"Sculptural Architecture" of the Tambera

From the Wilderness Travel brochure: "A track across the Atakora Mountains takes us to the Tamberma people. For defensive reasons, the Tamberma have for centuries taken refuge in the heart of the Atakora, a land so difficult to access that they could flee from any attack, especially from attacks by slave traders from Muslim North Africa. According to anthropologists, the origins of the Tamberma are similar to those of the Dogon people of Mali, with whom they share an absolute faithfulness to their animist traditions. Their strong traditional beliefs are proved by the presence of big shrines of phallic form at the entrance to their homes. Those fortified dwellings, similar in form to medieval castles, are one of the most beautiful examples of ancient African architecture. Their style impressed the French architect Le Corbusier so much that he spoke of them as “sculptural architecture.”