the tatas of togo

bonjour mes amis!

I saw the tatas of Togo and no, I am not talking about the drooping breasts of mothers on vaccination day at the hospital. The tatas are the typical compound used by the people of the Tamberma valley in northeastern Togo. I had the opportunity to see one of the more famous historical sites of Togo this past weekend when I went to Kande to visit Taylor after the Christmas festivities. Since I was going up to see AED-Kande and see what I could learn up there to bring back to Sotouboua, I thought it prudent to do a little sightseeing. As for the tatas, this is what Lonely Planet has to say about them, since I didn’t really learn that much more about them at the actual site:

“A typical Tamberma compound, called a tata, consists of a series of towers connected by a thick wall with a single entrance chamber, used to trap an enemy so he can be showered with arrows or hot water. The castle-like nature of these extraordinary structures helped ward off invasions by neighbouring tribes and, in the late 19th century, the Germans…life in a tata revolves around an elevated terrace of clay-covered logs where the inhabitants cook, dry their millet and corn, and spend most of their leisure time.”

“Skilled builders, the Tamberma only use clay, wood and straw – and no tools. The walls are banco, a mixture of unfired clay and straw, which is used as a binder. The towers, capped by picturesque conical roofs, are used for storing corn and millet. The other rooms are used for sleeping, bathing and, during rainy season, cooking. The animals are kept under the terrace, protected from the rain.”

“There may be a fetish shrine in front of the compound, as well as animal skulls on the walls inside. You may see a man and his son going off to hunt with bows and arrows. Traditionally, when a man is old enough to start his own family, he shoots an arrow and, where it lands, builds his own tata.”

It was cool to visit the tatas, a very “African” experience. An interesting note to add: the Tamberma valley stretches from northeastern Togo into northwestern Benin. Although only about 10% of the Tamberma people live in Togo, the official UNESCO World Heritage Site for the tatas are in Togo; however, one can still see tatas in Benin.

Okay backtracking a bit, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, I headed to Niamtougou to celebrate Christmas with my stâge-mates. It was good to see people that I hadn’t seen in a really long time, particularly my friends in the southern most part of the country. Nothing too exciting happened apart from catching up with friends, playing dirty Santa, eating fondue (courtesy of Reid’s family) and watching Christmas movies all morning; however, I FINALLY watched the original “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” (I’m convinced the directors had to be on acid when making the clay-mation movie) and “A Christmas Story” (I was thoroughly unimpressed by this movie. I guess it’s just one of those movies you have to grow up on in order to appreciate). After the festivities like I said, I headed up to Kande. Brittany and her mom joined me up there for our sightseeing trip and it was good to hang out with them outside the large group setting of Christmas. We even headed out to Nadoba after seeing the tatas to visit Karen, the new NRM volunteer there working on eco-tourism. After several wonderful days in the north (with great food courtesy of Taylor), I headed back to Sotouboua to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

reporting live from Togo,
- Nikhil