sending...Tiébélé in Burkina Faso, near the border with Ghana is home to the Kassena people. The diversity and uniqueness of Africa is amplified by the fact that through millenia its ethnic groups have created their own ways of doing things that can vary widely from neighboring ethnic groups. The Ga people of Ghana are known for their designer coffins whilst the people of Ganvie in Benin continue to marvel the world with their 500 year old village on Stilts.
The photos below show the mud village of the Kassena people in its glory. Mud houses are not a rare feature in Africa, but ones that are as decorated as intricately as these tend to be few and far between. These traditional painted mud houses are plastered with a mixture of mud and cow dung, then painted with designs evoking protective animals, motifs and other writings that tell a story of the culture of the Kassena people. Older women usually maintain the houses and reapply the mix every year. The mud facades are painted on using chalk, colored mud, stones and a natural sealant from the locust bean tree to create an original piece of art that provides just as much protection from the elements in the rainy seasons as it does in the dry seasons.
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Photos from Rita Willaert and Scott Worthington
