Burkina Fasso
Back in the 15th Century the Mossi population conquered areas which belonged mostly to the Dogon and the Kurumba tribes which were integrated in the Mossi tribe.
The superior head of the tribe is called Moro Naba and lives in the capital Ouagadougou.
The art of the Mossi population is religious as well as political. Their religion like most of the African tribes is animistic and they believe that the ancestors appear and materialise themselves through masks through which they also deliver holy rules to the tribal society.
Figures are used by the ruling class while masks are used to control the powers of nature.
The masks in the North are characterised by being oblong and narrow and generally the mask colours are red, white and black. The red colour symbolises blood and passion, the white colour symbolises peace, positive powers and the spiritual world while the black colour symbolises destructive powers.
The Mossi tribe also oftenly uses animal symbols.
