Exploring the Unique Beauty of Kassena Traditional Architecture in Tiebele

The Gurunsi people are comprised of multiple tribes, including Gurensi, Kasena, Lyele, Nuna, Nunuma, Sisala, and Winiama, who speak varying dialects of the Gur language. The Mossi people bestowed the name Gurunsi upon the tribes residing in the west and south of the Mossi plateau. Together, they total around 200,000 people, with the Nuna being the most populous at an estimated 100,000. These tribes rely primarily on farming and cultivate crops such as millet, sorghum, yams, rice, corn, peanuts, and beans, utilizing the technique of slash and burn farming and rotating their fields regularly. While men are mainly responsible for farming, women usually have small plots, primarily for cash crops, in addition to the staple food grown by men.

Tiebele is a small, circular village in the south-western part of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, near the Ghanaian border. It is renowned for its sukhala, which are colorful windowless traditional houses. The village is located in the heart of Kassena country and is home to the Kassena people, the oldest ethnic group in Burkina Faso, who first settled in the region in the 15th century.

Tiebele is a 400-year-old royal village that serves as the official residence of the pe, or community leader, of the Kassena tribe. The Kassena, once fearsome warriors, are now primarily agriculturists. The village is home to over 450 people and is constructed as a labyrinthine compound of small mud houses, with some of the structures containing small doors that once acted as a defense against slave raiders.

The Tiébélé royal residence is composed of a series of small houses that are hand-painted in different geometric patterns and symbols using clay paints. While most of the structures are homes, some of the most elaborately decorated are mausoleums, where the deceased are laid to rest. The village's buildings have a distinct character due to their symbol-laden painted walls. It is an architecture of wall decoration where the community uses their building envelope as a canvas for geometric shapes and symbols of local folklore, expressing the culture's history and unique heritage. This architecture results from a unique form of communal collaboration, where all men and women in the community contribute to the construction and finishing of any new house. This practice serves as a transmission point for Kassena culture across generations.

Kassena is an exceptional example of people utilizing their natural resources to express their rich culture.