Mossi Kingdoms

The Mossi Kingdoms were historic states in present-day Burkina Faso, including Ouagadougou, Yatenga, Tenkodogo, and Fada N’Gourma. They developed from related political traditions but remained distinct kingdoms.

Mossi people: A West African ethnic group concentrated in Burkina Faso, with shared languages and cultural traditions. The kingdoms were political formations of Mossi communities.
Mossi kingship: A system of hereditary royal authority practiced in Mossi states. Kingship provided the central institution around which each kingdom was organized.
Kingdom of Ouagadougou: A Mossi kingdom centered on Ouagadougou in present-day Burkina Faso. Its ruler became the most prominent Mossi monarch in the modern era.
Mossi origin traditions: Oral accounts explaining the origins and ancestry of Mossi royal lineages. These traditions connect royal legitimacy to remembered migrations and founding ancestors.
French Upper Volta: A French colonial territory established in 1919, dissolved, and reconstituted in 1947 in the area of present-day Burkina Faso. French rule reshaped the kingdoms’ political authority and territorial setting.
Mooré language: A Gur language spoken chiefly by the Mossi people of Burkina Faso. Mooré connects communities across the kingdoms, despite their separate courts.
Mossi succession: Customary processes through which Mossi rulers and chiefs inherit or receive office. Succession shaped continuity and disputes within Mossi royal houses.
Kingdom of Yatenga: A historic Mossi kingdom in northwestern Burkina Faso, centered on Ouahigouya. Yatenga developed as a powerful northern kingdom distinct from Ouagadougou.
Yennenga: A legendary warrior princess regarded in Mossi traditions as an ancestor of the royal line. Her story grounds dynastic origins in a widely shared Mossi tradition.
Burkina Faso: A landlocked country in West Africa, formerly known as Upper Volta. The historic kingdoms lie within the borders of the modern state.

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