There is a village in Benin in West Africa that is completely built over the Lake Nokoué, near Cotonou. The name of this unique village is Ganvie. It has a population of 20,000. It is probably the largest lake village in Africa and is very popular among tourists. Tourists arrive from far away to see this village. The houses of most of the people are in the middle of the lake. Ganvie is sometimes called the Venice of Africa.
It is believed that this village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who decided to settle down here for self-protection from Fon warriors. The Fon warriors used to come there for capturing slaves for sale to European traders, but due to their religious beliefs, they do not enter into the water. Now for so many years, the Ganvie villagers have developed their culture over water and want to stay here even further.
All the houses, shops and restaurants in the village are built on wooden stilts several feet above the water. There is also a floating market over the lake. The community is self-sustainable, survives on fishing and various other sectors such as tourism, restaurants and souvenir shops. The villagers have a piece of land, where a school has been built. The village school is one of the few buildings which are not on stilts.
It is believed that this village was created in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries by the Tofinu people who decided to settle down here for self-protection from Fon warriors. The Fon warriors used to come there for capturing slaves for sale to European traders, but due to their religious beliefs, they do not enter into the water. Now for so many years, the Ganvie villagers have developed their culture over water and want to stay here even further.
All the houses, shops and restaurants in the village are built on wooden stilts several feet above the water. There is also a floating market over the lake. The community is self-sustainable, survives on fishing and various other sectors such as tourism, restaurants and souvenir shops. The villagers have a piece of land, where a school has been built. The village school is one of the few buildings which are not on stilts.
0 comments:
Post a Comment