Tata Tour on the Togo - Benin Border

We rode from Kante, Togo to Boukoumbe, Benin. The road was sandy so it was slow going and tiring. When we finally got close to the border, we stopped in Nadoba and made our way to the market for something to eat. While we were parking our bikes, Dad started talking to a teacher, Sylvan, who spoke very good French and a good amount of English. Sylvan works in Natitingou, Benin and was visiting his family in Nadoba. He helped us navigate the market and took us on a tour of a tata.

Tatas are the castle-like homes that people in Northern Togo and Benin live in. Long ago the tatas were built to protect the people from the invading southern tribes. The Somba tribes defended themselves against the Fon people by building these mini castle-like homes made with banco, which is an adobe-like material. Originally, animals were kept on the first floor. The second floor was used for cooking. People slept outside on the roof or in an enclosed area. There is a silo shaped area for storing grain with a palm thatch removable roof. In the tatas they use one thick branch with a Y at the end and notches all the way up as a ladder to get from floor to floor and up to the roof. There were voodoo fetish statues in the yards.

On the roof,  learning about Tata features

Voodoo fetish statues

After the tata tour, we made it across the Togo border to Boukoumbe, Benin. Exhausted, we looked around town and couldn't find anything that resembled an auberge (guest house). We had a cold drink, saw a four wheel drive vehicle parked outside the bar, and asked if the driver would take us and our bikes to Natitingou. A stroke of luck and within an hour we were on our way to Natitingou!
- Brook and Eydie