File:Remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (402032801).jpg
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Size of this preview: 800 × 491 pixels. Other resolutions: 320 × 196 pixels | 640 × 393 pixels | 1,024 × 629 pixels | 1,596 × 980 pixels.
Original file (1,596 × 980 pixels, file size: 362 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Captions
Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents
Summary[edit]
_(402032801).jpg&action=edit§ion=1){kind=link}
| Description |
Photograph taken in 1967 or 1968. Stone and mud were used instead of wood and mud for the walls of the houses at this site because of the rocky surface, which didn't allow stakes to be planted. The town was built on a hilltop for defense purposes and was gradually deserted for more accessible places during the first part of the twentieth century. Other than the use of stones instead of stakes, the houses were built essentially like other Limba houses. Following is a description of traditional Limba house-building techniques collected by Dominic Mansaray and me in Kabala in 1967/1968: "The man who wants to build this kind of house has to find a good place to site it. He will brush the area and take off all the grass, branches, etc., that are present. He then brushes the area clean. He uses a cutlass (kotima in Limba) for clearing. He will also use a hoe called kusala in leveling the ground. After leveling the ground he will hammer a stake (kugbetu) in the middle of the cleared area. He ties a long rope (nkala) on the stake and then pulls the rope around to get an accurate circle. After getting the circle, he will dig holes (bobaine) around the circle in which he will put bigger stakes. The stakes (najene) must be firmly planted all way round the circle. He will measure a desired height for the wall and will then cut the stakes at the top end of the measurement. He will also need small branches (thegbeseh) and ropes (nkalaine) which he uses to tie round the planted stakes to make it much stronger. After he has tied the thegbeseh round the planted stakes, he digs in the ground and gathers earth (he is usually helped by his family in this part of the work). After gathering the earth, he will soak it to form a mortar (kupati) which will be used to put around the stakes in order to build the wall (kuthorina). He will continue attaching this kupati on the wall framework until the whole wall (kuthorina) is completed. After completing the wall, he will need longer limbs of wood as well as small branches and ropes to tie the roof (hudaban). After collecting these materials, he will put the smaller branches (thegbeseh) in the form of a circle on which he will tie the bigger branches (najene) all the way round. He will make many smaller branch circles. He will make the circle each time bigger than the other so that after tying the whole branches to the circle, the roof will form something like a cone. After getting the roof (hudaban), he will need either palm leaves (jounkosonie) or a kind of elephant grass (buthonkie) to cover the roof with. Before covering the roof with grass or palm leaves, he will put it over the wall and tie it firmly so that in won't be blown away when a heavy wind blows. After tying, he will climb up and someone will hand him up the grass or palm leaves. Then he will start to apply the grass in a way so that when the rain comes it won't go through. In other words, by putting the grass thickly and closely together and tying them. After he has finished building (athoi) the roof, he will then dig inside the hut and start to beat the ground strongly so that the floor looks very smooth. Then he will make some kinds of mud beds (thabisi) and on both ends of the mud beds, he builds another, higher level than the thabisi --- gbeni --- which he uses for putting his possessions (boxes, bottles, etc.). After building the thabisi and gbeni which is usually done by his wife, his wife will go for the cow dung (hujeje) and when she returns she will mix the cow dung with mud and start to plaster the floor and the walls to make it look very nice. This method of plastering is known as asekeseken. He will also build a small kind of wall at the centre of the house wall and use it for making fire by its side." |
| Source |
|
| Author | John Atherton |
| Camera location |  | View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap |  |
|---|
_(402032801).jpg¶ms=009.557417_N_-011.630401_E_globe:Earth_type:camera_source:Flickr_&language=en){kind=link}
Licensing[edit]
_(402032801).jpg&action=edit§ion=2){kind=link}
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
- You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
- Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- share alike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same or compatible license as the original.
|
This image, originally posted to Flickr, was reviewed on 21 November 2013 by the administrator or reviewer File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske), who confirmed that it was available on Flickr under the stated license on that date. |
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
| Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| current | 06:39, 21 November 2013 | | 1,596 × 980 (362 KB) | File Upload Bot (Magnus Manske) (talk | contribs) | Transferred from Flickr by User:AlbertHerring |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.
_(402032801).jpg&oldid=821814717){kind=link}