SEVERAL ROOMS
TAMBERMA AND SOMBA
Images of Tata castles appear at the top of search results for traditional African architecture on the internet. They fulfil an aesthetic ideal and are linked to the history of the Somba and Tamberma peoples, who live in the Atakora Mountains near the border between Togo and Benin. The castles are still widespread there today and are used as stables, storage rooms and living spaces. They form a unit in the settlements of families with houses and huts. Their owners combine the advantages of the castles with those of new buildings with corrugated iron roofs. The two-storey castles offer a variety of rooms with a good climate and are inspired by the history of the hollows of a baobab tree. The castles have lost their original function of protecting the inhabitants from enemies.
