What a crazy world I live in… I only wish I could even begin to explain it all to you! One thing at a time, Sarah. One thing at a time! First thing:
Tata Somba’s
As you might have seen in the posting before, tata somba’s are the traditional housing of my local tribe, the Ditamaari. I have recently learned quite a bit more about my local people lately, thanks to my Mama Agness.
As you might have gathered from previous posts, tata sombas are dual leveled mud fortresses that are unique to my little tribe and their little area of the world. That means that these fortresses are not found anywhere outside of this little area that spans approximately 30 square kilometers.
Yes, there are Ditamaari who live in other parts of West Africa and Benin, but all others have given up their traditional houses. The Ditamaari of Boukoumbe actually migrated from a place hundreds of kilometers away in Burkina Faso, but even the that ancestral area has lost the tata somba. The Ditamaari of Boukoumbe are very traditional though. So much so that they will even hold one male child out of schooling or ‘city’ life in order for them to be the keepers of the traditions.
A single tata somba can be constructed in as little as a day and a half, and it is a community effort. When I say community, I mean the community in the community. This is the equivalent of a neighborhood street of maybe 10 to 20 people going in together to building something. Tata’s are always built in the dry season too, which is from October to mid-May.
The building process is done layer by layer of dirt mixed with rocks and water. Once the bottom area is finished, which is where the animals are kept at night, the second floor is begun by laying down pieces of wood in multiple directions to form a foundation. Mud is then packed onto that and then the rooms are built onto that. The grain towers are done the same way. The grain tower foundation of wooden planks is actually constructed separately from the second floor foundation. I assume this is to make sure it can support the weight of the grain. Also, grain towers are lined with straw and a woven straw lid. This is for extra protection from the rain. The first level area below the grain towers are hollow and unused. Only the area from the second floor up actually holds grain. The grains stored are usually corn or millet. Corn makes paté (heated corn and water), and millet makes tchouk, the local beer.
As you can see in the pictures, the first floor has an entry-way where tchouk is made. The rest is where the animals are kept at night. In the morning a simple door is removed and the cows, goats, pigs and chickens wander freely and come home (on their own) at night. The animals are only forced to stay at home during the growing (aka rainy) season.
The kitchen is also part of the first floor, but it is raised about 3 ft higher than the animal room. It also has a traditional ladder leading to another hole, raised another 3 ft, that leads to the lower outside area. In this area you find one grain tower that is reachable at this level, and a traditional ladder that ascends the last 3 to 4 feet to the top.
The top level has three rooms and 3 grain towers (including the lowered one mentioned above). The rooms are about 3 feet high, but the floor is slightly lowered inside them to give them more room. These used to be sleeping quarters, but I find people rarely sleep in the tatas anymore… maybe they do more in the smaller villages. Most people in ‘Boukoumbe proper’ seem to have a separate square (or ‘modern’) one-room mud house to the side that they actually live in during the rainy season. When it’s the dry season you sleep outside.
Once a tata somba has been constructed, it must get a second coating of mud smoothed over it to keep it from deteriorating quickly. This is done after the layers dry, and it gives the tata it’s smooth look. Then, before the rains start, the owners must ‘treat’ their outer walls to protect them from the rain. This is done by taking the shell of a local bean, soaking many of them in water for a few days until the water becomes purple, then splashing it all over the walls. The bean shell used comes from a tree called “nearé” in French. The beans are also used; they’re fed to children as nutrients when food is hard to find.
Tata Somba’s
As you might have seen in the posting before, tata somba’s are the traditional housing of my local tribe, the Ditamaari. I have recently learned quite a bit more about my local people lately, thanks to my Mama Agness.
As you might have gathered from previous posts, tata sombas are dual leveled mud fortresses that are unique to my little tribe and their little area of the world. That means that these fortresses are not found anywhere outside of this little area that spans approximately 30 square kilometers.
Yes, there are Ditamaari who live in other parts of West Africa and Benin, but all others have given up their traditional houses. The Ditamaari of Boukoumbe actually migrated from a place hundreds of kilometers away in Burkina Faso, but even the that ancestral area has lost the tata somba. The Ditamaari of Boukoumbe are very traditional though. So much so that they will even hold one male child out of schooling or ‘city’ life in order for them to be the keepers of the traditions.
A single tata somba can be constructed in as little as a day and a half, and it is a community effort. When I say community, I mean the community in the community. This is the equivalent of a neighborhood street of maybe 10 to 20 people going in together to building something. Tata’s are always built in the dry season too, which is from October to mid-May.
The building process is done layer by layer of dirt mixed with rocks and water. Once the bottom area is finished, which is where the animals are kept at night, the second floor is begun by laying down pieces of wood in multiple directions to form a foundation. Mud is then packed onto that and then the rooms are built onto that. The grain towers are done the same way. The grain tower foundation of wooden planks is actually constructed separately from the second floor foundation. I assume this is to make sure it can support the weight of the grain. Also, grain towers are lined with straw and a woven straw lid. This is for extra protection from the rain. The first level area below the grain towers are hollow and unused. Only the area from the second floor up actually holds grain. The grains stored are usually corn or millet. Corn makes paté (heated corn and water), and millet makes tchouk, the local beer.
As you can see in the pictures, the first floor has an entry-way where tchouk is made. The rest is where the animals are kept at night. In the morning a simple door is removed and the cows, goats, pigs and chickens wander freely and come home (on their own) at night. The animals are only forced to stay at home during the growing (aka rainy) season.
The kitchen is also part of the first floor, but it is raised about 3 ft higher than the animal room. It also has a traditional ladder leading to another hole, raised another 3 ft, that leads to the lower outside area. In this area you find one grain tower that is reachable at this level, and a traditional ladder that ascends the last 3 to 4 feet to the top.
The top level has three rooms and 3 grain towers (including the lowered one mentioned above). The rooms are about 3 feet high, but the floor is slightly lowered inside them to give them more room. These used to be sleeping quarters, but I find people rarely sleep in the tatas anymore… maybe they do more in the smaller villages. Most people in ‘Boukoumbe proper’ seem to have a separate square (or ‘modern’) one-room mud house to the side that they actually live in during the rainy season. When it’s the dry season you sleep outside.
Once a tata somba has been constructed, it must get a second coating of mud smoothed over it to keep it from deteriorating quickly. This is done after the layers dry, and it gives the tata it’s smooth look. Then, before the rains start, the owners must ‘treat’ their outer walls to protect them from the rain. This is done by taking the shell of a local bean, soaking many of them in water for a few days until the water becomes purple, then splashing it all over the walls. The bean shell used comes from a tree called “nearé” in French. The beans are also used; they’re fed to children as nutrients when food is hard to find.
This is the view from the front of a tata somba. This gives you the view of what's in the front rooms.
This is the first floor layout of a tata somba. This is a rough estimate of where everything is. I did it by memory, but I'm pretty sure its fairly accurate.
This is the view of the second floor layout of a tata somba. Details of all the usages are in the text above. the bedrooms are overed with a rimmed top, and that is where grain is dried, along with on the rooftop floor.
The Ditamaari
As you might have gathered, Boukoumbe is Ditamaari capitol. Actually though, I should correct myself: Ditamaari is the word to describe the language, and outsiders use it to as an ethnicity name, but the name of the race is actually the ‘Otamaari’. So, the Otamaari speak Ditamaari, and are also known as the Somba people to foreigners. Calling them ‘Somba people’, though not preferred, does have one funny little benefit: The Somba people live on the border between Benin and Togo, which at one point were separated between to different colonial powers. In order to make the border seem more borderish, the name was changed (I believe only on the Togo side). Therefore, the Togolese Somba people are actually called the Tamberma, but they do acknowledge the language as Ditamaari.
With many ethnic groups, or ‘tribes’ the facial scarring used is very recognizable, but not with the Ditamaari. Each local group of Otamaari has their own scarring techniques, and some even believe that the scarring used is determined by your guardian spirit. As the story seems to go, when a child is born you sacrifice a bisch (a horned deer-like animal) in their honor and keep its head. If the spirit wants the child to be scarred with its mark, it specifies them (I assume to the magic man), and so the child forever carries the sign of the blessing from its guardian spirit.
Also, many cultures can be identified by their work or personality or skin color. If anything can be identified about the Otamaari, it’s that they are cultivators and earth workers in general. The name Ditamaari actually means ‘workers of the earth’ in Ditamaari (the language). Not only do they cultivate and build mud fortresses, but they also are experts the ‘improved stove’, which is a ring of mud that supports your pot and which holds the coals inside the ring, and thus reduces the amount of coal needed.
Cultures in General
It’s amazing what incredibly accurate details can be determined with a glance here. For instance, you see a man walking around with a pile of tissue (cotton clothing material) on his head, and automatically it is known that he is a Bassé (another cultural group) from Niger, and that he is selling tissue in order to earn enough money to marry the girl he has chosen. Nothing need be said; it is known. The funniest thing is that all the tissue doesn’t even come from Niger. These guys come all the way from Niger – the desert – to Cotonou or Lomé, Togo – the Pacific Coast – to buy their product. Why do the decide to buy tissue instead of something else??? Why and how do they end up in the northwest of Benin when they are from the country northeast of Benin???? These questions seem better left unasked. That is just the way it is.
Another true stereotype can be placed on the Fulani. The Fulani are a nomadic people who herd cows. They are very quiet and reserved, and rarely do they speak French. The amazing thing about these people is their scarification on their faces… they are always incredibly beautiful. Some groups even use tattooing rather than scars. Also, many Fulani women wear bunches of simple silver bracelets on their arms, and they will sew seashells into their hair in designs, and their hair will be combed into a large round shape. And then there is the most identifiable symbol of the Fulani: Their cheese. The Fulani are the ONLY people in all of Benin who milk cows, and they make a sponge-looking cheese from it that tastes wonderful. Everyone buys and eats the Fulani cheese, but only the Fulani ever make it.
Another local group, and actually the second largest in Benin, are the Dendi in the north of Benin. The Dendi do not have many terribly identifiable characteristics… but a large majority of them are muslim. They are also a very calm and accepting people.
The Fon, the majority ethnic group of Benin, are the people of the south. The Fon are known for being more edgy and confrontational. They will argue a price at the market for hours if you let them. They know you know the price, and they know that they can give you that price… but they will argue every single franc in between in the hope of benefiting a little more. The Fon are so exhausting that there are times I do give in and pay the higher price just so that I can keep my blood pressure down.
Nigerians are another group that seem to have a niche. The majority ethnic group in Nigeria is the Ebo, and their language is a mixture of English and the old Ebo language of yesteryear. It’s incredibly strange to listen to, because they just seem to slide in and out of English. Many Nigerians seem to leave their country for Benin, and it seems most of them sell electronics. Now, in the case of Nigerians, I will admit that this generalization is a little broader than the rest. There are Nigerians EVERYWHERE and they are doing EVERYTHING, but if the percentages were broken down, I think the numbers would lean towards supporting me in this comment.
My Life: An Update
As for me and my daily life, well, things are good. My parents’ visit truly refreshed me, and it made me realize that a vacation home might be the answer to my problems the next time I am that stressed out. I guess I was pretty homesick. I have to admit, Peace Corps is not the easiest thing to do. So yes, maybe we aren’t doing an 9 to 5 ‘real world’ job, but it’s stressful!!! Just imagine: You’re far away from home, nothing is familiar, the food tastes like gooey muck that you eat with your hands, you can’t even eat with both hands because people think you wipe your butt with your left (like they do), there’s never constant water, what water you get you have to boil, all food bought has to be disinfected too, when you eat out there’s a good chance you’ll get sick or just get a parasite, there’s sometimes no electricity, rarely is there a toilet, people always see you as the outsider no matter what, you don’t understand what people are saying most of the time but you realize that the word for ‘white person’ in local language is being used once every 3 seconds, you don’t have a clue what they’re thinking, you usually don’t have a clue of what’s going on, and no matter how hard you try the locals just don’t understand why you are so stressed out, …and then to top it off, all of your conventional methods of dealing with your stress are completely unavailable to you. You eventually get to a point when there are so many mental dilemmas and personal changes that you don’t even remember what being comfortable was like. All I remember is what it tasted like…. it tasted a lot like that Arby’s Marketfresh Corn Beef Reuben my parents brought me all the way from home. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!!
No worries though, I’m not stressed anymore. This weak I spent a lot of time planning out my business club field trip and trying to get a program together while fighting what I feared to be an eye infection. Luckily the eye got better, and I got most of my stuff done before having to leave. Really though, never have I heard so many people tell me, “Oh yeah, your eye’s red. Don’t worry though; a bug probably just flew into it. It’ll be fine.” Have you ever thought of bugs flying into eyeballs as a normal event?!?! I admit that I hadn’t, but there is a first for everything.
So, now I’m away from my lovely Boukoumbe again, but this time it’s for a conference in Cotonou. I’m going to be working the next stag(French word for ‘training’), which means I’ll be one of the people working with the new business volunteers… which really means that I’ll be the one telling the new guys, “Look. Here’s what just changed in your life…” followed by a sugary version of the rant 2 paragraphs above. Hah! No, no,… that might be a little overwhelming. Maybe I’ll just stick to the good stuff… a beautiful culture, a completely perfectly competitive market, a life of learning to live without the modern amenities that we’ve grown so dependent on (Look Mom! I’m cooking WITHOUT the microwave!!), eating completely organic food, not having to deal with cold weather, not having to be a drone to technology…….. the list of good things is much longer than the bad list…. I just like to rant sometimes. J
Anyway, so I’ll be in Cotonou till this Thursday or so, then I’ll be back in Boukoumbe, then I’m going to help out with a Peace Corps sponsored girls camp a couple of hours away, and then I’m going to actually work stag (still the French word for ‘training’) for a week or so, and then (…on and on and on)… Let’s just say I’ll be keeping busy for the next month or so.
After this busy spell is past, I would like to start getting stuff together to raise the money (with maybe a little help from you guys at home) to finish a row of classrooms at my local high school in Boukoumbe. Boukoumbe is a little behind in the fact that it doesn’t even have the last 3 years of high school, known as the 2nd cycle. The problem is that there isn’t even enough room for the 1st cycle!!!! Because there aren’t enough classrooms, these kids are going to school off and on all day long till as late as 7pm, and that includes Saturdays! It seems someone realized that this was a problem, and so some organization starting building a line of 4 classrooms. Unfortunately, they didn’t finish anything past the walls and the skeleton of the overhang in front of them before the money ran out and they left. Although these half-finished buildings provide great shade for the students bikes, the classrooms they are meant to be would be far more useful. Does this interest you guys at all?
Well, that’s about all of my news. Things are going well for me. I honestly don’t know if I have ever felt this positive and relaxed since I got to post (my post being Boukoumbe) 8 months ago. Including stag (training), I’ve officially been here for 10 months now! 10 of 27 months doesn’t make it seem like much, but if you think of it in the terms of years, then I’m only 2 months away from a year! As I keep telling myself, “One thing at a time, Sarah. One thing at a time!”
I would like to add one more thing before I sign off tonight. To all of you at home who just keep supporting me with your emails and your posts on my blog: Thank you. To see that there are people at home who not only haven’t forgotten you, but who actually think to check up on you?!?, well that’s an amazing feeling for someone like me. I know I may not be the best at responding to emails, but please understand how difficult it is for me to get anything open, much less sent, online. I am doing my best though, and I really want you to know that I think of you guys all the time. Such good friends are so hard to come by. Thank you again.
That’s it for tonight. Best of luck, everyone.
Sarah
As you might have gathered, Boukoumbe is Ditamaari capitol. Actually though, I should correct myself: Ditamaari is the word to describe the language, and outsiders use it to as an ethnicity name, but the name of the race is actually the ‘Otamaari’. So, the Otamaari speak Ditamaari, and are also known as the Somba people to foreigners. Calling them ‘Somba people’, though not preferred, does have one funny little benefit: The Somba people live on the border between Benin and Togo, which at one point were separated between to different colonial powers. In order to make the border seem more borderish, the name was changed (I believe only on the Togo side). Therefore, the Togolese Somba people are actually called the Tamberma, but they do acknowledge the language as Ditamaari.
With many ethnic groups, or ‘tribes’ the facial scarring used is very recognizable, but not with the Ditamaari. Each local group of Otamaari has their own scarring techniques, and some even believe that the scarring used is determined by your guardian spirit. As the story seems to go, when a child is born you sacrifice a bisch (a horned deer-like animal) in their honor and keep its head. If the spirit wants the child to be scarred with its mark, it specifies them (I assume to the magic man), and so the child forever carries the sign of the blessing from its guardian spirit.
Also, many cultures can be identified by their work or personality or skin color. If anything can be identified about the Otamaari, it’s that they are cultivators and earth workers in general. The name Ditamaari actually means ‘workers of the earth’ in Ditamaari (the language). Not only do they cultivate and build mud fortresses, but they also are experts the ‘improved stove’, which is a ring of mud that supports your pot and which holds the coals inside the ring, and thus reduces the amount of coal needed.
Cultures in General
It’s amazing what incredibly accurate details can be determined with a glance here. For instance, you see a man walking around with a pile of tissue (cotton clothing material) on his head, and automatically it is known that he is a Bassé (another cultural group) from Niger, and that he is selling tissue in order to earn enough money to marry the girl he has chosen. Nothing need be said; it is known. The funniest thing is that all the tissue doesn’t even come from Niger. These guys come all the way from Niger – the desert – to Cotonou or Lomé, Togo – the Pacific Coast – to buy their product. Why do the decide to buy tissue instead of something else??? Why and how do they end up in the northwest of Benin when they are from the country northeast of Benin???? These questions seem better left unasked. That is just the way it is.
Another true stereotype can be placed on the Fulani. The Fulani are a nomadic people who herd cows. They are very quiet and reserved, and rarely do they speak French. The amazing thing about these people is their scarification on their faces… they are always incredibly beautiful. Some groups even use tattooing rather than scars. Also, many Fulani women wear bunches of simple silver bracelets on their arms, and they will sew seashells into their hair in designs, and their hair will be combed into a large round shape. And then there is the most identifiable symbol of the Fulani: Their cheese. The Fulani are the ONLY people in all of Benin who milk cows, and they make a sponge-looking cheese from it that tastes wonderful. Everyone buys and eats the Fulani cheese, but only the Fulani ever make it.
Another local group, and actually the second largest in Benin, are the Dendi in the north of Benin. The Dendi do not have many terribly identifiable characteristics… but a large majority of them are muslim. They are also a very calm and accepting people.
The Fon, the majority ethnic group of Benin, are the people of the south. The Fon are known for being more edgy and confrontational. They will argue a price at the market for hours if you let them. They know you know the price, and they know that they can give you that price… but they will argue every single franc in between in the hope of benefiting a little more. The Fon are so exhausting that there are times I do give in and pay the higher price just so that I can keep my blood pressure down.
Nigerians are another group that seem to have a niche. The majority ethnic group in Nigeria is the Ebo, and their language is a mixture of English and the old Ebo language of yesteryear. It’s incredibly strange to listen to, because they just seem to slide in and out of English. Many Nigerians seem to leave their country for Benin, and it seems most of them sell electronics. Now, in the case of Nigerians, I will admit that this generalization is a little broader than the rest. There are Nigerians EVERYWHERE and they are doing EVERYTHING, but if the percentages were broken down, I think the numbers would lean towards supporting me in this comment.
My Life: An Update
As for me and my daily life, well, things are good. My parents’ visit truly refreshed me, and it made me realize that a vacation home might be the answer to my problems the next time I am that stressed out. I guess I was pretty homesick. I have to admit, Peace Corps is not the easiest thing to do. So yes, maybe we aren’t doing an 9 to 5 ‘real world’ job, but it’s stressful!!! Just imagine: You’re far away from home, nothing is familiar, the food tastes like gooey muck that you eat with your hands, you can’t even eat with both hands because people think you wipe your butt with your left (like they do), there’s never constant water, what water you get you have to boil, all food bought has to be disinfected too, when you eat out there’s a good chance you’ll get sick or just get a parasite, there’s sometimes no electricity, rarely is there a toilet, people always see you as the outsider no matter what, you don’t understand what people are saying most of the time but you realize that the word for ‘white person’ in local language is being used once every 3 seconds, you don’t have a clue what they’re thinking, you usually don’t have a clue of what’s going on, and no matter how hard you try the locals just don’t understand why you are so stressed out, …and then to top it off, all of your conventional methods of dealing with your stress are completely unavailable to you. You eventually get to a point when there are so many mental dilemmas and personal changes that you don’t even remember what being comfortable was like. All I remember is what it tasted like…. it tasted a lot like that Arby’s Marketfresh Corn Beef Reuben my parents brought me all the way from home. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!!
No worries though, I’m not stressed anymore. This weak I spent a lot of time planning out my business club field trip and trying to get a program together while fighting what I feared to be an eye infection. Luckily the eye got better, and I got most of my stuff done before having to leave. Really though, never have I heard so many people tell me, “Oh yeah, your eye’s red. Don’t worry though; a bug probably just flew into it. It’ll be fine.” Have you ever thought of bugs flying into eyeballs as a normal event?!?! I admit that I hadn’t, but there is a first for everything.
So, now I’m away from my lovely Boukoumbe again, but this time it’s for a conference in Cotonou. I’m going to be working the next stag(French word for ‘training’), which means I’ll be one of the people working with the new business volunteers… which really means that I’ll be the one telling the new guys, “Look. Here’s what just changed in your life…” followed by a sugary version of the rant 2 paragraphs above. Hah! No, no,… that might be a little overwhelming. Maybe I’ll just stick to the good stuff… a beautiful culture, a completely perfectly competitive market, a life of learning to live without the modern amenities that we’ve grown so dependent on (Look Mom! I’m cooking WITHOUT the microwave!!), eating completely organic food, not having to deal with cold weather, not having to be a drone to technology…….. the list of good things is much longer than the bad list…. I just like to rant sometimes. J
Anyway, so I’ll be in Cotonou till this Thursday or so, then I’ll be back in Boukoumbe, then I’m going to help out with a Peace Corps sponsored girls camp a couple of hours away, and then I’m going to actually work stag (still the French word for ‘training’) for a week or so, and then (…on and on and on)… Let’s just say I’ll be keeping busy for the next month or so.
After this busy spell is past, I would like to start getting stuff together to raise the money (with maybe a little help from you guys at home) to finish a row of classrooms at my local high school in Boukoumbe. Boukoumbe is a little behind in the fact that it doesn’t even have the last 3 years of high school, known as the 2nd cycle. The problem is that there isn’t even enough room for the 1st cycle!!!! Because there aren’t enough classrooms, these kids are going to school off and on all day long till as late as 7pm, and that includes Saturdays! It seems someone realized that this was a problem, and so some organization starting building a line of 4 classrooms. Unfortunately, they didn’t finish anything past the walls and the skeleton of the overhang in front of them before the money ran out and they left. Although these half-finished buildings provide great shade for the students bikes, the classrooms they are meant to be would be far more useful. Does this interest you guys at all?
Well, that’s about all of my news. Things are going well for me. I honestly don’t know if I have ever felt this positive and relaxed since I got to post (my post being Boukoumbe) 8 months ago. Including stag (training), I’ve officially been here for 10 months now! 10 of 27 months doesn’t make it seem like much, but if you think of it in the terms of years, then I’m only 2 months away from a year! As I keep telling myself, “One thing at a time, Sarah. One thing at a time!”
I would like to add one more thing before I sign off tonight. To all of you at home who just keep supporting me with your emails and your posts on my blog: Thank you. To see that there are people at home who not only haven’t forgotten you, but who actually think to check up on you?!?, well that’s an amazing feeling for someone like me. I know I may not be the best at responding to emails, but please understand how difficult it is for me to get anything open, much less sent, online. I am doing my best though, and I really want you to know that I think of you guys all the time. Such good friends are so hard to come by. Thank you again.
That’s it for tonight. Best of luck, everyone.
Sarah
