The Architecture and Science of the African Homes of the Musgum People

The following is a collaboration with the YouTube channel From Nothing. Stay tuned till the end of the video for more information. Hello my friends, today we'll be talking about the amazing science that goes into Musgum architecture, which I made a special artwork for that we'll show in full later in this video. First, let's briefly introduce the Musgum people, aka Mulwi people. The Musgum people live primarily in northern Cameroon, and a lesser amount also live in Chad. One could describe the Musgum as a warrior people, since they have spent the majority of the past three centuries in conflict with not just European invaders, but neighboring African groups as well, including the Sultanate of Begirmi and even the Bornu Empire. Like those neighbors, most of the Musgum converted to Islam, but their traditional rituals and beliefs still hold considerable power in the culture. Traditionally, the Musgum were polytheistic. Some of their gods include a creator god who gave form to the earth and the spirits who govern it. This creator god, surprisingly, is named Allah. That said, I could be pronouncing it wrong, but it's spelled A-L-A-W. Whether that's a coincidence or not is hard to know, frankly. The guardian spirits that Allah created include Zigla, the fertility goddess who both provides children and, if given sacrifices, will ensure the safety of newborns. Next is Bangui, the sky god. Associated with the pole star, he can protect people from illness, but, on the other hand, has been known to blind people. However, as long as you make sacrifices to him, your eyes will be protected. Then there is Mat, the god of the wilderness. Sacrifices are made to him for safety in traveling. Mana and her husband Gagan are deities of water, who get sacrifices from fishermen to ensure a good catch. Another spirit is named Yaya, the local god of the village of Pus. He is the village's protector and makes sure the farm fields yield a good harvest. As I alluded to before, many Muscom people make their living as farmers or fishermen. One of the ways the Muscom fishermen get their catch is quite ingenious. Near the Lagoon River, they dig canals. When the river floods, water pools into the canals, and when the flood recedes, the fish are trapped in these canals. And that isn't the only architectural marvel of theirs, because, of course, this video is about the Muscom homes known as Teluk Keke. A Teluk home's defining shape is a large parabolic dome that is often referred to as a beehive structure, though their actual inspiration is said to have come from termite mounds. On the surface of this dome are molded patterns, which typically come in a linear shape or this bifurcated form. And usually, the door takes on a whimsical keyhole shape, which is inspired by the body of a cow. The Muscom have built other types of architecture in their history too, as you can see in this overhead view diagram that also features square structures among the round ones. However, the Teluk has become their cultural icon, and even an icon for Cameroon as a whole. Before we move on, I'd like to quickly note that after thinking about the cow-inspired door for a while, I was reminded of a series of artworks by Theo van Doesburg, simply titled The Cow. In these artworks, Doesburg illustrates the process of abstraction to the masses, and although I appreciate his process, in terms of the end results, I believe the Muscom artists from Africa achieved a more iconic, memorable, and pure abstraction of the cow than the European artists did. So as you can see, the Teluk is a masterpiece of abstract art. And speaking of art, as stated previously, I created an illustration of this iconic architecture many years ago when I was still in college. I chose to draw these Muscom dwellings because not only did I think they looked great, but because they had an interesting story to tell. This drawing shows a Cameroon family building a traditional Muscom home, and in the distant background are seen westernized buildings. In other words, the story of this image is of a family that is resisting westernization and rebuilding Africa to what it once was. And in fact, there are actual people in Africa trying to go back to their roots in this way. Furthermore, it's not just for sake of aesthetics and taking pride in traditional heritage architecture either. You see, western buildings are built with materials like concrete, which often causes interiors to overheat, which is really bad in Africa's climate. Thus, science reveals that traditional construction works better for the people living in the region. One of the main reasons why these traditional homes work better in the area is because instead of concrete, it's made of sun-dried mud. Earthen architecture absorbs the heat of the daytime and keeps it cool inside, and then releases that heat at night when it's needed. And not just any mud will do. The builders possess exclusive knowledge regarding the quality of the soil, its preparation, and the ideal water consistency required for successful construction. It's also worth noting that unlike concrete, whose creation produces a large amount of carbon dioxide, the mud is locally sourced and eco-friendly. The mud, however, is not the only thing keeping the temperature in the Talukeke comfortable. The dome shape itself also contributes to keeping the interior cool. It accomplishes this in two ways. Inside the dome, its shape affects the flow of air. And on the outside, according to a scientific article by Muhammad Ayyub and Ahmed El Saragi, domed roof forms have great impact on minimizing the intensity of received solar irradiance by maximizing the ratio between the dome's height and its radius. Thus, they reduce the required energy for cooling in hot climates and consequently provide indoor thermal comfort. And there's still another thing that adds to the air conditioning effect of the Musgum Taluk. The structure is well ventilated because of an opening at the top of the home which allows the heat to escape. When the rain comes, this sunroof can easily be covered with a pot or another suitable cover. To do this, one of course needs to get on top of the building. Luckily, this is relatively easy to do thanks to the aforementioned patterns that decorate the Taluk because the patterns act as a built-in ladder that allow one to climb up the house. The Musgum also climb up this permanent scaffolding when repairs eventually need to be made to the building. And on top of all that, the patterns also have a rainwater drainage function. Another fun fact is that the interior walls also have relief designs and like the exterior patterns, they too can have functions. This drawing here shows sculpted storage shelves above the doorway. It's not very common to find images of African interiors but fortunately some images exist which do give us a peek into the Musgum homes. As you can see, not only are reliefs added to the walls but also colorful paints are sometimes applied as well. In addition to the photos, I also have this useful cross-section drawing to show you. According to an early explorer named Captain Hans Domnik, the Talukaka interiors are as admirable as their exteriors. They had heated beds and proper ovens inside. Now that bit about heated beds likely caught your attention as it did mine. Unfortunately, I didn't see any further talk about the beds in my sources. That said, it's likely that the beds were like the buildings also made of clay and so they would have stored heat just like the walls. Because according to the Book of History and Art in Africa, almost all pieces of furniture were molded out of clay. Next up, let's discuss the overall structure of the Musgum compound and how it's used. In many African communities, families don't live in a single house with multiple rooms but instead a single family home consists of a number of buildings surrounded by a wall or fence. Each architectural unit is usually a single room that belongs to an individual. Traditionally, the husband's building is centrally positioned while the wife's Talukaka encircled him. Also, a woman may share her Taluk with unmarried children and relatives. Plus, there were sometimes bigger units used for housing livestock. The smaller smooth structure you'll see in photos of Musgum compounds are a granary which as the name suggests is a storehouse for grains. Within the compound walls, the open-air spaces between the rooms were divided into distinct zones each serving specific functions such as accommodating cattle, providing a designated playground, and being an area to conduct family councils. Unfortunately, construction of the Musgum Talukaka declined dramatically in the 20th century but these amazing works of architecture are making a comeback both because they are important cultural symbols and because the science clearly demonstrates that they are fantastic homes for the African environment. Alrighty, I have a few more notes about my illustration to share. For one, I'd like to point out that the hairstyle of the mother is a real African hairstyle and in retrospect, perhaps I should have given the other family members more creative hairstyles but oh well. I wanted the boy to stay simple and I made the father balding because I associate balding with fatherhood due to my own dad's hair. I also recall looking at clothing from Cameroon when I was drawing these characters but not surprisingly, I no longer have the images I referenced so many years ago. Lastly, as I'm sure you noticed, I added patterns to nature itself. The pattern I used on the ground is a specific reference to the spider symbol of the Cameroon Grassland Kingdoms which are south of the Musgum region. The spider is a symbol of wisdom and if you'd like to gain some wisdom about the Grassland Kingdoms well, I got good news for you. My friend Jabari of the From Nothing YouTube channel also made a video about the architecture of Cameroon and his video focuses on the Cameroon Grassland Kingdoms. I always enjoy working with Jabari so be sure to watch his video as well.