THE MATERIAL  CULTURE OF TRADITIONAL AFRICAN SETTLEMENTS

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 When we admire a group of buildings, it is often because their arrangement agrees with our cultural values.  When we see architecture that conflicts with these values,  we find the organization to be awkward or unsuitable for our everyday needs.

   The bonds between people and the evolution of knowledge and social practice, or tradition are evident in  the   settlement patterns pf a culture (XIII).                              

  Looking at African settlement organization as a traditional pattern implies a lack of modernity.  However,  according to one estimate, traditional dwellings and settlements make up between 8 and 9 million households in a variety of urban and rural settings (V). Aspects of African village planning are considered  traditional  due to their historical longevity.

       Comparing the organizational methods used in traditional African settlements to those used in the Western world  reaffirms the values of each culture. City and town planning in the US and Europe  emphasize modernization and its focus on technological advances. In third world countries today  it is  imperative to determine  how residents can  benefit from modernization while maintaining traditional non-Western values.

       In  The Anthropology of Space and Place,   Seth Low and Denise Lawrence-Suniga classify space using  six  categories. Of those six, three are used to sort this exhibition: embodied spaces, inscribed spaces, and spatial tactics (VIII). Even though each  category has a separate identity, they overlap because  multiple theories can be placed on a single example of  spatial organization (IX).

  AFRICAN ART HOME  •  INTRODUCTION •  EMBODIED SPACES  •  INSCRIBED SPACES  •  SPATIAL TACTICS    • SOURCES  • GLOSSARY OF TERMS •  MAPS •