed in the territory of present-day southeastern Burkina Faso and southwestern Niger. Various ethnic groups of present-day Burkina Faso, such as the Mossi and Dyula, arrived in successive waves between the 8th and 15th centuries.
From the 11th century, the Mossi people established several separate kingdoms. In the 1890s, during the European Scramble for Africa, the territory of Burkina Faso was invaded by France, colonial control was established following a wa
Traditional African masks
Traditional African masks are one of the elements of great African art that have most evidently influenced Europe and Western art in general. Influences of this heritage can be found in other traditions such as South- and Central American masked Carnival parades. Ritual and ceremonial masks are an essential feature of the traditional culture of the peoples of a part of Sub-Saharan Africa, e.g. between the Sahara and the Kalahari Desert. While the specific implications associated with ritual masks vary in different cultures, some traits are common to most African cultures. For instance, masks have a spiritual and religious meaning and they are used in ritual dances and social and religious events, a special status is attributed to the artists that create masks to those that wear them in ceremonies. In most cases, mask-making is an art, passed on from father to son, along with the knowledge of the symbolic meanings conveyed by these masks. African masks come in all different colours, such as red, black and brown.
In most traditional African cultures, the person who wears a ritual mask conceptually loses his or her human life and turns into the spirit represented by the mask itself. This transformation of the mask wearer into a spirit relies on other practices, such as specific types of music and dance, or ritual costumes that contribute to conceal the mask-wearer's human identity; the mask wearer thus becomes a sort of medium that allows for a dialogue between the community and the spirits. Masked dances are a part of most traditional African ceremonies related to weddings, initiation rites, so on; some of the most complex rituals that have been studied by scholars are found in Nigerian cultures such as those of the Yoruba and Edo peoples, that bear some resemblances to the Western notion of theatre. Since every mask has a specific spiritual meaning, most traditions comprise several different traditional masks; the traditional religion of the Dogon people of Mali, for example, comprises three main cults.
It is the case that the artistic quality and complexity of a mask reflects the relative importance of the portrayed spirit in the systems of beliefs of a particular people. African masks are shaped after a human face or some animal's muzzle, albeit rendered in a sometimes abstract form; the inherent lack of realism in African masks is justified by the fact that most African cultures distinguish the essence of a subject from its looks, the former, rather than the latter, being the actual subject of artistical representation. An extreme example is given by nwantantay masks of the Bwa people that represent the flying spirits of the forest. Stylish elements in a mask's looks are codified by the tradition and may either identify a specific community or convey specific meanings. For example, both the Bwa and the Buna people of Burkina Faso have hawk masks, with the shape of the beak identifying a mask as either Bwa or Buna. In both cases, the hawk's wings are decorated with geometric patterns. Masks from the Senufo people of Ivory Coast, for example, have their eyes half closed, symbolizing a peaceful attitude, self-control, patience.
In Sierra Leone and elsewhere, small eyes and mouth represent humility, a wide, protruding forehead represents wisdom. In Gabon, large chins and mouths represent strength; the Grebo of the Ivory Coast carve masks with round eyes to represent alertness and anger, with the straight nose to represent unwillingness to retreat. Animals are common subjects in African masks. Animal masks might represent the spirit of animals, so that the mask-wearer becomes a medium to speak to animals themselves. Common animal subjects include the buffalo, hawk, hyena and antelope. Antelopes have a fundamental role in many cultures of the Mali area as representatives of agriculture. Dogon antelope masks are abstract, with a general rectangular shape and many horns (a representation of abundant harvest. Bambara antelope masks have long horns representing the thriving growth of millet, long ears, a saw-shaped line that represents the path followed by the Sun between solstices. A 12th/13th century mural from Old Dongola, the capital of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria, depicts dancing masks decorated with cowrie shells imitating some animal with long snouts and big ears.
A common variation on the animal-mask theme is the composition of several distinct animal traits in a
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Burkina Faso
