Floral Culture in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
Based on a case study done in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, this article analyzes the symbolism and the social uses of flowers. Local history on the relationships between individuals and their ecology shows that plants or flowers are used mainly for food, medicine, symbolic, magical and aesthetical needs. However, the different forms of ownership and circulation of species and flowers are varying following the cultural patterns and social status of users. Thus, the symbolic, ritual and aesthetic uses of flowers reflect the institution and consolidation of the relational game (social or emotional) between men and their symbolic patterns of representation. So, floral traditions and uses of flowers in Burkina Faso corresponds to aesthetic and affective forms of expression which are emancipating from traditional constraints and are continually abiding by Western and/or global designs.