Yatenga is one of the

provinces of Burkina Faso The regions of Burkina Faso are divided into 45 administrative provinces. These 45 provinces are currently sub-divided into 351 Departments of Burkina Faso, departments or communes. List of provinces by region Here is a list of the province ...

, located in the Nord Region of the country. In modern Yatenga, the most prominent city is

Ouahigouya Ouahigouya () is a city in northern Burkina Faso, situated 182 kilometres northwest of Ouagadougou. It is the capital of the Yatenga Province and one of its subdivisions the Ouahigouya Department. It is also the biggest town in the Nord Region (B ...

(also known as Waiguya). This city served as the capital of the kingdom of Yatenga, a powerful kingdom out of the many

Mossi kingdoms The Mossi Kingdoms, were a group of kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso that dominated the region of the Volta River, upper Volta river for hundreds of years. The largest Mossi kingdom was that of Ouagadougou. The king of Ouagadougou, known as ...

, but its influence decreased in the century following French colonisation. The city is famed today for being home to the Naba's (traditional kings) compound and the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

of Naba Kango.

History

Kingdom of Yatenga

Yatenge was historically a powerful kingdom in the region. It was founded as a Mossi state along with

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

, Tenkodogo, and

Gourma Gurma (also called Gourma or Gourmantché) is an ethnic group living mainly in northeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, around Fada N'Gourma, and also in northern areas of Togo and Benin, as well as southwestern Niger. They might include the Bassar ...

by invaders from neighbouring

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Each of the Mossi states (including Yatenga) possessed a strong military that was able to repel attacks from hostile tribes and nations. When the European powers began their scramble for territory in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in the 19th century,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

brokered a deal making Yatenga a French

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

. Following the annexation of the other Mossi states, the area was governed as Upper Volta until the nation's independence on August 5, 1960. In the modern day, the Kingdom of Yatenga continues on as a traditional monarchy within Burkina Faso.

Modern history

On 5 September 2023, seventeen Burkinabé soldiers, thirty-six VDP

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

men, and several dozen

Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (, JNIM; , GSIM; ) is a Salafi jihadism, Salafi Jihadist organisation in the Maghreb and West Africa formed by the merger of Ansar Dine, Al-Mourabitoun (militant group), al-Mourabitoun and the Saharan branc ...

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

s were killed during fighting in the Province.

Education

In 2011 the province had 588 primary schools and 57 secondary schools.

Healthcare

In 2011 the province had 60 health and social promotion centres (''Centres de santé et de promotion sociale''), 20 doctors and 207 nurses.

Culture

The Yatenga region is renowned for its unique style of Mossi

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

s. They are tall, vertically oriented, and concave-faced. They are considered to be some of the best examples of Mossi art available today. A prominent dance of the Yatenga region is the ''liwaga''.

Departments

Yatenga is divided into 13 departments: * Barga Department * Kaïn Department * Kalsaka Department * Koumbri Department * Kossouka Department * Namissiguima Department * Ouahigouya Department * Oula Department * Rambo Department * Séguénéga Department * Tangaye Department * Thiou Department * Zogoré Department

References

{{Coord, 13, 35, N, 2, 25, W, region:BF_type:adm1st, display=title Provinces of Burkina Faso