M   The Mossi and the San: The Mossi represent the biggest ethnic group of Burkina Faso. They are mainly located in the centre of the country, and around the “Plateau Mossi”. As to the San, we find them in the North-West of the country. The jokes between these two ethnic groups are centred on “theft”. Each member of a given group treats the other as a “thief”. The San is said to have stolen his wife’s “zoom koom” ⁽¹⁾ .The San on the other hand, considers the Mossi as only good to theft.  In addition, and as in all joking relationships, each group considers the other as their “slaves”

“You are my slave” is a sentence that you may hear in an office in Ouagadougou (the capital city of Burkina Faso” Do not be shocked; you are not in front of an act of racism. If you are told that the man saying this is a Mossi, then you will automatically guess that the other man is a San, and that they are just kidding each other, because they are related by joking relationship. In this case, for instance, the Mossi, who works in the place, could immediately help the San visitor to resolve his/her problem (the reason of his presence in the office) more quickly than he would, if this joking situation was not established.

(1) Local corn flour drink