Tammari people
These evolved by adding an enclosing roof to the clusters of huts, joined by a connecting wall that is typical of Gur-speaking areas of West Africa.
Historical research has traced their migration from diverse regions, settling in small groups, while preserving their societal practices of origin.
[1] After years (or maybe centuries) of wandering, the Batammariba settled in the valleys, a way of existence they preferred to their former history of conflict with law-imposing warlords and chieftains.
Their settlement could not have happened without the intercession of the Babietiba, (first settlers), who belonged to a highly culturally evolved group of foragers, then introduced them to the “true owners of the region”: underground forces incarnated into a source such as a rock or a tree.
This link to the underground forces demanded bravery, self-mastery, and discretion, essential qualities by which the Batammaribas are formed from a young age.
The Takyenta (also spelled Takienta) traditional dwelling, including the famous Tata Somba, is typically built of mud and surrounded by towers that support garrets, evoking medieval citadels.
The storied construction with its solid walls acts as a protective fortress to keep out invaders and repel fatal spear attacks on its inhabitants.
[2] The uniqueness and sophistication of this architecture has been recognized since 2004 by UNESCO as a world heritage site, with the statement, "Koutammakou is an outstanding example of territorial occupation by a people in constant search of harmony between man and the surrounding nature".
[5] Kuiye is believed to resemble a human in appearance, but is also considered both male and female, so that the deity is often referred to as "The Sun, Our Father and Our Mother".
Her corporeal form, invisible to humans, is said to resemble a mudfish, an animal that is thought to vomit up an infinite amount of water.
They maintain a strictly age-based hierarchy between elders and younger residents, like all African societies, but oppose any form of centralized power, and reject hereditary chieftains.
A ritual center is the foundation of the village and is organized around a cemetery, a large initiation house for the youth, and the head serpent sanctuary.
This has permitted the Batammariba to resist outside influences that negate their determination to maintain the millenary heritage that makes their culture so remarkable.
[12] From 19 to 24 October 2018, UNESCO organized an emergency mission to assess the damage allegedly caused by the August 2018 rains in Koutammakou on habitat and on the intangible heritage.
