Alcohol, ancestors, and the house: Exploring ritual use of beer at Kirikongo, Burkina Faso

Abstract

This paper explores the evidence for beer production, consumption, and ritual use at Kirikongo (100–1650 CE), a well-preserved archaeological site located in Mouhoun Province, western Burkina Faso. The site is comprised of thirteen anthropogenic mounds (tells) that were formed through sequential ritual processes that created ancestor shrines through either construction of dedicated mortuary monuments or transformation of domestic spaces and buildings. Tombs and architectural emplacements were accompanied by discrete accumulations of fauna, botanical remains, and material culture, the latter of which likely represents personal or familial belongings. Within these ceramic assemblages, there are significant numbers of small highly decorated consumption vessels, tri-pod ritual vessels likely connected to use of liquids, and large vessels consistent with beer production. Based upon contextual analysis of ceramics, cultural practices related to ancestors, and evidence from a destroyed ritual complex with intact material culture and ritualized use of sorghum, this paper argues that beer was likely used at Kirikongo both in the social life of the community and in rituals related to ancestors. The nature of sorghum beer production may have influenced the overall absence of sorghum in macrobotanical samples.