Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BUTABU
A D O B E A R C H I T E C T U R E O F W E S T A F R I CA
JA M E S M O R R I S
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BUTABU
A D O B E A R C H I T E C T U R E O F W E S T A F R I CA
JA M E S M O R R I S
For my wife, Giovannella Gaetani dell’Aquila from Guinée, and Elhadj Affouad from Araouane, 3
d’Aragona, and daughters, Sofia and Arianna ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mali—both great drivers and masterful mechan-
ics. Additionally I thank all the people who
I want to thank the many people who encouraged
opened their doors and let me into their homes
me in this project, and make a particular men-
and mosques and onto their roofs and terraces
tion of the following: the Italian architect
to take these pictures; all were very friendly and
Fabrizio Carola for his hospitality and assis-
welcoming, if slightly bemused. Finally, I thank
tance in Bamako, Mali; Stefano Capotorti, head
my family, and especially my wife, for supporting
of the aid agency Terra Nuova in West Africa,
me and putting up with the frustrations of see-
who offered invaluable logistical support, guid-
ing this project through to publication.
ance, and friendship and provided me with both
road and river transport for both of my journeys;
Seydou Dolo from Bamako, Mali who acted as my
translator, guide, assistant, and good friend
throughout both trips and without whom these
photographs would not have been taken. I also
thank my long-suffering drivers, Alassane Diallo
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CONTENTS
TEXT PLATES
MAP
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open-air pavilions rather than buildings. They age closets were cleared of six-months worth of
Due to financial constraints, the lavoir was built
offer protection from sun or rain but not wind. linens, sheets, and shirts—mostly whites. These
as a single-story structure only. The beautiful
Subsequently, a wall was often erected between piles of soiled laundry, kept in humidity-free oak
complex of Jaugey (Côte-d’Or) combines a foun-
columns on the side facing the prevailing winds. armoires or attic granaries throughout the year,
tain with a two-basin lavoir framing a chapel to
In the valley of the Rhône, most lavoirs are closed were soaked at home in basins filled with water
Saint-Fiacre. The gurgling of flowing water mixes
to the north because of the Mistral, a strong and for an entire day to loosen the rough stains and
melodiously with the sound of the bell crowning
cold local wind coming down from the Alps. By grease. During that time, women collected fire-
the campanile, making this elegant edifice an
thus exposing the laundresses to public view, the wood and ashes to be used the following day.
unusual union.
southern lavoir renounced the sober civic aura of On the second day, referred to as “hell,” the women
Today public functions such as those of the post
the Franche-Comté model in favor of the visible sorted the linens and carefully layered them in
office or office of tourism might occupy the upper
reality of working-class women with their crude large pine basins mounted on tripods, at the bot-
level of a lavoir—if not the space of the lavoir
vocabulary and penchant for gossip. tom of which were placed herbs with bleaching
itself—although it is clear that such spaces were
Nevertheless, the sight of the structure’s stones properties. Depending upon the region, or the
originally intended for different public uses. Even
impressed by centuries of demanding physical individual woman’s family secrets, these herbs or
private residences occasionally exist above
work commands an admiration and respect digni- other organic matters varied from vine shoots to
lavoirs, with multiple examples in the town of
fied of architectural monuments. chopped iris rhizomes to nettle. Saponin and
Chartres (Eure-et-Loir).
crushed egg shells were especially known for
FUSION BUILDINGS their whitening properties, which sweet clover
LAUNDRY DAYS
served as moth repellant. In Provence, thyme, fen-
The expense of constructing lavoirs often taxed a nel, or lavender (Latin: lavere—to wash) were also
It is not permitted to use the beater or to hold
village’s limited resources, and so a range of dual- used to perfume the laundry. A heavy sheet cov-
loud conversations from 8 PM to 7 am. —Vence,
function buildings emerged. The most common is ered the basin and ashes made of freshly cut
Alpes-Maritimes
the lavoir-mairie, which combines the two most wood were spread on top. Such ashes contained a
prevalent civic building programs, lavoir and city high concentration of potassium carbonate, or
The monumental facades of the Franche-Comté
hall, into a single structure. Lavoir-mairies are potash, an effective cleansing agent. Boiling water
lavoirs, with their classical proportions and pub-
found extensively throughout Burgundy, and was then poured over the ashes, and it slowly fil-
lic arcades, reflect the aspirations of those who
there are several in Franche-Comté. This unlikely tered through the many layers before trickling out
facilitated their construction: civic leaders, archi-
combination compensated for the lack of respect from a small aperture at the bottom of the basin.
tects, engineers, and workers, most likely all men.
given to habitués of the lavoir by providing vil- The water was then collected, reheated, and
8 These dignified exteriors contrast with the soft,
lagers a structure that reflected greater civic poured back on top. This cycle was repeated many
dark, humid spaces of the interiors that consti-
pride. It also provided the governing body of a times over the course of the day.
tute the women’s sphere. The following sections
town with an unrivaled edifice, a sensitive issue The third day, “Heaven,” reflected a balance
attempt to revive the atmosphere of the old lavoir,
in villages where the architecture of the lavoir between hard work and social pleasures. It began
a dynamic social place which mirrored the perfid-
often surpassed that of structures used by more with the women gathering to march down to the
ious complexities of life, accentuating the con-
esteemed villagers. lavoir, carrying heavy loads of wet laundry in
trast with today’s empty, silent space that only
This political strategy had variants to please dif- wheelbarrows and in bundles on their heads. This
reflects inverted images in the water’s too stag-
ferent groups, and throughout the country vari- final day at the lavoir concluded with feasting on
nant surface.
ous public functions were paired with the lavoir baskets of food and alcohol in the presence of the
under a common roof. In Sennevoy-le-Haut, the young children who accompanied their mothers.
RITUAL
lavoir is built under the community center. The At the lavoir, often a mile or two out of town,
town of Reulle-Vergy (Côte-d’Or) housed commu- women knelt down in their carrosse or auget, a
The evolution of the lavoir closely followed
nal archives above the lavoir while in Sœuvres personal wooden box with a carpeted bottom,
changes in laundering practices. Lavoirs were
(Yonne) and Dissangis (Yonne), it is paired with that protected them from the spattering of water
originally used only for rinsing during a biannual
the public school. In Le Cordonnet (Haute-Saône), and the hard surface of the ground. They washed
community event, performed over the course of
the plans for the lavoir designed in 1826 included off the ashes that had absorbed the grease with
three days, referred to as the buées, or bugades in
upstairs quarters for the village school teacher. soap, then clobbered the fibers of the laundry in
Provence. On the first day, called “purgatory,” stor-
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PLATES
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Friday Mosque,........
Djenne, Mali | 19
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