Tata Somba Houses – Benin
The Somba people are the ancient indigenous tribe in Benin in West Africa. Their distinctive houses are popularly referred to as the Tata Somba Castles because of how grand and castle-like they can be. These housing units inspired the Europeans when building the early forts found in Benin. The Tata Somba houses could be story building houses or houses with one floor but several rooms spread across. For storey building types, the ground floor is for the kitchen, water storage and livestock while the first floor was the main family house.
