My kind of hut.

DSC01766
Originally uploaded by parisdelhi

Had I known about all the styles of hut that were available, I would have chosen the style you see in this photo. I would call it the low-round Fulani model of hut with bubble porch. It would be a simple, practical home. I've never seen a hut like this in danger of caving in due to rain nor have I seen, on these round huts, the anti-erosion foundation reinforcement often necessary on rectangular houses. Coming from a culture of rectangular homes, I enjoy the curved form of the hut and porch.

Other ethnicities in the area used to build round huts but have adopted "modern" rectangular styles in the past 30 years. Today, only the Fulani or Peul ethnic group builds huts of this sort in my area. Maybe that is a reason more to like the style. Most Fulani are foreigners in Togo and it is easy for me, as a foreigner, to identify with their cultural estrangement and its resultant watchful attention-deflecting behavior.

Just behind and to the right of the round house is a series of boards planted vertically in the ground to form an enclosure. The enclosure is a shower. The large earthenware jar in the courtyard contains drinking water. The green plastic kettle sitting on the stool is used for performing ablutions before Muslim prayer.