Étalon de Yennenga
film prize
Étalon de Yennenga (English: Stallion of Yennenga) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Burkinabe's silver screen, awarded by the biannual Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), in recognition of the grand prize for the Best Film. First commenced in 1972, it is considered the most prestigious award in African cinema. Since 2005, the top award is known as the Étalon d'or de Yennenga, and two further awards, the Étalon d'Argent de Yennenga (the Silver Stallion) and the Étalon de bronze de Yennenga (the Bronze Stallion) have also been awarded.
History
Étalon de Yennenga means Stallion of Yennenga in French and refers to the 12th century Princess Yennenga. The Mossi people, the main ethnic group in Burkina Faso, consider her a founder of the Mossi Kingdoms. The story of Yennenga dates back to the beginning of the 12th century in the Kingdom of Dagbon. King Nedega's daughter, Yennenga, was a horse-woman, and adept at using javelins, spears and bows.
The first winner of the Étalon de Yennenga was Oumarou Ganda in 1972 with his film Le Wazzou polygame.
In 2005, the 19th edition of FESPACO, two new awards were established. The Yennenga Standard Grand Prize became the Golden Stallion of Yennenga (Étalon d'or de Yennenga), and the new awards are named the Silver Stallion (Étalon d'Argent de Yennenga) and the Bronze Stallion Étalon de Bronze de Yennenga.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Étalon de Yennenga” is film prize. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Étalon, Yennenga and film, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “film prize” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3591629. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1972 and 2005.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Étalon de Yennenga” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.