Antique Mossi Heavy Copper Ring – Burkina Faso

Early 20th century. Copper – gr. 99,9 (3.52 oz.); diameter cm. 4,3 high (1.69″); thickness cm 1,8 (0.71″); inner diameter cm. 2,1 (0.83 inches). These heavy rings were mainly used by Mossi women as hair decoration.

The Mossi are a Gur ethnic group originally from modern Burkina Faso, mainly the Volta River basin.

According to tradition, the Mossi derive from the marriage of a princess Mamprusi and a hunter Mandé. Yennenga was a warrior princess, daughter of a Mamprusi king in eastern Ghana. While exploring her kingdom astride her, she lost her way and was saved by Rialé, a lonely Mandé hunter. They married and gave birth to the first authentic Mossi, Ouedraogo, who is recognized as the father of the Mossi people.

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