Located in the northeastern part of Togo and extending into Benin in West Africa the region is rich in landscape and persistent in embracing their history and cultural practices even today. In a world where modern technologies and Architecture place us in towering homes, this region and its community shape the earth as their home. This is the mesmeric region of Koutammakou in the land of the Batammariba. Where the relationship between the people and their environment is deeply rooted and intertwined in one another.
Striding down the rolling hills of Koutammakou, one breathes in the lush foliage that surrounds this region and as you pause to absorb, the landscape is punctuated with a few two-story earth-made structures. The Batammariba people are home to this region, whose name translates to “those who are the real architects of the earth” and are the custodians of Koutammakou. As their name suggests, they are expert builders with a profound connection to the land and nature. They carry a strong sense of community, valuing and practicing the age of traditions with their customs and social norms passed on from many generations.
The Batammariba: those who shape the Earth
Known for their distinctive mud houses known as “Takienta” which is the central part of their cultural identity. The Takienta is also a symbolic representation of how they connect and adapt to the earth and how they base themselves as a community. The Batammariba are largely agrarian holding a strong relationship with community and family. They engage themselves in subsistence farming, growing crops such as yams, sorghum, and millet. The Takienta often also house their livestock. Rooted in their ideology to make the most of the earth, The Batammariba are also known for their terrace farming techniques which help in soil conservation and water management.
Nature is not the only entity the Batammariba are deeply intertwined with, Spirituality plays a very important if not equal role in their lives. The community holds a close connection with its ancestors, for the land itself holds a sacred significance. Rituals and ceremonies are an integral part of their culture. These rituals are often linked to their agricultural calendar and important life events such as birth, initiation, marriage, and death. To enumerate these significant events, special structures are built outside their homes – making the Takienta not just houses but also spiritual symbols with designated spaces for ancestral worship.
The Batammariba maintain a rich tradition in particular for young men of their society, The initiation – which is the transition of a man to adulthood is celebrated with full participation from the whole community. The initiation rituals are deeply significant to this transition and may involve tattooing and other body modifications. The older men of the tribe also carry out an initiation ritual to demonstrate to the younger generation the strength of the men that protect the region – where they use whips and axes and whip each other in front of the house of the boy who will enter adulthood. An animal sacrifice is also done on one of the towers in front of the boy’s house. This sacrifice marks that the traditional ritual has been accomplished.
The Takienta
Integral to the identity of Koutammakou lay the Takienta – also known as Tata houses which are the unique, earthen homes in which the Batammariba reside. These distinctive traditional mud houses are the hallmark of their cultural heritage and architectural ingenuity. The Takienta is more than a house to these people, it is a symbolic reflection of their deeply intertwined relationship with nature as well as their ancestors and spiritual beliefs. It is said that each house is a microcosm of the Batammariba universe, where the layout is reflective of their cosmology. Therefore, the buildings are designed to carry religious beliefs with spaces accommodated for ancestral worship and rituals.
The Takienta are two-story earthen structures that are home to the Batammariba. The ground floor typically accommodates the man of the house and the livestock with granaries while the upper floor houses the children along with the living spaces. The design practically dictates the social structure and the worldview that the Batammariba holds. The construction of the Takienta
Is typically a communal effort. As these homes are central to their livelihoods, the construction involves intricate knowledge of the land and natural resources. Known for their resilience and natural insulation, the buildings are made from earth, wood, and straw – contributing to adapting to the region’s climate, providing a cool interior during hot days and warmth during cold nights. In the process of putting communal effort into building the Takienta, the bonds between the Batammariba are strengthened and thus, make the community tight. Whenever a Takienta becomes unfit for habitation, the Batammariba tradition requires that its old earthen core be incorporated into the new house.
With the emergence of modern building material techniques and methods, the traditional knowledge and skills that are required to build the Takienta are a risk. Therefore, efforts have been made to preserve them – the designation of Kiutammakou as a UNESCO World Heritage site is one of them.
The Batammariba thus, face this challenge as they strive for the balance between maintaining their rich cultural heritage and surviving the adaptability of this changing world whilst ensuring these traditions, rituals, and architectural skills are preserved for generations to come.
Bibliography:
Centre, U. W. H. (no date) Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba (UNESCO/NHK), UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Document. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/124461 (Accessed: 21 January 2024).
Koutammakou, Land of the Batammariba (2021) World Monuments Fund. Available at: https://www.wmf.org/project/koutammakou-land-batammariba#:~:text=The%20Batammariba%20People&text=The%20Batammariba%20name%2C%20used%20by,for%20Batammariba%20society%20and%20culture. (Accessed: 21 January 2024).
Koutammakou – the Land of the Batammariba (no date) World Tour. Available at: https://world-tour.in/travel-inspiration/art-and-culture/koutammakou-the-land-of-the-batammariba/ (Accessed: 21 January 2024).
World Heritage Site (no date) Koutammakou | For UNESCO World Heritage Travellers. Available at: https://www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Koutammakou (Accessed: 21 January 2024).
Mckay, F. (2021) Koutammakou, Land of the Batammariba, AIA UK. AIA UK. Available at: https://www.aiauk.org/news/2021/9/21/koutammakou-land-of-the-batammariba (Accessed: 21 January 2024).
