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Page under
construction About Togo Courtesy Ministry
of Tourism, Togo Togo has a great
diversity of landscapes and traditional craft
works. Indeed, handicrafts have survived the
different ages of the technological
discoveries. Togo is surrounded
to the North by Burkina Faso, the Republic of Benin
to the east and Ghana to the West. It is opened to
the Atlantic Ocean to the South through a narrow
maritime facade. Nearly 4 millions inhabitants,
divided into forty ethnic group populate its 56,600
square km. Mountains covered
with beautiful tropical forests, Savannah planted
with millennium baobab, sandy beaches... Such
elements show how colorful and contrasted are the
lands and nature in Togo. When admiring the marvels
of the local crafts, you will understand that from
many artisans generations, nature has undoubtedly
been providing the main source of inspiration and
creativity. The vast majority
of ethnic groups and landscapes create then a
burgeoning of crafts activities that seem to
specialize by region according to the
predisposition of men and the availability of raw
materials. The Kara
region It is a mountainous
region with soils that are difficult to cultivate
in some places. So the development of the region
depends mostly on the farmers and artisans
know-how. Ironwork for example reveals to be a
tradition that goes back to the dawn of time. The
ruins of Nangbani and Bandjeli smelting furnaces
sited in the headquarters of Bassar remain living
witnesses of this ancestral tradition In the headquarters
of Kozah, Tchare, Pya and Yade will allow you to
call on brave blacksmiths using mere big stones of
mountains as anvils and hammers to hammered red-hot
iron. They produce castanets with electric sounds
and ploughing implements necessary to cultivate on
terrace lands, the slopes of which are racked by
erosion. In the region,
craftswomen works are related to pottery, weaving,
dyeing and basketry. It is worth visiting the Ketao
market where you will find all the local crafts
such as standing pots for millet beer, terra-cotta
pipes, baskets and dancing garments. ADS
ON THIS SITE Namirembe
Guest
House Luxury
on Rovos
Rail
. Page describes a tour by train from Cape
Town, South Africa to Pretoria, with stops
at famous sites including the world
diamond capital of Kimberley. The Central
Region The diversity of
craft works is also well represented here: on the
numerous weekly markets such as Bitta, Pagala or
Adjengre markets, you will find ploughing
implements, gourds, calabashes, and shopping bags,
etc. Sokode, the
regional capital, is famous for weaving. The
loincloths they make are used for sewing tunics and
long embroidered gowns that ten riders perched on
their richly ornamented horses wear to execute
acrobatic dances carried away by the furious rhythm
of tom-toms during feast days. You will be
fascinated by the waving art improvement exhibited
in the the CENATIS (Centre National de Tissage). Go
and visit the notorious place of Kpassoasoude to
the east of Sokode: there you will contemplate the
weavers' work. Further east,
discover the Tchamba town specialized in
pyrography: the beauty of calabashes and many
different sizes of gourds engraved under heat with
purplish red painted and meaningful open worked
geometric designs will amaze you The Maritime
Region The most ingenious
and naive part of national craft can be found in
Lome capital. The craft industry offered by the
urban environment will fill you with wonder. In the
popular quarters of the town you will see displayed
on the pavement or in workshops masterpieces of a
rare inspiration produced by jewelers. shoemakers,
tapestry-masters, tailors and
cabinetmakers. In the Lome big
central market of Lome, you will admire various
stalls displaying multicolored pearls, tiny
utensils of pottery or basket works, and sacred
statuettes The Akodessewa
fetishes market is the sanctuary of the ritual
craft industry: you will leave it with magic
remedies to all your pains and lucky charm gris
gris. The Vogan market is
one of the most picturesque of the region. It
livens up every Friday and there you will discover
basket works, jars with unexpected volumes, pieces
of pottery decorated with esoteric designs, and
products from the sacred forge; if you wish to
penetrate the mystery of it, the voodoo follower
with kindly help you. After visiting the
maritime region you will have the pleasure to rest
on the Banks of the Togo Lake where you will see
fishermen embarked into their dreamingly colored
pirogue Traditional housing
is another curiosity of the region. In the Kabye
mountains, you will discover big extensive rings of
round huts call "soukala" and specifically used as
hallsor grain lofts. Further North, in the
Niamtougou plains, you will have time to admire the
thatched roof huts topped with terra-cotta pots,
and then, the fortified castles of Tamberma which
are amazing feats of architecture lost in the
middle of the lands. The Plateau
Region With all its
mountains and forests heavy with rich fragrances,
the Plateau region is one of the most attractive
tourist regions of Togo. The density of raw
materials create a flowering of craft works, the
main one being the statuary art. A great number of
artisans either self-employed, working in groups or
in craft centers poruce a wide range of souvenirs
articles: wooden sculptures, macrames, batiks,
ceramic... Weaving is also
well developed, and you will not remain indifferent
to the ewe traditional loincloth called "kente",
ladened with symbols. The famous craft
center of kloto will offer you craft objects made
with tropical woods, like ebony, teck, mahogany,
enough to immortalize your stay. The artisans
circle share with the Benedictine friars of
Dzogbegan their dexterity for handcrafts: indeed,
they built the monastery with local materials,
mountain stones, bamboo, finely decorated teck
which invite you to a pious meditation. In
Atakpame, you will admire the skill of the weavers.
On your way back to Lome, a visit to the craft
center of Notse is a must. The Savannah
Region The Savannah region
link with the sahel where lands are exceptionally
flat. It is above all else the proving of palm
tree, as well as boving and ovine breeding. As
regards crafts works, basketry, weaving and fine
leather works are the most dominant. The Dapaong
and Cinkasse weekly markets gather artisans that
spread out on the ground tiny utilitarian objects,
like straw hats, bird cages, fan made with palm
leaves, or leather Turkish slippers, purses,
handbags and bracelets. In the Dapaong
Centre d'auto-promotion feminine and in the
Lotougou cooperative you will enjoy discovering the
weavers talent. It will also be a pleasure to share
with the basket-maker part of his/her workday in
the shade of the Kapok tree, the tops of which rise
high in the sky. More
news, more reports ...
Translated from French
A million dollar view of Kampala, Uganda.
View this page, then send for
information.
http://www.republicoftogo.com
The official Website of the Republic of Togo
Contact : info@republicoftogo.com
Site available in English & French
