Tata Somba
| Tammari | |
|---|---|
| Person | Otammari |
| People | Betammaribe |
| Language | Ditammari |
The Tammari people, or Batammariba, also known as Somba, are an Oti–Volta-speaking people of the Atakora Department of Benin and neighboring areas of Togo, where they go by the name of Taberma. They are famous for their two-story fortified houses, known as Tata Somba ("Somba house"), in which the ground floor is used for housing livestock at night, internal alcoves are used for cooking, and the upper floor contains a rooftop courtyard and is used for drying grain, sleeping quarters, and granaries. These evolved by adding an enclosing roof to the clusters of huts joined by a connecting wall that are typical of Gur-speaking areas of West Africa. The Tammari are mostly animist by religion. Their language is in the Gur family.
The Batammariba are agronomic herdsmen who inhabit the hills and valleys Being clannish by nature, they oppose any form of domination and servitude. Historical research has traced their migration from diverse regions, settling in small groups, while preserving their societal practices of origin. It would be a mistake to presume that the Batammariba tribe form a homogeneous society. The Batammariba language is a strong common link and despite disparities in ceremonial practices, they all affirm allegiance as "Serpent Children". They believe to be the offspring of a grand,invisible, underground "Serpent Mother" who bore the first eggs of their ancestors.
Link to the Land After years (or maybe centuries) of wandering, the Batammariba settled in the valleys. This was a preferable way of existence to their former history of conflict over law imposing warlords and chieftains. Their name implies a close connection to the land where rituals are practised. The underground region is the domain of dead spirits to whom the Batammariba owe their very existence with nature and the ability to generate. The Batammariba do not consider themselves to be landowners but as caretakers. Their settlement could not have happened without the intercession of The Babietiba, first settlers, who belonged to a highly culturally evolved group of foragers, then introduced them to the “true owners of the region”: underground forces incarnates into a source such as a rock or a tree. Ancestors of Batammaribas concluded an alliance with these forces, swearing they would respect some agricultural rules and respect the pieces of land that belonged to these forces. In exchange of what, the ancestors where allowed to build houses, to harvest the soil. Initiations or rituals are meetings with underground forces. This link to the underground forces demanded bravery, self-mastery, and discretion, essential qualities by which the Batammaribas are formed from a young age.
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