Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 283
core religious issue of their ritual activities of the past. We will learn that a traditional house
was not just a farmhouse, but also the central place for ancestor worship in which patrilocal
networks of extended families ritually interacted in the home environment.
The photograph below (Plate 21a) was taken in Ghwa'a in 2004, showing the landscaped
terrain formed of stone terraces, and on top sits a house on a specific platform. We can infer
that there was a natural rock formation underneath, lending to the creation of the prominent
platform. We can see the typical front with the stone wall in the middle (1) and a kitchen on
either side. The thatched roof of thala above the front wall was missing, and we can see the
rooftops of one or two granaries behind it.
Plate 21a: Dghweɗe landscaped terrain in Ghwa'a (see colour plate 10b for whole hillside)
We can also see another house at the foot of the terraced platform, and we notice the large
number of trees growing on the terraced hillside. I took this photograph in the middle of the
rainy season. The missing roof of thala suggests that the man of the house might have
converted to Christianity or Islam. Another possibility is that the roof of thala simply needed
renewing, and the owner was waiting for enough thatch to become available after the next
guinea corn harvest. The terraced platform underneath the main house suggests that this is an
ancient montagnard homestead, and the house might have stood alone there for generations.
Plate 21b: House without thala roof
Plate 21c: Dghweɗe House with thala roof
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