MKEKA: Secrets from our traditional homes

By Mahali Infrastructure

The Sukuma traditional home

There’s a bigger cry in the world now for Eco friendly buildings. Where buildings using materials that emit less Carbon dioxide, utilize little energy (heat, cooling systems) as well those that have facilities which generate renewable energy or recycle waste (rain harvesting) are encouraged.

As we’re a ‘third world’ country it seems we’re too busy sourcing our basic needs to care for things like Eco-buildings. Hence we’re excavating soil (mostly sand) at staggering rates on the coastal belt, erecting buildings that fart Co2 like rain. Worse still the vegetation to counter this is dwindling. Such that it’s a reality on our coastal belt only 10% of the natural Eco-flora is left; this being the vegetation that best thrives and supports the Eco system of the region.

Inside the Sukuma home, sandals and a basin
to wash themselves for special occasions

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting ‘Makumbusho Village Museum’ in Dar es Salaam. Here I glanced at the 22 traditional homes of our past. I was left with a conviction that it’s not money that ensures a people respect their environment rather the validity of their own self determination.

You see despite having no unifying currency as we enjoy today, the homes we lived in back in the 20th C all the way to the 17th C (probably a couple of centuries further back). Would get a B+ (the shortage of A coming from using wood as fuel) from the ‘Eco-friendly architecture guru’s' of today. Why we're not doing so today, I’d venture to quote Marcus Garvey-“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

The Nyakyusa traditonal home for the 1st wife
-the man a fellow visitor at the museum

Case in point you'll note the one house at the museum (in photos here) which doesn't belong to a tribe. It's the 'Swahili house' as it were it's not that this home with the long corridor and adjacent rooms on each side is really ingenious to the coastal tribes. For it was adopted after the coastal tribes from days of trading with the Arabs since the 8th C. Saw a business opportunity in running their homes as guest houses. To serve the various explorers/ Slave, ivory traders when they landed on shore.

Still many homes in the coast even mainland today, follow this architectural pattern as though it's a befitting style for a home. Constructing homes with the impersonal long corridor with rooms adjacent.

Certainly it was a delight to connect this dot and there's much more to gain from seeing these historical dwellings at the Village Museum. As my guide 'Esbone' explained the homes represented 21 tribes. “These homes in architectural style and origin represent the bulk of the traditional homes native to our 100+ tribes spread across the country…” He added all of the homes in architectural style fall into three categories them being ‘Banda’,‘Msonge’ and ‘Tembe’. All using some type of ‘elephant grass' particularly for the roof as it’s water proof.

A traditional Nyakyusa home for the 1st Wife 'Bi Mkubwa'

The ‘Msonge’ is a home with a conical roof and circular base, the ‘Banda’ is with a conical roof and rectangle base, while the ‘Tembe’ follows a flat roof and rectangular base. All of the homes represented at the village museum as seen on the photos here. Are as seen from the 1960's right after independence however most date back to the 17th C and beyond in essential architectural style for the variant tribes..

The usage of passive techniques which is often found in historical homes around the world can as well be observed in the building of these historical homes. For instance the homes of the ‘Zaramo’ who lived on the coast (Dar es Salaam, Pwani), you’ll note they use little soil in the base of their home. Instead a form of straw is mostly utilised, this suited the climate of this region.

Which isn't as cold as say Iringa, where the Hehe tribe are found. Their home as represented at this museum is the only one showing the use of burnt bricks from soil.Quite fitting as the climate in these regions is quite cold and bricks can retain heat for long..

Traditional Zanaki home in 'Msonge' type taken at
Village Museum Makumbusho

Also the soil that was used in the construction of these homes. Was the one found closest to the inhabitants and so you'll find the ‘Wasambaa’ homes are made of the loam clay soil found in the ‘Usambara Mountains’. While the Bena used their red clay for their home construction.

It’s not that I am advocating we build our homes exactly as our ancestors did, yet it’ll be wise if we take a leaf from their page. I wonder why our architects aren't inspired to develop these styles in our homes and other buildings today. Instead it’s foreign hotels that show evolved styles of our traditional homes. While we the natives are hung up on homes that are reminiscent of the West or Middle Eastern architecture. Which many times is ill fitting to our particular climate. Specifically in the way these homes don't breathe and guzzle energy in the form of fans and air conditions. I dare say in this we're not developing but regressing in a fundamental way..

Inside Zanaki traditional home,

kifaa hiki kilitumika kutega senene

For if we evolved from our own architectural norms. Which saw us utilizing resources mostly from the land. Unlike today where even in construction we import plenty. Perhaps then we can learn to respected our environment like our ancestors did.

Today we're in a big trade deficit where importing and selling our precious raw materials at low prices is the order of the day. Looking at these homes I was confronted with proof of a time. When we of our own self determination thrived on this land. We made our own garments, our own food, our own entertainment even homes. Guess that means we can rise to the challenge and once again respect our land and indeed showcase our differences. We're such a diverse people it's not fitting today that we live in the same kind of homes losing all this wealth of diversity and common sense from our past.

Inside the Nyakyusa home,
utensils in 1st wife home

Inside the Nyakyusa home of the 1st wife, the kitchen

Swahili Home back in the day it was with a 'makuti' roof
and there were no cement bricks but soil and sticks for walls '

The side of the 'Swahili home' taken at
Village Museum in DSM

The Swahili traditional home with the
door marking the beginning of
borrowing from other cultures
(Middle Eastern) in architecture

Inside the Sukuma home, at the living room
where women would talk while doing chores-
In the photo is 'Esborne' Tour guide at 'Makumbusho'