one of which is reached by means of a ladder through a hole
arranged in the roof.
I should also cite the grottos of the Tombo dug in the rocky cliffs, and
their houses of stones, the structures on piles of the Buduma of Lake
Chad, the matting shelters of the Somali, and a. multitude of other
types of habitation. Generally, the houses are arranged to form
groups, each one of which serves as a home for one family, in the
narrow sense of the word. For this purpose a dozen huts are placed
in a circle around a central court and joined to each other by
barriers or hedges of thorns; the ellipsoidal or rectangular houses are
built in threes, forming three sides of a square court, the fourth side
of which is completed by a barrier; each of the fortresses, or immea-
surably elongated buildings, suffices to shelter a numerous family.
Little clay edifices, some ovoid, others cylindrical, topped with straw
bonnets and resting on stones which separate them from the ground,
are generally built near these habitations and serve as granaries.
Besides the ordinary houses, one often meets with structures which play
a role that among us has fallen to public buildings of all categories.
Some are meeting halls, others are the official residences of chiefs,
and others again fill the office of mosques among the Muslims. These
buildings, sometimes called “palaces” by certain travellers, are often
no more than immense straw hives, like the mosque of Dinguiray
(French Guinea), or well-constructed sheds, like the public house of
Man or the former audience hall of the deceased chief Buake, among
the Baoulé (Ivory Coast). Sometimes they have a more monumental
aspect and do not lack a certain style, like the residence of the chief
of Koroko, the former royal residence of Abomey and especially the
numerous mosques with pyramidal or conical minarets and projecting
small-beams that may be seen almost everywhere in Sudan.
FFuur rnni ittuur ree aanndd UUt teenns si illss
The furniture, always crude, comprises of hardly anything but the
beds, most of which are simple mats, stools of various forms, urns,
Door (Holo).
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Wood, 160 x 45 cm.
Private collection.
Christian motifs in relief are represented on this double-panelled door. A figure,
whose hands are in prayer position, kneels next to a crucifix on the
accompanying panel. Holo charm imagery provide a counterpart for this
religious motif through its enframed depictions of the nzambicharm and hands-
to-mouth posture in santative statues.