Observing Komo among Tagwa People in Burkina Faso: A Burkinabe Art Historian's Views

Abstract

14 airican arts AUTUMN 2008 A s with many other ethnic groups in Africa, Sen ufo identity was the creation of the French colonial administration during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In spite of some similarities, those peoples whom the French grouped under the name do not share the same artistic and traditional forms and values. For example, while the Poro association and the related to it are the core of the socioreli gious organization of the central and southern Senufo, northern Senufo groups do not have Poro or its associated arts. Northern Senufo groups are invested in the Komo men's society' and its associated objects, like those of their Mande-speaking neighbors. This is not surprising if we take into account that all of the Sen ufo country, from Koutiala to Katiola, was colonized by Mande speaking people well before the arrival of the French. Mande influences are still discernible in this larger region's architec ture and language. Tagwa, a Senufo people in Burkina Faso, do not have the same traditions as central and southern Senufo groups. Although they were called Senufo by the French, Tagwa and all other Senufo subgroups still identify themselves by their specific languages, names, locations, and more importantly by their different socioreligious beliefs. Over the course of history, the arts of the Senufo have been exposed to various influences, which have all left their marks. Although Senufo groups differentiate themselves from others and are watchful of their own identity, they still are related to others. Yet despite external influences, a common societal foun dation for all these groups was created. For example, they share the same type of social and space organization, linguistic basis, architectural traditions, and music. However, it is not possible to determine a single cultural identity for the Senufo, and thus one cannot truly speak of a singular art of the Senufo. Prior to this study, researchers never recognized the exis tence of Komo among Tagwa, although a number of scholars did study the Komo of the Minianka peoples in this zone.2 In Burkina, Nanergue, who border the Tagwa to the north, also possess Komo. Komo is the representation of the sacred that allows Tagwa to define themselves as a Tagwa community and as a distinct ethnic group within the Senufo complex. The Komo society, which varies widely from village to village, is a testament to the independent nature of Tagwa communities. Each com munity determines the style of Komo so as to identify it with its