The <i>Bwan </i>in Dassa: Description of a Traditional Mechanism for Reparation and Prevention of Criminal Conflicts (Burkina Faso)

So-called traditional communities have not always enjoyed peaceful inter-individual relations. They experience opposition and conflict, which sometimes lead to an imbalance in social cohesion. Since human relations cannot exist without the expression of power relationships and conflicts, regulatory systems are implemented and collectively adopted to guarantee the stability of social cohesion. Given the ineffectiveness of modern mechanisms and instruments for resolving community conflicts, it is necessary to examine traditional structures for preventing and resolving conflicts between individuals. Among these agrarian mechanisms is the Bwan, a traditional social institution for conflict prevention and regulation. Unable to prevent conflicts from occurring, it acts in such a way as to prevent bloody and deadly confrontations between individuals and communities. The aim of this research is to understand the Bwan mechanism through its conceptual and functional components and its temporal dynamics. This research adopts a comprehensive approach, using the qualitative method of interviewing people with experience in the office of this social fine. The results show that, through its collectively coercive nature, the Bwan is a conflict resolution mechanism. Its community impact helps regulate tensions. It is perceived by communities as a rite of collective expiation, and has a particularly religious basis. Social representations of the Bwan are, however, dynamic in terms of modernization and the precedence given to modern instruments of conflict resolution.