Credited to Togo. Koutammakou lies across north-eastern Togo and neighboring Benin, and UNESCO places the historic birthplace of the Batammariba in the Beninese part, occupied since the 6th century. The Togolese part was the first inscribed, in 2004.
How it began
Takienta, plural sikien, are the houses of the Batammariba, who live in the Koutammakou landscape of north-eastern Togo and neighboring Benin, largely in the Atacora Mountains. UNESCO notes that the people's name means those who shape the earth. It places their historic birthplace in the Beninese part of the landscape, occupied since the 6th century. The sources give no date for the first tower-houses. UNESCO states that the houses have become a symbol of Togo and Benin.
How it works
The houses are built of mud on circular or elliptical plans. A homestead is a group of rooms joined by an enclosed ground floor, which UNESCO says is kept for animals. People live on the flat roof above. Granaries stand on cylindrical mud towers, often built into the house, each under a conical thatched cap. A Y-shaped wooden ladder with notches cut for footholds gives access to the roof and granaries. Conical shrines may stand at the entrance.
What lasted
UNESCO describes Koutammakou as an outstanding example of a traditional settlement system that is still in use and still governed by traditional practices. Building follows a cycle of construction, abandonment, destruction and rebuilding on the ruins. The Togolese part was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004, and the property now extends into Benin.
Where it stands today
UNESCO counts several thousand sikien, of which 1,716 in Togo and 1,400 in Benin are still lived in. It lists pressures on the tradition: wood and straw are harder to find near villages, and schooling, central administration, religions, tourism, the cash economy, new lifestyles and climate change all affect it. The site African World Heritage Sites adds that iron sheets and other modern materials threaten the old building methods.
