ocr: No ethnic group is dominant in Burlana, although the Mossi people who live in the area oftheir old empire around Ouagadougou have always played an important role in government. Burkina's first president, Maurice Yameogo,and the present leader, Blaise Compaore, are both Mossi. The people from the west are much more ethnically mixed. The extended family is important and reaches from the villages into the towns and cities. Extreme poverty has ledto a strong sense of egalitarianism within society. The lack of women in public life belies their realp power and intluence, particularly within the trad ...
