Impact of self and non-self in African Architecture.

 

    This week's readings dive into the dynamism of African architecture by looking into how colonialism has affected African culture and how that is reflected in their transforming architecture. African modern architecture exemplifies how traditional structures are able to manifest themselves in the contemporary world while still showing the influence of colonial presence within each culture. The image above is a modern Cameroonian tolek structure, traditionally a free-standing dome made of clay. Like many other cultures in Africa, Cameroonians believe in the necessity of recognizing one's past and present. In the Cameroonian culture, the present cannot exist without the past, and this strong belief is reflected in their architecture. 

    One of the most prominent architectures in Cameroonian culture is their tolek structures, but centuries of several factors such as colonialism, emigration, changes in societal structure, illness, and death have caused these structures to wear out and essentially disappear from the country. Since the 1990s, Cameroonians have begun reconstructing these tolek structures but they do so invoking a central aspect of their culture: using their past and present, as well as incorporating their "self" and "non-self" into these reconstructed structures. This contemporary revival of the tolek homes uses murals to further display this connection with traditional tolek homes and the impact of colonialism on the culture. Cameroonians recognize the necessity of their "self", traditional tolek structures, and "non-self", colonial architecture, coexisting together.  

This is an example of a modern tolek home with the use of murals incorporated to help Mousgoum better celebrate their culture and show it to Western tourists in the country.

    This coexistence between traditional and colonial architecture is also evident in the Afro-Brazilian architectures within several western African countries. Below is an image of an Afro-Brazilian structure located in Lagos, Nigeria. Nigeria today is a county that incorporates traditional and colonial efforts into its modern-day architecture. We can see this in the way common homes spread across the country are built, as well as other aspects of the cultures within Nigeria. The burial ritual as well as the architecture present during this process is reflective of this coexistence. This coexistence is not only present in the buildings but in the coffins as well.

This is an example of an Afro-Brazilian structure located in modern-day Lagos, Nigeria.

We can further see this combination of self and non-self not only in contemporary African architecture but in modern European Architecture as well. African architecture has also impacted several core aspects of modern European architecture and has helped define many present-day European countries.