Continuity and Change in Festive Food Practices among Muslims in Urban Burkina Faso

The article compares traditional and civil wedding celebrations among Muslims in urban Burkina Faso. It analyses the types of food served at the two events and compares their meaning. Traditional African food is served at the traditional wedding celebration, while at the civil ceremony “white man’s foods” are served to reflect the modern way of living and thinking. Drawing on these two ceremonial forms and two types of food consumption, the article discusses the ongoing discourse of “traditional” versus “modern” in urban Burkina Faso.
KEY WORDS: food, wedding, tradition, modernity, Burkina Faso