The tower of Babel. Chapter 5: Land of dignity

The King of Kaya has a castle in the middle of the savanna, in the desolate lands of the old Upper Volta. A traditional court survives there, with its warriors, its troubadours, its harem, and its subjects, who come to the court each year to pay the taxes they owe their Lord. It would be a trip back in time, if it weren’t for the fact that their ruler flies to Paris once a month and travels the country’s miserable roads in a modern all-terrain vehicle.

In the south of the country, along the border with Ghana, a funeral is held in honor of a warrior who in his youth had hunted a lion. Of course, the people attending the funeral are wearing blue jeans and the jerseys of European football clubs, and no lion have been seen in these lands for years.

In this episode of The Tower of Babel we will travel throughout Burkina Faso, a country where the weight of tradition and the past clash with modern times.