dating as far back as 800 AD. Their close neigh-
bors are the Senufo, Bamana, Lobi, and Bwa.
The interesting aspects of the Bobo culture
concern the art they produce, their clothing, and
the unique principles of their religion. They make
masks from leaves, fibers, cloth, and wood and
costumes from leaves and fibers; both are used
for many different rituals in their religion and in
festivities.
The Bobo are spiritual in orientation. For the
Bobo, God manifests in two aspects in balance.
They believe in God the Creator whom they call
Wuro. According to the Bobo, Wuro, the Creator,
cannot be physically represented because it does
not have a form and, for the same reason, cannot
be described in words. Wuro is the wise entity
responsible for ordering all things in the world
into pairs or binaries that must always remain bal-
anced. Human beings have the tendency to upset
this balance. However, the balance can be restored
through a series of offerings to pacify Wuro.
The second aspect of God is Dwo, who com-
municates with humans and is revealed during
masking ceremonies. Dwo enters a mask, and
when that mask is worn, his spirit possesses the
spirit of the wearer who is then able to communi-
cate to others in accordance with Dwo’s will.
Thus, for the Bobo, the God head is a pair, Wuro
and Dwo; because these two are always in bal-
ance, they cannot be separated. The same entity
manifests as Wuro and Dwo, and these two are
always in balance. The same God who created all
things in balanced pairs possesses humans and
communicates with humans as Dwo.
Politically, the Bobo people have a decentral-
ized structure similar to that of the Ga people of
southern Ghana. However, unlike the Ga people,
the idea of placing political power in the hands
of an individual called a chief is foreign to the
consensually oriented Bobo people. The various
towns and villages are independent, with the
decentralized power sharing at the town or village
levels based on relationship among individual
patrilineages. Thus, each Bobo village is basically
autonomous and is organized according to this
relationship among individual patrilineages.
There is no overarching centralized authority that
can dictate to or control the Bobo people under a
common political umbrella from above. However,
horizontal exchange of views and advice among
villages and towns is common. Their consensual
democracy may be said to be decentralized.
The Bobo people are very good farmers; their
major crops are red sorghum, pearl millet, yams,
and maize. They also cultivate cotton as cash
crop, which they sell to various textile mills.Daniel Tetteh Osabu-KleSee alsoGodFurther Readings
Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa. London:
Routledge.
Davidson, B. (1974).Africa in History. New York:
Macmillan.BOISCAIMAN
In August 1791, a gathering of Africans, frus-
trated by the horrors of slavery they were forced
to endure in the lucrative French colony of San
Domingue, entered into a sacred ritual that would
spark what may be considered the greatest effort
of African resistance in the Western hemisphere.
In the woods of Bois Caiman (Caiman Woods in
Haitian Creole), led by a Vodou houngan or spiri-
tual leader, the ceremony, now named after the
meeting place where it was held, is said to have
provided the inspiration responsible for the
bloody Haitian revolution.
The ceremony, complete with the sacrifice
of a black pig and oaths of secrecy and loyalty,
is reminiscent of sacred rituals practiced in
traditional Africa. Unlike other insurrections
by enslaved Africans in various parts of the
Diaspora, which failed due to betrayal, the ritual
at Bois Caiman seems to have protected the
rebels from a similar fate. Although there is some
contention about the details of the ceremony
ranging from its exact date, exact location, and
the spiritual leaders present, consensus is gener-
ally reached regarding the importance of the
Vodou ceremony to the people of San Domingue
and the independence of this African nation.
This entry explores the impact of this ceremony
and its roots in Africa.130 Bois Caiman