Mud Houses and Millet Beer

Last month we took a few days to explore an area of Benin that we had not yet been to: the Natitingou region. Natitingou is the largest city in the Northwestern part of Benin and it is very close to Benin's wildlife park. We didn't visit the park this time around- that is another trip we are planning for the holidays. We are excited to already have another trip to this area planned because it is absolutely beautiful! Much of the scenery and landscape reminded us of East Tennessee. Too bad this area is an 8 hour bus ride from Lalo or we would probably make it a point to come here more often!


After spending a night in Natitingou, we jumped in a taxi and headed an hour southwest to a town named Boukoumbe. There is a volunteer there with whom we spent the weekend so that she could show us all the sites. This town, in the middle of no-where, is noted for the "Somba," one of the oldest ethnic groups of Benin. When Benin was still divided into many kingdoms, this group was hunted to be slaves by the Dahomey, the largest and most know kingdom in Benin. Therefore, they created protective houses to defend themselves, called the Tata Sombas. The Tata Sombas are 2-story mud fortresses in which a family could hide themselves on the second floor and survive for days if they were being attacked. The houses are not used for the same reasons anymore, but they are still lived in. This area was pretty much "undiscovered" by the West until about 40 years ago, but is becoming more and more of a tourism site. It was fascinating to vist some of the houses and see the creative means that were utilized for survival.


This region is also famous for its "tchouk." This is a fermented-millet beer that seems to be drunk everywhere in this region, but that we don't see in the South of Benin at all. Every five days there is a large tchouk market near our friend's house that we happened to get to visit while we were there. In the picture you can see one of the "marche mamas" with her three choices of tchouk for the day. The cost is about the equivalent of about 10cents a bowl and you drink them out of dried gourds. It is an acquired taste, but it can be best described as a combination between apple cider and beer- but with a fermented taste.



We spent one more night in Natitingou before heading back to Lalo so that we could visit the nearby waterfalls. We climed down the rocks for a better view of the waterfalls and also to find the swimming area at the bottom. They were beautiful and a swim was quite refreshing!


And, of course, Charlie is always on the search for another mask for his collection. Don't worry, the hat was not also part of the purchase!