Mossi States

Mossi states

Complex of independent western African kingdoms (c. 1500–1895) around the headwaters of the Volta River, within present-day Burkina Faso and Ghana. Though tradition held that their ancestors came from the east, perhaps in the 13th century, the kingdoms' origins are obscure. The Mossi people harassed the empires of Mali and Songhai and vied for control of the Niger River. From c. 1400 the states acted as trading intermediaries between the forest states and the cities of the Niger. They remained independent until the French invasions of the late 19th century.

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Mossi States 

the states of the Mossi nation that existed from the 14th century in the basin of the White and Black Volta rivers. These included Ouagadougou (often called the Mossi Empire), Yatenga, and Fada N’Gourma.

The naba (lords) were the rulers of the Mossi states. The ruler of Ouagadougou, the morho naba, was considered the supreme chief of the Mossi nation. Feudal relations predominated in the Mossi states; the communal peasant masses were exploited by the aristocracy. A distinguishing feature of the Mossi states was their powerful military organization, which ensured their independent development up to the late 19th century. In 1896–97 the states’ territory was seized by the French and became part of the French colonial possessions in West Africa. In 1960 the Mossi lands were incorporated into the Republic of Upper Volta.