Questions of Identity and Origin among Abandoned Children in Burkina Faso Through the study of abandoned children born “without father” or as a result of incestuous classificatory kinship relations among the Moaga, this article tries to elucidate the representations pertaining to their identity. A woman’s responsibility toward a child conceived through a forbidden relationship seems to be limited to giving birth, whereas a man cannot claim social paternity. Stories told by mothers of “fatherless” children attest to the impossibility of giving these children another identity than that of bastard. In this relatively common imaginary, the abandoned child is assimilated to a « lost and found » child. This theme of a child devoid of ties results in a lack of information pertaining to its original filiation. However social services very often know the motives for putting children up for adoption and even the name of their genitors, most notably because mothers’ consents are required for an international adoption. Furthermore, if a good number of adoptive parents are reluctant to learn about the biological origin of their child, many also value its country of origin, his or her culture, all features considered to be the « roots » of the child.