Glossary

Ancestors

a previous person in the family line; often more than two generations earlier

Betrothed

engaged to be married

Blacksmith

a person who creates and repairs things made of iron

Calabash

the dried, hollow shell of a gourd

Cereal Crop

grains such as wheat, oats, rice, etc.

Colony

a territory distant from the government having control over it

Colonial period

in the case of Burkina Faso, the period of time when the country was controlled by the French

Compound

the walled area in which one extended family lives

Condiments

a seasoning for food

Cowry Shells

a mollusk shell formerly used as money in parts of Africa and South Asia

Dialect

the form or variety of a spoken language peculiar to a region, community, social group, occupation group, etc.

Domestic

tame

Drought

a prolonged period of dry weather

Fallow

land left unplanted for a period of time to make the soil richer

Fertility

the ability of animals to reproduce and the ability of land to produce crops

Fixative

a substance that makes something permanent or prevents fading

Hereditary

being passed down from generation to generation

Hierarchy

a group of persons or things arranged in order of rank, grade, class, etc.

Infertility

the inability of animals to reproduce and the inability of land to produce crops

Intermediaries

people who serve as a go-between, giving messages from one person to another

Kinship

family relationships or connections

Land-locked

entirely surrounded by land; cut off from the sea

Lineage

all the people who can trace their origin back through one common ancestor

Millet

a cereal grass whose small grain is used for food

Okra

a tall annual plant grown for its slender, ribbed, sticky green pods, which are cooked and used in soups or stews

Rural

Of a characteristic of the country (as opposed to the city)

Savanna

a treeless plain or a grassland characterized by scattered trees

Smelting

to melt ore for the purpose of separating the impurities from the pure metal

Sorghum

a grass grown for grain, syrup, fodder, etc.; also the syrup created from the juices of the grass

Staple food

the chief food of an area

Tubers

the short, thickened part of an underground plant stem; yams and potatoes are tubers for example

Votive objects

objects used as a mediation between the living and the dead when asking for protection, prosperity, favors, good health, etc.