Winfried Bullinger

The Masa settlements on the slopes of the Mandara Mountains are nestled amongst the valleys and hillsides of the mountainous landscape. The traditional buildings, made of stone and clay, have high, pointed wooden roofs covered with grass. The huts stand close together and are partly enclosed by masonry. The shape of the roof is so distinctive that the Masa huts have become an architectural signature. In the densely populated area between Mokolo and Mozogo in Cameroon’s Far North Province, concrete buildings with rectangular floor plans and corrugated iron roofs are springing up alongside the traditional structures. In the southern part of the Mandara Mountains, between Rhumsiki and Mokolo, these structures dominate, whilst the traditional ones are found only sporadically. The stone terraces remain and link the entire settlement area, which lies close to the Nigerian border.