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Songhai Architecture
Songhai architecture or Zarma architecture refers to the traditional Sudano-Sahelian architecture, Sahelian architectural style of the Songhai people in West Africa. The architecture typically encompasses mud-brick buildings, flat roofs, and distinctive designs reflecting the cultural and historical aspects of the Songhai Empire, Songhai civilization. In Songhai homelands, rural areas consist of fortified enclosures where family groups known as “''windi''”lives. A typical rural Songhai house is either round with mud walls or rectangular with walls made of sun-dried mud bricks, often featuring thatched roofs. The Songhai predominantly reside in houses within walled or fenced enclosures, which usually include a main house for the husband and smaller dwellings for each of his wives and their children. Traditional houses are huts called “''Bugu''.” Social activities commonly occur outside in the compound, where food is prepared and consumed, and people visit each other in the ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sudano-Sahelian Architecture
Sudano-Sahelian architecture refers to a range of similar indigenous architectural styles common to the African peoples of the Sahel and Sudanian grassland (geographical) regions of West Africa, south of the Sahara, but north of the fertile forest regions of the coast. This style is characterized by the use of mudbricks and adobe plaster, with large wooden-log support beams that jut out from the wall face for large buildings such as mosques or palaces. These beams also act as scaffolding for reworking, which is done at regular intervals, and involves the local community. Historical background Large Neolithic proto-urban walled stone settlements, likely built by Mande-speaking Soninke peoples date from around 1,600-400 BC at Dhar Tichitt and nearby sites in southeastern Mauritania. Other early examples of Sudano-Sahelian style are probably from Dia around 600 BC and Jenné-Jeno around 250 BC, both in Mali, where the first evidence of permanent mudbrick architecture in the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
