The Stilt Village of Ganvie, Benin
Ganvie is Africa’s largest town on stilts, home to over 30,000 residents who live in bamboo huts built on water. The settlement came about in the 17th century, just about the time slavery began to boom in Africa.
A tribe called the Tofinu fled toward Lake Nokoue, being pursued by slavers of the Fon tribe, from the powerful West African kingdom of Dahomey. Religious beliefs prevented the Fon from fighting on the sacred lake, so the lagoon became a haven for the Tofinu – as long as they never returned to dry land. So they created a new home for themselves, miles from the shore.
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It’s been over 500 years today and the Tofinu settlement in the middle of the lake has grown into Ganvie (which means ‘we survived’), a bustling town. The main occupation of its residents is fish farming that is done in pens made of reeds and palm fronds.
Instead of walking or biking to a neighbor’s house, villagers row dugout canoes and today boast of over 3,000 buildings include a post office, a bank, a hospital, a church, and a mosque. The village school is one of the few buildings not on stilts; it’s located on a patch of dry land big enough for kids to play soccer after class.
