TiébéLé: A Town in Africa That Appears Hand-Painted
A small African community maintains an artistic lineage of undeniable beauty.
Burkina Faso is one of the world’s smallest and most isolated countries. However, in the west of the African continent, lying between Mali and Ghana, this country is the cradle of an artistic lineage of kings that live in a little village, and which, it would not be an exaggeration to say, is hand-painted: Tiébélé.
The circular town measures just three acres and maintains a hundreds-of-years-old peculiarity: its facades are decorated with geometric shapes and symbols of local folklore by members of the community, converting the town into a living canvas of clay and history.
For the tourist or outside observer, the patterns can appear simple, clumsy or repetitive. But from the form in which they are displayed, as well as the place itself and the details of each house, the hierarchic position that the inhabitants hold within the community can be deduced; the house of the royal family, for example, has much more detailed designs and the door (the houses do not have windows) is very small, which is believed to provide greater protection. The designs also differentiate between the houses and the mausoleums, as the people live alongside their dead.
Tiébélé is the home of the Kassena, one of the world’s oldest ethnic groups, and which settled the area in the 15th century. The houses are made of clay, in the form of a flattened cone, but the sequence of the walls reminds us of the form of a labyrinth, or a continuous structure, more than that of western houses, or of an Apache teepee or an igloo, other ethnic architectural structures according to their landscape and the elements.
But the elements could play against the survival of the town: wind erosion and the danger of floods in the wet season have made Tiébélé vulnerable, and international organizations have taken a role to ensure that the community’s legacy survives.
In addition to the international efforts, the Kassena themselves are transmitting the knowledge and the techniques linked to the creation of these inhabitable works of art to the younger generations, who little by little leave their place of origin to seek better opportunities for survival.
Related Articles
Pictorial spiritism (a woman's drawings guided by a spirit)
There are numerous examples in the history of self-taught artists which suggest an interrogation of that which we take for granted within the universe of art. Such was the case with figures like
Astounding fairytale illustrations from Japan
Fairy tales tribal stories— are more than childish tales. Such fictions, the characters of which inhabit our earliest memories, aren’t just literary works with an aesthetic and pleasant purpose. They
A cinematic poem and an ode to water: its rhythms, shapes and textures
Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water. - John Keats Without water the equation of life, at least life as we know it, would be impossible. A growing hypothesis holds that water, including the
Watch beauty unfold through science in this "ode to a flower" (video)
The study of the microscopic is one of the richest, most aesthetic methods of understanding the world. Lucky is the scientist who, upon seeing something beautiful, is able to see all of the tiny
To invent those we love or to see them as they are? Love in two of the movies' favorite scenes
So much has been said already, of “love” that it’s difficult to add anything, much less something new. It’s possible, though, perhaps because even if you try to pass through the sieve of all our
This app allows you to find and preserve ancient typographies
Most people, even those who are far removed from the world of design, are familiar with some type of typography and its ability to transform any text, help out dyslexics or stretch an eight page paper
The secrets of the mind-body connection
For decades medical research has recognized the existence of the placebo effect — in which the assumption that a medication will help produces actual physical improvements. In addition to this, a
The sea as infinite laboratory
Much of our thinking on the shape of the world and the universe derives from the way scientists and artists have approached these topics over time. Our fascination with the mysteries of the
Sharing and collaborating - natural movements of the creative being
We might sometimes think that artistic or creative activity is, in essence, individualistic. The Genesis of Judeo-Christian tradition portrays a God whose decision to create the world is as vehement
John Malkovich becomes David Lynch (and other characters)
John Malkovich and David Lynch are, respectively, the actor and film director who’ve implicitly or explicitly addressed the issues of identity and its porous barriers through numerous projects. Now