A BEAUTIFULLY PATTERNED PLACE & WAY OF LIFE NOW

TIÉBÉLÉ

Glorious patterns grace the royal huts of Tiébélé, an isolated village in the tiny country of Burkina Faso, located in a remote corner of west Africa. The village is home to about 450 members of the Kassena tribe.

These ancient patterns, made up of simple geometric shapes, trace back to the dawn of civilization.

They are based on sacred geometry and mystical symbols that emerged from the earliest Paleolithic cave paintings.

The Kassena have been decorating their buildings with these graphic patterns since the 16th century AD. Each graphic figure has a specific meaning.

For instance, circles  can denote god as well as the the concept of the community as a unified whole, while eight-pointed stars represent the idea of infinity.

Collectively, the shapes form patterns that illustrate detailed Kassena folk narratives, including those about general wisdom, fertility, and eternity.

The buildings are constructed from a sun-baked mixture of mud, clay, straw and cow manure.

Kassena artists, mostly women, use colored mud and chalk to draw the intricate black-and white patterns. They refresh the designs annually in a celebratory ritual after the harvest in February and March, keeping up the beauty after weathering and erosion take their toll.

For the Kassena, these evocative patterns are not mere ornamentation but the visual vernacular of their culture, and history, and highest aspirations. They are as much a window into the past as they are a portal to eternity.

Tiébélé is at risk from flooding and erosion. It has been placed on a watch list by the World Monuments Fund. The patterned village is also under consideration for listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Remarkably, these patterned design motifs possess such timeless beauty, they are echoed in traditional Islamic art and could easily be at home in the interiors of the trendiest of modern homes.

Some contemporary designers, including Dokter and Misses accessories, and VIVES porcelain tiles, borrow heavily from Kassena patterns. Check them out to bring the beautiful patterns into your home.

Read more about Beautiful Patterns in Spotted Beauty Triumphs! The Magnificence of Appaloosas Now, Rainbow Patterned Mountains Are Beautiful Now, Beautiful Patterns are Delicious Now, AD Patterns.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Enzo Priore. Tiébélé Village. Burkina Faso.
2. Image: by Štěpán Borkovec. Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.
3. Image: Courtesy of Guillaume Colin & Pauline Penot. Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.
4. Image: Carsten ten Brink. Tiebele Royal Court - the Kassena Decoration. Burkina Faso.
5. Image: Courtesy of  World Monuments Fund. Cour Royale de Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.
6. Image: by Rita Willaert. Cour Royale à Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.
7. Image: by Rita Willaert. Cour Royale à Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.
8. Image: Courtesy of Dokter and Misses. Kassena Town Collection.
9. Image: Courtesy of VIVES Ceramica. Tiébélé Style Ceramics.
10. Image: by Rita Willaert. Cour Royale à Tiébélé. Tiébélé, Burkina Faso.
11. Image: by Rita Willaert. Cour Royale à Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.
12. Image: by BN App - Download now!
13. Image: by Rita Willaert. Cour Royale à Tiébélé. Burkina Faso.