Burkina Faso
Flag of Burkina Faso
Have you ever wondered about the name of the country Burkina Faso? Why would a country have two names, i.e. Burkina and then Faso? or even simply two names in its history: Upper Volta and then Burkina Faso? Well, the country named Upper Volta was given a new name in 1984 by then President Thomas Sankara, who chose the name Burkina Faso.
Flag of Upper Volta
Originally, Haute Volta or Upper Volta, was just given by the European colonizer, the French, more as an indicator or geographic pointer, and had no real attachment to the people of that region themselves. Thus Upper Volta was named for the region above the Volta river flowing in the area; the people of that country/area where thus known as the ‘Voltaics’ (Voltaiques in French). Since the river had three tributaries: the Black Volta, the white Volta, and the red Volta, Upper Volta’s flag also had those three colors. The Volta river also flew into Ghana, which was never known as the ‘Lower Volta’. No wonder the name needed to change, as it had no real meaning!
Thomas Sankara a Ouagadougou
Well, on 4 August 1984, Thomas Sankara, with his usual charisma and revolutionary spirit, decided to change the country’s name to Burkina Faso. He chose two names after two main languages of the country: the Moore (or Mossi language) and the Dioula. Burkina from Mòoré means ‘men of integrity‘, while Faso in Diouala means ‘fatherland‘. Thus the Burkina Faso is ‘the land of upright people‘ or ‘the land of honest people‘. The people of the country are known as the Burkinabé, where the suffix ‘bé’ comes from the Foufouldé language spoken by the Peulh people (a tribe found in many countries across West Africa), and means ‘men or women’. Thus, Thomas used three of the main languages in his country to choose a name that was truly representative of the country and its people. Sankara was then addressed as the PF or the President of the Faso. The national cloth made up of woven strips of cotton or silk was called faso dan fani (this will be the subject for another post).
Enjoy this video, and travel to Burkina Faso, the land of the upright people.
Hi, I read in the UNPCB (http://www.unpcb.org/spip.php?article260) that Faso Dan Fani factory has closed. What happened? Was it a government company?
Cheers,
Fernando
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By: Fernando Hidalgo on September 18, 2013
at 1:45 pm
[…] have written books, poems, and essays. The great Thomas Sankara, our African Che and president of Burkina Faso, wrote about empowering women, people, getting away from debt, and the Burkinabé […]
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By: Women of Africa by Sekou Touré | African Heritage on May 16, 2014
at 9:47 am
[…] is the complete text of a hand-written speech that the revolutionary Burkina Faso President and African statesman Thomas Sankara was set to deliver on the evening of the day he was […]
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By: Thomas Sankara: the Speech he would have given on 15 Oct 1987 | African Heritage on October 15, 2014
at 4:00 am
[…] The country gained independence from France in 1960 and would suffer from five military coups in the first few decades that followed. It was known as Upper Volta until 1984, when it was renamed Burkina Faso, meaning “land of upright/honest people.” […]
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By: What You Need to Know About the Unrest in Burkina Faso – TIME | Home audio market on October 31, 2014
at 1:00 pm
[…] The country gained independence from France in 1960 and would suffer from five military coups in the first few decades that followed. It was known as Upper Volta until 1984, when it was renamed Burkina Faso, meaning “land of upright/honest people.” […]
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By: What You Need to Know About the Unrest in Burkina Faso on October 31, 2014
at 1:03 pm
[…] The country gained independence from France in 1960 and would suffer from five military coups in the first few decades that followed. It was known as Upper Volta until 1984, when it was renamed Burkina Faso, meaning “land of upright/honest people.” […]
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By: What You Need to Know About the Unrest in Burkina Faso | TheAllNews on October 31, 2014
at 1:19 pm
[…] The country gained independence from France in 1960 and would suffer from five military coups in the first few decades that followed. It was known as Upper Volta until 1984, when it was renamed Burkina Faso, meaning “land of upright/honest people.” […]
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By: What You Need to Know About the Unrest in Burkina Faso | Kardashian Fan Site on October 31, 2014
at 1:30 pm
[…] The country gained independence from France in 1960 and would suffer from five military coups in the first few decades that followed. It was known as Upper Volta until 1984, when it was renamed Burkina Faso, meaning “land of upright/honest people.” […]
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By: Burkina Faso: What to Know About the Unrest Against Blaise Compaoré on October 31, 2014
at 4:31 pm
[…] murderer taught that he will be eternal in power, and on October 30th 2014, the people of Burkina Faso said […]
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By: Who/what did we say goodbye to in Africa in 2014? | African Heritage on December 30, 2014
at 6:05 am
[…] murderer taught that he will be eternal in power, and on October 30th 2014, the people of Burkina Faso said […]
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By: Who/What did we Celebrate in Africa in 2014? | African Heritage on December 31, 2014
at 4:38 am
[…] on Afrolegends.com has tripled, the number of visitors on the blog has doubled, the article Burkina Faso was cited by TIME Magazine online, while the article La SAPE was cited by The Guardian, and many […]
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By: Happy 2015! | African Heritage on January 1, 2015
at 8:30 am
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you are a great author. I will always bookmark your blog and may come back in the future.
I want to encourage continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!
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By: Desmond on January 4, 2015
at 10:38 am
[…] at its usual, since the overthrowing of Blaise Compaoré, but it still took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and brought in some great African films and […]
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By: FESPACO 2015: Celebrating African Films | African Heritage on March 12, 2015
at 12:41 am
[…] by Christophe Cupelin, which was shown this year at the FESPACO 2015 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. This is the first time a movie about Thomas Sankara, the African Che, could be shown at the […]
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By: “Capitaine Thomas Sankara” by Christophe Cupelin | African Heritage on March 13, 2015
at 12:37 am
I like the story of the country
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By: Memuna Jalloh on September 18, 2015
at 1:55 am
Me too. Thank you for visiting the blog. Keep coming, sharing, and commenting.
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By: Dr. Y. on September 18, 2015
at 10:19 am
[…] Jump up^ https://afrolegends.com/2013/09/12/why-the-name-burkina-faso/ […]
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By: Burkina Faso – MUSIC AFRICA AWAKE on September 28, 2017
at 6:40 am
[…] বুরকিনা ফাসো পূর্বে পরিচিত ছিল ঔপনিবেশিক ফরাসিদের দেওয়া নাম আপার ভোল্টা হিসেবে। নামটি দেওয়া হয়েছিল ভোল্টা নদীর নামানুসারে, যা দেশটির মধ্য দিয়ে প্রবাহিত হয়েছে। ১৯৮৪ সালে প্রেসিডেন্ট থমাস সাঙ্কারা দেশটির নাম পরিবর্তন করে বুরকিনা ফাসো রাখেন। […]
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By: নিজেদের নাম পরিবর্তন করেছিল যে দেশগুলো on April 26, 2018
at 5:54 am
[…] Буркина Фасо (Република Буркина Фасо) – преди известна под името Република Горна Волта, страната е преименувана Буркина Фасо на 4 август 1984 г. от тогавашния президен Томас Санкара. Думите „Буркина“ и „Фасо“ произлизат от различните езици, които се говорят в страната. „Буркина“ идва от езика моси и означава „изправен, прав„, с което местните показват, че се гордеят със своето положение. „Фасо“ идва от езика дюла и означава „отечество“ (буквално бащина къща). […]
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By: Какво значат имената на африканските държави? – Война и мир on August 6, 2018
at 8:29 pm
Thomas Sankara has always been one of my favorite leaders in history. The way this man stood up for his country and its heritage was commendable. He was so ahead of his time and I firmly believe that his assassination was one of the most tragic events in world history. One can only imagine where he would have taken Burkina Faso, and as a result motivated other African nations, had he lived longer!
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By: Neha Sharma on August 6, 2018
at 10:24 pm
Neha, you have said it so well. Thomas Sankara was a man of great integrity who loved his country deeply; and yes his assassination is one of the most tragic events in world history, because it was similar to cutting a bird’s wings. Today, his spirit lives on, and we, throughout the world, have a duty to be the new Thomas Sankara, that is to express this kind of integrity and love of our people and mankind.
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By: Dr. Y. on August 8, 2018
at 12:26 am
I hope we all can ever be one-tenth of what he ever was! I loved your post 🙂
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By: Neha Sharma on August 8, 2018
at 12:32 am
Thank you Neha! And yes… we have to be at least one-tenth of him, it is our duty to the world.
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By: Dr. Y. on August 8, 2018
at 12:47 am
It is, indeed. I do posts on Thursdays and I have been working on one on ‘Thomas Sankara’ for quite some time. I feel inspired after reading yours now. Hope I can also spread the word about this great man some day 🙂 🙂
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By: Neha Sharma on August 8, 2018
at 12:58 am
What a great initial intro to Burkina Faso. My wife and I spent 3 years there, 2007-2010, and still have fond memories and good friends there. I think that Sankara should have changed the country’s name to Smiling Faso.
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By: kbreedlove50 on January 20, 2019
at 10:54 am
Beautiful!
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By: Dr. Y. on January 21, 2019
at 7:37 am
That is a good history of it. I remember reading a few things from W. E. B. DuBois and Cheikh Anta Diop about the origin of that name. Side note: The first African movie I reviewed on Iridium Eye was Dreams of Dust which is a Burkinabe film.
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By: ospreyshire on September 10, 2019
at 5:17 am
Oh… Ok. Thanks. I will check it out.
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By: Dr. Y. on September 14, 2019
at 2:02 pm
No problem. It was a unique watch despite some of the flaws there.
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By: ospreyshire on September 14, 2019
at 2:23 pm