Mossi statue from Burkina Faso. Old piece over 50 years old. Piece on base.

The Mossi people, who lead a life of farmers and shepherds in the heart of Burkina Faso, are in reality made up of different ethnic groups forming, on a social level, two distinct groups. It is the Nakomse who hold political power. The indigenous populations that their ancestors subjugated in the 15th century when they invaded the region are currently called Tengabisi. It is from this heterogeneous section of the population that religious leaders come. Among the Tengabisi, only the peasants (Nioniose), who are very numerous, and the blacksmiths (Saaba) use multiple masks (wando, sing. wango), which they exhibit on the occasion of the homage paid each year to the dead and which they store the rest of the time on the altar dedicated to the spirits of the ancestors. The masks reveal, depending on the region, different influences. This is why we distinguish five styles, to which we gave the name of the Mossi kingdoms: Ouagadougou, Yatenga, Risiam, Kaya and Boulsa. This facial mask is linked to the Ouagadougou style, which is reminiscent of the works of the Lela and Nuna (Gurunsi), neighboring peoples who are also the original populations of the southwest and center of the Mossi region. Apart from numerous zoomorphic types, this style includes anthropomorphic masks representing an albino (wan-mwega) or a Fulbe woman (wan-balinga). The wan-balinga mask, which has a superstructure with three blades and a goatee, is only distinguished from the wan-mwega mask by its color: the face is tinted black and not red. It evokes a mythical female figure, namely Poughtoenga ("the bearded woman") who, as the daughter of a Nioniose and mother of the first Mossi ruler, Oubri, is considered by the Nioniose and the Nakomse as a common ancestor playing a unifying role.