Han And Mossi Similarities

The Han and the Mossi are the largest ethnic groups of China and Burkina Faso respectively. Both of these groups have ancestral origins in agriculture but have different cuisines. They have both come into contact with Christianity and have managed to keep their traditional religions as important aspects of their societies. Additionally, both groups have historically maintained political control over their homelands and still continue to do so even today. The Han and the Mossi share many broad similarities but those similarities also highlight key differences.
The Han and Mossi both have deep historical roots in agriculture. According to Xu, much of the early Chinese economy was based on trading and buying various crops from farmers (80). For the Mossi however, those that are not descendants of the warriors of the former empire are descendants of the former farmers with many still relying on sustenance farming. The staples of Mossi cuisine are millet grain and sorghum which are often used in thick doughy porridges. Meat is considered a luxury to the Mossi people

The Han began practicing Confucianism between 6th and 5th century BCE and began practicing Taoism around the 6th century BCE as well(Yao 16; Dean 17). Many of the early efforts to integrate Christianity into Chinese society were often met with violent resistance; the most well known case being the Boxer Rebellion in which 32,000 Chinese Christians were murdered by traditionalist Chinese. According to Skinner, The Mossi have been practicing Islam since the 11th century due to their close proximity to the Islamic West African states (126). Additionally, the Mossi also have a practice of worshipping their ancestors. Despite French colonization from 1898 to 1960, the Mossi maintained most of their political influence in the territory and were not specifically targeted for conversion