Mythologies of the Kassena People

The Kassena people are an ethnic group located along the northern Ghana and Burkina Faso border. They speak the Kasem language. Their king lives in the town of Tiébélé. The Kasenna are closely related to the people of Nankanni and were brought together to form the Kassena-Nankana administrative district in 1936. As of 2008 the (Kassena-Nankana) area comprises two districts: Kassena Nankana West and Kassena Nankana East. The Kassena people are a subset of the Gurunsi meta ethnicity, a term used to describe a set of ethnic groups inhabiting northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso, as well as Togo. The Gurunsi people are not actually closely related to each other and their classification as Gurunsi comes from a term used by a Djerma jihadist leader by the name of Baba Ato Zato to describe a group of soldiers recruited from multiple different ethnic groups within the same region. According to doctor Salif Titamba Lankoande, in Noms de famille (Patronymes) au Burkina Faso, the name Gurunsi comes from the Djerma language of Niger words “Guru-si”, which means “iron does not penetrate”. It is said that during the Djerma invasions of Gurunsi lands in the late 19th century, a Baba Ato Zato (better known by the Hausa corruption of his name: Babatu) recruited a battalion of indigenous men for his army, who after having consumed traditional medicines, were said to be invulnerable to iron. The term has stuck since then to refer to these people, but they are completely separate culturally and linguistically distinct ethnic groups.

The Kassena people are an ethnic group located along the northern Ghana and Burkina Faso border. They speak the Kasem language. Their chief lives in the town of Tiébélé. The kasenna are closely related to the people of Nankanni and were brought together to form the Kassena-Nankana administrative district in 1936. As of 2008 the (Kassena-Nankana) area comprises two districts: Kassena Nankana West and Kassena Nankana East. The Kassena people are part of the greater Gurunsi group and were separated from the Gurunsi ethnic group at the beginning of the 20th century, as a consequence of colonialism and more specifically of the partitioning of the Burkina Faso-Ghana area between France and United Kingdom. As most of the Gurunsi people live in Burkina, the Kassena were isolated and gradually developed an independent cultural identity. Kassena mostly live on agriculture, growing millet, sorghum, yam and, to a lesser extent, maize, rice, groundnuts, beans. During the dry season they also hunt and fish. Traditional Kassena society is grouped into chiefdoms, five of whom are predominant:Navrongo, Paga, Chiana, Kayoro, Katiu and Nakon. Kassena are primarily sedentary farmers, growing millet, sorghum, and yams. Maize, rice, peanuts, and beans are grown in addition to these staples. Farmers throughout the region practice slash and burn farming, using keri (fields) for approximately seven or eight years before they are allowed to lie fallow for at least a decade. In the family fields close to the villages, women grow cash crops, including sesame and tobacco, which are sold in local markets. Men participate in hunting during the long dry season. This is important for ritual reasons, since it is during this time that men may interact with the spirits that inhabit the bush. During the dry season, when food supplies are running low, some fishing is practiced in local swamps.

Crocodiles and snakes wind their ways across the walls. The creatures swim in a sea of stars, moons and geometric designs... Traditional art and architecture are alive in the village of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso. The Kassena have kept the beautiful artistic style of their ancestors alive in their unique royal court – making Tiébélé is a ‘must-see’ for anyone visiting Burkina Faso. Tiébélé is a village situated in Nahouri, a province in the south-central region of Burkina Faso. This village belongs to the Kassena, an ethnic group that inhabits the southern part of Burkina Faso and the northern part of the country’s southern neighbor, Ghana. Moreover, the chief of the Kassena has his official residence in this village, and his domain is known also as the Cour Royale de Tiébélé (which may be translated to mean the ‘Royal Court of Tiébélé). The buildings of the Cour Royale de Tiébélé are built and decorated in the traditional Kassena manner. The Kassena are part of a larger ethnic group known as the Gurunsi. As a result of European colonialism in Africa, specifically the partitioning of West Africa towards the end of the 19th century, the Kassena were separated from the other groups within the Gurunsi. As a consequence of this isolation, the Kassena developed, over the decades, a cultural identity that is different from the rest of the Gurunsi. Art and architecture are two ways in which the Kassena express their cultural identity, and this is evident in the village of Tiébélé.

Kasena or Kassena (Kasem or Kassem) is the language of the Kassena ethnic group and is a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana and in Burkina Faso. An independent 30-letter alphabet called the Goulsse alphabet (from gʋlse, “writing” in Mooré) was devised by Burkinabé app developer Wenitte Apiou, Babaguioue Micareme Akouabou and Kassem linguist Fernand Ki in summer of 2021 based on the geometrical patterns found in Kassena architecture. The alphabet is also planned to be applicable for the related Mooré language as well. Kasena has three tones, a high tone, a mid level tone and a low tone. Tonal changes either change the lexical meaning of a word or its grammatical function. There are five classes of nouns that can be identified in Kasena. These classes correspond to grammatical genders and are differentiated in terms of number, such that there are five classes for singular nouns and five classes for plural nouns. There are two classes of personal pronouns. One class is referring to humans, whereas the other class is referring to non-human entities. The personal pronouns are also used as possessive pronouns, thus there is no special form for possessive pronouns in Kasena.

Situated around 20km from the border with Ghana, the village constitutes the Royal Court of the Kassena people, one of the oldest ethnic groups of Burkina Faso. It currently comprises 54 families. Covering around 1.2 hectares at the moment, the village is in continuous expansion: with each new marriage in the community, a new family is added to the court. The Kassena people originally came from Loumbila, close to Ouadagoudou, in the 15th century. They do not have a writing system and transmit their traditions orally. The unique architectural style displayed in Tiebele can be found throughout the entire Kassena space, which expands from northern Ghana to the south of Burkina Faso. The houses in Tiebele, known as sukhala, are, by custom, built by men during the dry season, which typically lasts from November to March, while women are responsible for decorating their exterior. The knowledge about the animist symbols that must be displayed on the houses has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations.

Traditional African architecture is generally associated with round mud huts and thatched roofs. In reality, African vernacular architecture is very diverse with each ethnic group having their own construction methods and designs. One of the most beautiful examples of African vernacular architecture is that of the Kassena ethnic group of southern Burkina Faso. Ever since the 16th century, the Kassena have been decorating the walls of their houses with elaborately painted murals. The painting is done exclusively by the women who pass on the skill to their daughters. The Kassena are part of the larger Gurunsi tribe who also paint houses in northern Ghana. Defense against enemies is a central feature guiding the design of Kassena dwellings. Houses are clustered into walled compounds with each compound housing an extended family. The most famous is the Royal Cour de Tiébélé, the home of the community chief. Compounds are built far away from each other so that there is somewhere safe to escape if one falls in the hands of enemies. Even inside the compound houses are built with defense in mind. Doors are small, especially those in the houses of elders, which prevents enemies from seeing or charging inside. Small doors and near lack of windows also help keep the houses cool in the hot climate. Kassena houses come in different shapes and the shape reflects the social status of the occupants. Square houses are for families, circular ones for bachelors and figure-eight shaped houses for grandparents. Each compound also has grain stores and altars dedicated to the ancestors, while some of the houses in the compound are actually mausoleums for the dead. Cooking is generally done outside and so kitchens are small and simple.

Nestled at the base of a hill, overlooking the Savannah, lies Tiébélé—an African village in Burkina Faso. First settled in the 15th Century, the 1.2-hectare commune is home to the Kassena people, their chief, and royal court—together making up one of oldest ethnic groups in Burkina Faso. In 2009, photographer Rita Willaert and travel blogger Olga Stavrakis were lucky enough to be some of the few people ever allowed to visit the isolated site. Willaert’s photos document the villagers’ untouched, unique way of living, where local traditions have been protected for centuries. Stavrakis recounts their experience, explaining how before they arrived they were even given a dress code: “We were told in advance that we must not wear anything red and we may not carry an umbrella. Only the chiefly noble family is permitted that privilege and to do so would constitute a great affront to our hosts.” Although a royal village might sound opulent, this village is anything but. The Tiébélé royal residence is made up of a series of small clay houses that are hand-painted in different geometric patterns and symbols using clay paints. These patterns are one of the visual indicators that differentiates the royal homes from that of the “ordinary people.” Another difference is the huts’ door sizes: the chief for example, has the house with the smallest door, for protection. While most of the structures are homes, some of the most elaborately decorated are mausoleums, where the dead are laid to rest. Inside the royal clay homes are simple kitchens kitted out with just a few clay and iron pots. “Most meals are cooked in one pot over a brazier,” explains Olga, who says meals usually consisted of “a starch foofoo or thick paste like porridge which is then dipped into a sauce of vegetables and peppers. The richer the family the more goes into the sauce.”

In the south of Burkina Faso, sharing borders with the northern environs of Ghana is Tiébélé; a small village exhibiting fractal patterns of circular and rectangular buildings, housing one of the oldest ethnic groups in West Africa; the Kassena tribe. With vernacular houses dating back to the 15th century, the village’s buildings strike a distinctive character through its 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 is the product of a unique form of communal collaboration, where all men and women in the community are tasked with contributing to the construction and finishing of any new house. This practice serves as a transmission point for Kassena culture across generations. The decorative craft in Kassena society is rooted in cultural history, reflecting traditional duties, hierarchical positions, and customs. This craft is most evident in the variations among buildings in the royal court, located in the center of the 1.2-hectare village, and other households that expand from the court in a continuous fractal structure as new families emerge. The village is home to 54 native families who trace their history, traditions, and architectural craft back to Loumbila, near Ouagadougou, also in Burkina Faso. Tiébélé houses are constructed entirely from local materials such as earth, wood, straw, and cow dung. The wall envelopes are constructed to be 30cm thick, creating a favorable interior climate for occupants and serving as a defense mechanism against enemies. These houses are traditionally known as sukhala, and in accordance with Kassena society customs, they are built by men during the dry season (November to March) and decorated by women just before the rainy season. The decorations serve primarily to protect the mud walls from washing away, but have also evolved into an art form using motifs and symbols to convey the customs, religion, and beliefs of the society.

From the base of a small hill overlooking the flat, sun-baked earth of the West African savannah, the Cour Royale de Tiébélé lies within circular, walled confines measuring roughly 1.2 hectares (2.9 acres). The complex serves as the official residence of the pè, or community chief. Resplendent designs in black and white embellish the earthen architecture of Tiébélé and reflect the building traditions of the Kassena people who first settled Burkina Faso in the fifteenth century. Despite the absence of a new leader following the death of the last pè in 2006, regular maintenance of the site by the community has helped preserve this exceptional example of Kassena culture and the traditional skills associated with its preservation. However, Tiébélé faced challenges in sustaining the integrity of its structures by the time it was included on the 2012 World Monuments Watch. These included flooding, erosion, and planning for tourism management. There was interest in developing the site as a cultural tourism destination to generate economic resources for its conservation, but encouraging visitors while protecting local culture and tradition requires a delicate balance. The objectives of inclusion on the Watch were to promote awareness about the site and to build support for its long-term stewardship.

Kassena people are an ethnic group of Africa who became isolated in the 20th century and developed their own culture and traditions. Kassena lived in the Kingdom of Dagbon, which now has become northern Ghana and Burkina Faso. Nowadays, their headquarters with the chief are situated in the village of Tiébélé. Kassena society consists mostly of farmers with equal rights, and one supreme council of elders, consisting of the oldest members of the community. The elders’ main occupation is to determine agricultural cycles and land distribution for cultivating maize, rice, peanuts and beans. Kassena believe in the divine creator Su, who protects Kassena community and causes harm to their enemies. Each family possesses a set of magical artifacts related to Su, which is preserved within the lineage. In Tiébélé everything reflects the tribe’s dedication to their god. One of the most interesting creations of Kassena are the intricately decorated houses in the tiny village of Tiébélé. The village itself is circular and occupies only 12000 square meters. Tiébélé is the residence of the royal members of the community, hence the decorating effort. Each hut in Tiébélé is built out of dung, clay, soil and straw, as it is customary. The walls are a foot thick and practically without any windows, just small openings to let the necessary amount of light in. Each of the huts is decorated on the inside and on the outside. The tradition of decorating huts lived on with Kassena women since the 15th century.Using colored mud and white chalk the women create amazing murals, covered with symbols of religious and everyday life character. In the end, the walls are covered by special varnish, made by boiling pods from the African locust bean tree. These intricate designs do not only serve as the eye candy. They protect the outside walls of the huts from the rain, both in the spiritual sense and in a practical sense, and are usually done before the rainy season. The symbols protect from the evil rain spirits and the painting material serves as a waterproof shield. The most skillfully decorated huts and mausoleums are honored by the people throughout generations.

The Kassena tribe is a part of the larger Gurunsi ethnic group which populates the region across southern Burkina Faso and northern Ghana. A driving force behind the architecture of the Kassena is the need to protect themselves from enemies. Each extended family lives in homes built into the compound of their cluster. Several such clusters make up a village. As a result of defense and climate response, the entrances to the Kassena homes are quite small. The small windows present in these earthen walls are few and far between, keeping the interiors cool throughout the day. The main construction material is a mixture of clay, cow dung, and straw. In a tradition spanning over five centuries, generations of Kassena women have been painting intricate geometric murals on the walls of their structures. The paints are made of local minerals—white chalk, black basalt, and red laterite. The walls are polished with smooth stones and coated with a varnish made from the local nere fruit to preserve the paintings. They are repainted periodically—after the harvest, before the monsoon. The geometric murals show sacred crocodiles, snakes, and other symbols of spiritualism.