Burkina Faso — books & literature

The story of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's story begins with legend: Princess Yennenga, a warrior of the Dagomba kingdom, is said to have fled her father's court on horseback and, with her son Ouedraogo, founded the first Mossi state at Tenkodogo around the 11th-12th century. His descendant Oubri later founded Ouagadougou as a new seat of power, and from this root, the Mossi Kingdoms grew into a resilient federation ruled by the Mogho Naba ("Emperor of All the World"), holding their own for centuries even as the Mali and Songhai empires rose and fell nearby. French forces conquered the Mossi capital in 1901, folding the territory into French West Africa as the colony of Upper Volta in 1919 , a colony dissolved in 1932 and revived in 1947. Independence came on 5 August 1960. Political instability followed, marked by repeated coups, until the 1983 revolution of Thomas Sankara, a young Pan-Africanist officer who renamed the country Burkina Faso ("Land of Upright People") in 1984 and pursued sweeping literacy, land-reform, and anti-desertification campaigns before his 1987 assassination. Since then, Burkina Faso has weathered further political upheaval, including two coups in 2022 and an ongoing Sahel security crisis, while its Mossi royal traditions, film culture, and music continue to anchor a national identity that predates the colonial map by nearly a thousand years.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 1100s

   Ouedraogo, legendary son of Princess Yennenga, founds the first Mossi state at Tenkodogo.

2. circa 1100s-1495

   Ouedraogo's descendant Oubri founds Ouagadougou, which becomes the seat of the Mogho Naba and centre of the Mossi Kingdoms (traditions and sources vary on the exact date).

3. 1896

   French forces begin the conquest of the Mossi kingdoms.

4. 1901

   Ouagadougou falls; organized Mossi resistance to French rule ends.

5. 1919

   France creates the colony of Upper Volta within French West Africa.

6. 1932

   Upper Volta dissolved; territory split among neighbouring French colonies.

7. 1947

   Upper Volta re-established with its former boundaries.

8. 1960

   Independence from France (5 August) as the Republic of Upper Volta.

9. 1983-1987

   Thomas Sankara's revolutionary government; the country is renamed Burkina Faso in 1984.

10. 2022

    Two military coups within a year amid a deepening Sahel security crisis.

Top 10 things to know about Burkina Faso

1. Burkina Faso means "Land of Incorruptible/Upright People", blending words from Mooré and Dyula.
2. It is a landlocked West African nation bordering six countries: Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.
3. Ouagadougou hosts FESPACO, one of Africa's largest and most prestigious pan-African film festivals.
4. The national football team is nicknamed "Les Étalons" (the Stallions), after the legendary horse of Princess Yennenga.
5. The Mossi monarchy, led by the Mogho Naba, still holds ceremonial authority in Ouagadougou today.
6. French is the official language; Mooré (the Mossi language) and Dyula are widely spoken in daily life and trade.
7. The country was known as Upper Volta from 1958 until President Thomas Sankara renamed it Burkina Faso in 1984.
8. Gold mining is a major export and a leading driver of the modern economy.
9. Sankara's government planted more than 10 million trees to fight Sahel desertification in the 1980s.
10. Islam is practiced by roughly two-thirds of the population, with a sizeable Christian minority and enduring traditional beliefs.

Famous people from Burkina Faso

Say it in Burkina Faso's language

Did you know?

• ★The national football team's nickname, "Les Étalons" (the Stallions), honours the legendary warrior princess Yennenga's horse.
• ★FESPACO's top prize, the "Étalon d'or de Yennenga" (Golden Stallion), is named after that same legendary founder.
• ★Thomas Sankara personally wrote the country's new national anthem after renaming it Burkina Faso in 1984.

Burkina Faso culture

• The Mogho Naba performs a centuries-old ceremonial ritual in Ouagadougou every Friday morning.
• FESPACO, held biennially in Ouagadougou, is the largest pan-African film festival on the continent.
• Mask dances and masquerades, especially among the Bwa and Bobo peoples, are central to community and spiritual life.
• Djembe and balafon music traditions are widespread, with Ouagadougou a regional hub for West African musicians.

Why read Burkina Faso's books

Burkinabè literature grew out of oral epic and griot storytelling traditions into a modern voice of political conscience, carried by writers like Norbert Zongo who risked and lost their lives telling the truth about power. Its books trace a nation's journey from the Mossi kingdoms to revolution and beyond.