ABSTRACT
The Upper Volta Republic, which today incorporates the Mossi kingdoms, covers approximately 100,000 square miles. The outstanding characteristic of the Mossi states has been the remarkable stability of their political organization over a period of many centuries. The Mossi, together with the Bura, Birifor, Dagari, Nankana, Gurmantche, Kussassi, Namnam, Tallensi, Wala, Nanumba, Dagomba, and Mamprussi, speak languages belonging to the Gur group. The colonial regime, dating from 1897, recognized the different Mossi kingdoms and principalities, but with little concern for any ties which existed between them. The inhabitants of a Mossi state are not and were never all 'true' Mossi. The Mossi were subsistence farmers cultivating a variety of cereals, roots, and legumes. One important aspect of the Mossi economy was the practice of making prestations to the king. A Mossi kingdom was equated with the world, and the centre of the world was the royal palace.
