Gourounsi Land

Two weeks ago, I visited Pô in the Nahouri province, few hours from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and not far from the Ghanaian border. I was amazed by the beautiful landscape of peaks and the mud-houses facades. While in Pô, my friend and myself were introduced to the chief of Pô whose dwelling is composed of different compounds embellished with unique decorative murals. Through the visit I desperately wanted to take few shots of the chief’s dwelling but did not dare to disturb the conversation. Not far from Pô is located the famous city of Tiébélé composed of spectacular semi-circular shaped traditional houses. In Tiébélé like in Pô, the facades are decorated with black, white and brown geometric signs and symbols. The black is obtained from graphite, the white from kaolin and the brown is a mixture of earthy tones and nere (Parkia Biglobosa) also used to colorize and seal ceramics. The regular patterns symbolize the culture, the history of the Kassena community part of the Gourounsi people. The houses are said to be organized in a military way. The homes are still built as in a fortress, doors are very low for the enemy to kneel down when entering a room. A little wall inside rooms forces him to stumble therefore making the enemy more vulnerable. The Kassena architecture allows to personalize one’s home, the mural decoration is a vivid testimony of the culture, the most important sign is said to be the gourd (zimboré) a recipient for water: symbol of life. Amongst other symbols are the tortoise, totem of the community and whose meat is forbidden. The fishing net is also a common pattern as fishing did save the Kassena when food was scarce. The Kassena kitchen is described as unsual, the entrance is reminiscent of the female sex. The kitchen is divided into different rooms. One is dedicated to pound cereals on a clay table, leading to another one that is exclusively designed to store cereals in a collection of piled pots. Some of the pots are also said to store women's jewels.

I was amazed by the regularity of the elegant patterns I saw in Pô and can’t wait for my next visit to Tiébélé… In the meantime I have collected few images from websites and hope you will enjoy them.

For a visit to Burkina or Ghana

Please contact ADT (Association pour le Développement de Tiébélé)

BP 02 PO – Province du Nahouri

Tel: (226) 40 32 84/93 – 63 99 54

Email: adt126@yahoo.fr

Courtesy:

Tiebele

Danheller

Sources:

Le Burkina Faso d’Aujourd’hui, Les éditions Jaguar

Air Burkina Magazine