La chefferie traditionnelle à la rencontre de l’islam à Poa (provinve du Boulkiemdé/Burkina Faso)

Traditional religion was the main religion practiced by the population of Poa until the penetration of Islam in the 1900s. After the death of Naba Baongo in 1968, this new religion will experience a real boom in the royal court. The conversion of Naba Silga, eighteenth king of the canton, to Islam in 1968 established this religion in the high hierarchy of the royal court. The aim of this reflection is to understand, from a historical perspective, the process of installation of this religion and its impact on the royal court. Documentary sources and oral testimonies allow us to analyze, through this article, the islamization of Poa as well as the sociocultural changes caused by the adhesion of the dignitaries of the chiefdom to the Muslim religion. Naba Silga’s adhesion to the Muslim religion will lead to significant sociocultural upheavals in the chiefdom due to the rejection of customs by the new sovereign. He undertook the destruction of the altars of the royal court, challenged the rites incompatible with Islam and adopted reforms favorable to the anchoring of Islam in Poa. These changes took place following his return from Mecca in 1968. His successors, Naba Saaga and Naba Kaongo, remained faithful to Islam and to the logic of challenging the customs and traditions of the canton. These events, which took place in a context of resurgence of traditional worship during the enthronement of Naba Kaongo, current sovereign of Poa, constitute a notable development in the history of the Muslim fact in Burkina Faso.