Bassar Tombs and other Togo Local Custom Tips

Behind the palace is a courtyard surrounded by the houses of the king’s wives amongst other sacred buildings. The late king is buried in this courtyard. He chose the burial spot himself before he died. The mound has a small hole in it to allow air in so that the king’s spirit can breathe and so that he can look out and check how his kingdom is doing.

This style of burial tombs is unique to the Bassar tribe.

The second picture shows the tomb of a previous king, where a sacrifice has recently taken place. The tombs are treated like shrines.

The third picture shows the skulls of sacrificed animals hanging from the eves of a hut in the courtyard.

The fourth picture shows yet another tomb with evidence of a recent sacrifice: feathers on the top and blood on the ground.

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Stools are central to the Togolese culture. The stool which is supported by an elephant, symbolises power, and only the king can sit on that. The other stool, the one on the left with the people supporting the seat, symbolises the people showing respect to the king.

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In West Africa you never see mothers pushing their babies in pushchairs or prams like you do in Europe, they are carried on their mother’s back in a piece of cloth draped tightly around her waist, with just the baby’s head sticking out.

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Noah told us the name of this medicinal bush was ESRON - but I have been unable to find any details about it on the net since returning home. He told us it has antibiotic qualities and is used by the locals to treat all manner of diseases.

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The so called calabash container is named after the calabash tree. It is the fruit or gourd which is used to make the containers so widely used throughout Africa (and other parts of the world), and is one of the earliest cultivated trees in the world grown not for food but for utilities. The fruit is hollowed out and dried and it is used for cleaning rice, carrying water and also just as a food container. Small gourds are used as bowls to drink palm-wine (see Off the Beaten Path tips for more details). It is also used to make certain musical instruments.

The calabash is considered sacred, and will not be thrown away, even if damaged.

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Many families in rural villages have their own gris-gris in the corner of the house to protect them from evil. Gris-gris is basically a talisman used in animist religions such as voodoo, and in this case it is a collection of stones, herbs, oils, bones, hair, nails, and feathers. It can be other personal items relating to the family or any of the family members. The gris-gris will protect the inhabitants against evil and bring them luck.

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In Togo, blacksmith is not just any old trade; it is a very special trade. Blacksmiths are special, different, extraordinary people, as if they are from a totally different society, and are almost revered like semi-gods. You cannot just set yourself up as a blacksmith, you have to belong to the secret society where everyone knows everyone else.

Only post-menopausal women were allowed to collect the raw materials from the nearby mountains. The reason for choosing post-menopausal women was that they are considered pure, as they no longer engage in sexual activities.

Many people would come to the furnaces (picture 2) from nearby villages to buy the iron to make into farming implements.

The process would involve a layer of firewood inside the cone, then the raw iron materials, grain wood on top of that, topped with fire. The iron ore would then be collected at some later stage from the holes at the bottom of the cone once it had melted.

Forming the iron into a useful object is a two-man job. The smiths work inside a well ventilated hut, where a piece of iron is heated in the fire and held down on a stone where the second person hammers it heavily with a large rock. Very rudimentary, but it works (see picture 1.

Can you imagine how hot it is in the blacksmiths’ hut? It is 30°C outside in the sunshine and in this hut they have a ferocious fire burning as well as the fact that they are doing heavy manual work! No thanks! Obviously, regular breaks are a necessity. See picture 3.

Most of the items they make a hoes, spades and other father implements. In picture 4 you can see Noah holding up a hoe they have recently completed. They made tools for themselves as well as to sell in the market. We were offered a how, but declined.

Africans could show us westerners a thing or two about sustainability – here it is ingrained in them and has been for centuries. Waste not, want not. If there is a fire going, hang a pot full of dinner over it to utilise the heat! Simple, effect and energy saving. See picture 5.

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This is the equivalent of the ubiquitous handbag in England or purse as it is known in the States. No self-respecting Togolese would be seen without one! Everything and anything is carried in these shallow metal bowls: shopping, sales goods, laundry, water, food…….the list is endless!

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This is probably a lot healthier than the western counterpart, as these natural toothbrushes are disposable and biodegradable. I didn’t actually try them, but did try some similar ones in Mali some years ago and they worked a treat! It just shows that you can still have impeccable personal hygiene without the modern trappings.

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Shea butter has a sizeable quantity of unsaponifiable fats, several vitamins and other active elements, as well as soothing, moisturising and protecting properties. Shea butter also helps cell regeneration and capillary circulation which in turn speeds up the healing of small wounds, skin cracks and crevices, and skin ulcers. It is also believed to aid in the fight against ageing. Shea butter is produced by extracting fat from the fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling. As well as being used as a body moisturiser, shea butter is also used for cooking and sometimes in the production of chocolate in place of cocoa butter.

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