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TOGO | Visit Togo with TransAfrica |
Republic
of Togo
Area: 56.790 kmq
Borders: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin
Population: 5,5 million (99% africans with 37 groups
- ewé, mina, kabyé; 1% europeans)
Capital: Lomé (760.000 inhabitants)
Languages: french (official), ewé and mina in
the south, dagomba and kabyé in the north
Religions: 51% animist, 29% christian, 20% muslim,
National holiday: March, 26th
Time: GMT
Telephone access code: 00 228
Money: CFA
Togo is a small country, situated on the Gulf of Guinea, which lies sandwiched between Ghana on the west, Benin on the east and Burkina Faso to the north. Togo is often closely associated with its neighbour Benin. The people of both countries are outgoing and friendly, greeting visitors with warmth and kindness.
The terrain in Togo, however, is quite different from Benin. In Togo, the southern palm groves are, for the most part, coconut. In the west of the country the hills are covered in equatorial vegetation, with small cocoa and coffee plantations growing in the shade of the tall trees. The high plateau of Kabye in the centre of the country strongly resembles the Atakora region in Benin, but the plains in the north of Togo are much more dramatic than in the north of Benin. The high density of population has led to the interweaving of cultures and peoples.
A Pleasant Capital City
Lome, the capital of Togo, stretches along the coast for about 12 km between the Ghanaian boarder and the new Port of Lome. During colonial times eastern Togo was controlled by the French (it gained independence in 1960) and the western strip of the country was occupied by the British who annexed the territory to Ghana. This explains why the Ghanaian border is on the edge of Lome – it is so close, in fact, that it is practically in the city itself!
Lome is a pleasant city, where you can walk freely through bustling crowds of market traders and admire their colourful stalls, watch craftsmen at work, skilfully fashioning wood and metal into beautiful artefacts. A visit to the Grand Marché is not complete until you meet the Togolese Nanas famous for selling the most fashionable wax batik cloth of every imaginable colour and design. Lively discussions spill from the shops as women consult about styles, colours and prices. In the evening, the city is cooled by a very pleasant breeze coming in off the Atlantic Ocean. It is then that the famed lively nightlife slowly starts to warm up. .
The land of Voodoo
Voodoo originally began in the south of Togo and Benin and it is still the religion that is most firmly embedded in the local culture. Evidence of this is seen everywhere with temples, altars and fetishes scattered across the countryside and in the villages. Whenever there is a special occasion the voodoo initiates of the village, often more than a hundred people are led by the fetisher, a voodoo high priest. They meet and offer collective praise and sacrifices at the altars of the gods and divinities. After the ceremony the women start chanting and, accompanied by the rhythm of the tam-tam drums, others start to dance. As the music speeds up and becomes more and more frenzied some participants fall into a deep trance. On a physical level they are in a catatonic state, with very strong muscular spasm and insensitivity to pain. When in a trance, a state of altered consciousness, the participants communicate directly with their ancestors and the spirits.
The people of the plateau
Once on the central plateau, the landscape changes quite dramatically. Wide open areas of scrub and pastures interspersed with rock give way to thicker and thicker vegetation. After several kilometres, a mountainous landscape comes into view, beyond which lies the Kara valley, home of the Kabye people. This valley resembles a sprawling, pastoral city with houses, often made of stone, built amongst the fields in the shade of kapok, teak, mango, palm and baobab trees. In order to cultivate the little fertile land that lies between the rocks the Kabye people, renowned for their hard work, have terraced the land for planting their crops. The same kind of work and design can also be found in Losso country, up towards Niamtougou. Throughout the whole region waterholes create mini-oases.
Castles of clay
A track leads to the houses of the Tamberma people who have found refuge for centuries in the least accessible territory of the Atakora Mountains in order to protect themselves from the black slavery of the Arab world. Tamberma architecture is one of the most beautiful in Africa. Their fortified houses are like small clay castles with only one narrow entrance and rising to three storeys high. Huge fetishes, shaped like phalluses, stand at the doorways to their homes protecting the occupants from enemies and evil spirits.
The north of Togo is inhabited by the Moba. Their homes
are made of clay and are built in a circular shape, with conical roofs
made of straw. A wall surrounds and protects the huts belonging to members
of the same family. In this way they form small villages spread out over
the territory.
For more informations:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/togo
