ABSTRACT
Burkina's society is composed of many societies, its culture the fruit of many cultures. Remarkably and somewhat surprisingly, Burkina's cultures and societies provide a human environment in which religious and ethnic conflicts are limited, if they exist at all. This chapter describes about social diversity and cultural wealth and seeks explanations for Burkina's civil peace, which contrasts both with the upheaval of its polity and with the societies of many other African states. Mossi make up 50.2 percent of Burkina's population. More than 50 percent of Burkina's population is animist. Animism is most prevalent in the east, among the Gurmanche, and in the southwest around Gaoua. Although anterior to Christianity in Africa, Islam is also an imported religion in Burkina. The first Catholic missionary to set foot in Upper Volta after the French conquest was Monsignor Hacquard. Burkina ranks at the bottom in terms of social indicators of development with respect to both health and education.
