Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba
The Kutamaku landscape in northeastern Togo, which stretches into neighbouring Benin, is home to the Batamariba people, whose mud towers (Takienta) have become a symbol of Togo. In this landscape, nature is closely linked to the rituals and beliefs of society. The 50,000-hectare cultural landscape is remarkable for the architecture of its towers, which reflect the social structure, farmland and forest, and the connection between people and the landscape. Many of the buildings are two-storey high, and those with granaries are almost spherical with a cylindrical base. Some buildings have flat roofs, others have conical thatched roofs. They are clustered in villages, which also include ritual spaces, springs, rocks and sites reserved for initiation ceremonies.