The Tammari people , also known as Batammariba , Tamberma , Somba , Otamari or Ottamari , are an Oti–Volta -speaking people of the Atakora Department of Benin where they are also known as Somba and neighboring areas of Togo , where they are officially known as Ta(m)berma. They are famous for their two-story fortified houses, known as Tata Somba ("Somba house"), in which the ground floor houses livestock at night, internal alcoves are used for cooking, and the upper floor contains a rooftop courtyard that is used for drying grain, as well as containing sleeping quarters and granaries . 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 .
26-398: Tammari may refer to: Tammari people Tammari language See also [ edit ] Tamari (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Tammari . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
52-446: A feminine (north) orientation. Models of takyentas differ from village to village. The storied construction with its solid walls acts as a protective fortress to keep out invaders and repel fatal spear attacks on its inhabitants. It also serves as protection against leopards who, according to the village elders, roam freely in the overgrown bush. Building the fortress takes several months and requires much skilled labor. The upper floor
78-495: A house. Like garrison, it comes from an Old French word garir of ultimately Germanic origin meaning "to provide" or "defend". In the later 19th century, garrets became one of the defining features of Second Empire architecture in Paris , France , where large buildings were stratified socially between different floors. As the number of stairs to climb increased, the social status decreased. Garrets were often internal elements of
104-522: A large initiation house for the youth, and the head serpent sanctuary. The clans share and recognize certain family bonds as they all descend from the same founding fathers. Another important pillar of the Batammariba is an exceptionally well-preserved system of funeral rites and initiation ceremonies. Those responsible for the rituals are imbued with authority and are chosen following rigorous ethics, notably discretion and self-mastery as, for example, if one
130-602: A soul, known as Liye. Kuiye, the corporeal form of the deity, is thought to live in the "sun village" in the west, above the sky, while Liye travels the sky each day in the form of a disc of light. Butan, the goddess of the Earth and the Underworld, is Kuiye's complement as either Kuiye's wife or twin. Butan is the ruler of everything within the Earth or on its surface, including vegetal growth and agriculture, game proliferation, cemeteries , etc. Her corporeal form, invisible to humans,
156-405: 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 . Two, four or six clans can form a "village" or, to be more precise, a "territorial groupement" centered around the rituals upheld by each clan. A ritual center is the foundation of the village and is organized around a cemetery,
182-443: Is a habitable attic , a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally small with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a building, at the very top of the stairs. The word entered Middle English through Old French with a military connotation of watchtower, garrison or billet – a place for guards or soldiers to be quartered in
208-429: Is a living space and a safe haven. Up until 2000, parents and their children slept in elevated box structures placed on the sides and center areas of the terrasse. These boxes were also designed to protect the inhabitants and their guests from the midday heat. Nowadays the fortresses are reserved for ancestral devotional ceremonies. The souls of the ancestors reside in the earthen cone-shaped altars. Strangers cannot enter
234-509: Is extremely strong. 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". The residences of the Somba people have become an attraction in the fledgling tourist industry of Benin and Togo. The traditional religion of
260-464: Is said to resemble a mudfish , an animal that is thought to vomit up an infinite amount of water. Because of this, her main shrine is a village spring. Her complementary soul is called Bupe, and is visible as the surface of the Earth. The third major Batammariba deity is Oyinkakwata, "the Rich Man Above", who is the god of the sky, of thunder, lightning and storms . His soul is visible to humans in
286-459: Is the domain of dead spirits to whom the Batammariba owe their very existence with nature and the ability to generate. The Batammariba do not consider themselves landowners, but caretakers. 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
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#1732859472055312-511: Is threatened with a knife, prefers to be killed than to kill. Nowadays the Batammariba accord the same importance to their rituals. The youngest amongst them, whether schooled or not, whether they leave or stay in the village, will only very rarely not keep the cycle of initiation tradition. Fidelity to tradition, like caring for and respecting the land on which their survival depends, their natural pride, warrior traditions, and hunting skills are intensely revived with ceremony. This has permitted
338-560: The mansard roof , with skylights or dormer windows. A "bow garret" is a two-story "outhouse" situated at the back of a typical terraced house often used in Lancashire for the hat industry in pre-mechanised days. "Bowing" was the name given to the technique of cleaning up animal (e.g. rabbit) fur in the early stages of preparation for turning it into hats. What is now believed to be the last bow garret in existence (in Denton, Greater Manchester )
364-402: The temple area without permission from the head of the home. On the exterior south side of the fortress are the altars containing spirits of animals that were formerly hunted and killed. The altar can also contain underground spirits with whom those ancestors who possessed the gift of "sight" had made a pact. Therefore, the connection between the dwellings and the sacred altars of the village
390-401: The Batammariba centers around one Supreme Deity , Kuiye , the sun god and creator of both gods and humans. 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". Like all living beings, according to Batammariba thought, Kuiye possesses a corporeal form known as Kuiye, and
416-649: The Batammariba to resist outside influences that negate their determination to maintain the millenary heritage that makes their culture so remarkable. 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. The report was prepared by three international experts: Ishanlosen Odiaua, Dominique Sewane and Franck Ogou. The Tammari people are known for their traditional body scarring rituals, starting between
442-405: The age of two and three. These special marks are a form of lifelong identification marks (tattoo ID), which identify a person as belonging to one's tribe as well as more coded personal information. Additional marks are added at puberty, readiness for marriage, post-child birth as a form of visible communication. These scars range from some on the face, to belly and back. Garret A garret
468-477: The form of lightning, but his invisible body is said to be filled with air. But the Batammariba world is filled with many more deities who are quite different than the three cosmological gods described above: initiation deities who select their worshippers according to various factors such as gender, martial prowess, ability for clairvoyance, etc. They include the Fawafa, the python deity of men's initiations, Fakuntifa,
494-483: The hills and valleys. Being clannish by nature, they oppose any form of domination and servitude. Historical research has traced their migration from diverse regions, settling in small groups, while preserving their societal practices of origin. The Batammariba tribe doesn't form a homogeneous society, but Batammariba language is a strong common link and despite disparities in ceremonial practices, all Tammari affirm allegiance as "Serpent Children". They believe they are
520-515: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tammari&oldid=1122904299 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Tammari people The Tammari are mostly animists . The Tammari language is in the Gur family. The Batammariba are agronomic herdsmen who inhabit
546-453: The lizard deity of women's initiations, Fayenfe, the god of war and death, Litakon, the god of twins and fertility, and Kupon, the deity of divination, etc. These deities are better considered families of deities, or deity types, rather than unique deities: male and female Fawafa deities, for example, are believed to produce offspring of their deity type. The Batammariba may acquire these deities by inheriting them, hunting and capturing them in
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#1732859472055572-452: The northwest have migrated to the east. The name Batammariba (or Batammaliba) means "those who are the real architects of the earth". 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 name implies a close connection to the land where rituals are practised. The underground region
598-518: The offspring of a grand, invisible, underground "Serpent Mother" who bore the first eggs of their ancestors. Today, Tammari are especially found in towns such as Nikki and Kandi that were once Bariba kingdoms and in Parakou in mid-eastern Benin. However, there is also a significant population of them in northwest Benin in the Atacora region in cities such as Natitingou and a number of villages. Many in
624-470: The region”: underground forces incarnated into a source such as a rock or a tree. These ancestors of the Batammaribas concluded an alliance with the forces, swearing to respect some agricultural rules and the pieces of land that belonged to the forces. In exchange, the forces allowed the ancestors to build houses and to harvest the soil. Initiations or rituals are meetings with underground forces. This link to
650-409: 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 dwellings each have a masculine (south) orientation and
676-455: The wild, or by buying and selling them to and from their neighbors. The matriarch , and presumably most powerful, of each deity type is believed to reside in Linaba, the mythological first village where Kuiye first created humans and deities. This connection is a cosmic expression of Batammariba spirituality and they have shown themselves to be intractable concerning their foundation. They maintain
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