Traditional And Cultural South And Central African Homes

The countries in South and Central Africa include the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Angola, Malawi and Mozambique. The material used to construct most African traditional homes included, brick, mud, dung, grass and stone depnding on the area on the person status in society. Most African societies were ran by kings and chiefs and those who held  such positions were ranked highly in society and consequently would have homes signifying this status.

Bee-hive like Zulu hut, South Africa: The Zulus are ethnic South African group who have a rich History. The famous Shaka Zulu was from thsi group. This traditional Zulu hut of South Africa is made using stone at the base and the upper part has the design of a  beehive-style dome look. This house is more modern as the traditional ones as shown below used differnt materials.

Beehive like Zulu hut

Traditional Bee-hive Zulu hut, South Africa: This hut has no stone at the base but is made with brick like material and there is no separation between the base and the top part.

Traditional Zulu huts

Xhosa huts, South Africa: The Xhosa is another ethnic group in South Africa with a rich History. Their language is unique as it seems like they click their tongue as they speak. Their houses are known as Rondewels and are cone like and are made with clay and earth and thatched with grass held together with wooden brace.

Rondwel, hut

Stone Xhosa hut, South Africa: This another hut by the Xhosa which seem to be made with stone or is smoothed with cement and thatched in the traditional way.

Stone hut

The Ndebele Painted House, South Africa: The Ndebele are another formidable ethnic group in South Africa. They are known to have been fierce warriors who resisted the Boers encroachment over their land. The Ndebele previous to the early 18th Century lived in grass huts. They started using mud-walled houses in the mid-18th Century and started decorating their houses and walls with symbols. "These expressive symbols were used as a type of communication between sub groups of the Ndebele people. They stood for their continuity and cultural resistance to their current circumstances".

Painted Ndebele house

Traditional Ndebele House, South Africa: The traditional Ndebele house as shown here was made of grass and clay and is known as Bothshabela. The front is attached to the round house behind.

Bothshabela

Mud Hut, Lesotho: Lesotho is a landlocked country entirely sorrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is the country formerly known as Basutoland. This hut is made with mud and thatched with grass and is perhaps the more older model of huts in Lesotho. 

Mud Hut

Brick hut, Lesotho: This traditional hut in Lesotho is made with bricks and thatched with grass held together with wooden beams.

Brick hut (Image credit)

Modern brick huts, Lesotho: these huts seem to have a more polished finish and more modern windows but the lower part is similar to the top hut.

Modern brick huts(Image credit)

Dome like hut in Swaziland: The kingdom of Swaziland is another landlocked country in  Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by  South Africa, and to the east by  Mozambique. The nation gets its name from its former leader King Mswati 11. The hut herein is like a dome with a tiny entarnce. This is a more modern version of the traditional hut which were made using grass. This one seems to be made of a smooth fabric like velvet and is cemented at the base for stability. 

Dome like hut (image credit)

Traditional grass Dome hut, Swaziland: This hut below is similar to the one on top but as can be seen is made with grass held together with sisal.

Traditional grass hut (image credit)

Brick huts, Swaziland: These huts have a more modern look and are made with brick and thatched.

Brick huts (Image credit)

Traditional round huts, Botswana: 70% of Botswana is covered by the  Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by the Republic of South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. This is the traditional home of the bushmen who were hunter gatherers and today there are fewer than 10,000 Bushmen who still live in the traditional way. The hut below is round made of brick with grass thatch, The soil testify's of the lands dessert condition.  

Round hut (Image Credit)

Modern Rondavale hut, Botswana: This is actually a lodge which is built in the design of the traditional Tswanas homes. The house is made with wood with the base fortified with stone for stability.

Modern Rondavale hut (Image Credit)

Traditional Himba hut, Namibia: Namibia shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north,  Botswana to the east and Republic of South Africa to the south and east.The name of the country is derived from the Namib Desert considered to be the oldest desert in the world. The original inhabitants of the area were Bushmen, Damara and Namaqua. The hut below is very modest and is made with wooden bricks and thatched with grass.

Himba Hut (image credit)

Traditional Rondvale Hut, Namibia: In Botswana we saw a modern Rondvale hut but here now we see a traditional one made with traditional material. The whole house is made with grass held together with stitches of thick materials.

Traditional Rondvale (image credit)

Traditional Clay huts, Zambia: Zambia is a landlocked country bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east,Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The name is derived from the Zambezi River which flows through the country. The traditional hut shown below is made of clay and thatched with Grass. 

Traditional clay hut (image credit)

Modern brick huts, Zambia: Thse huts are more modern although they retain the design. Some are however square and they are made of bricks and thatched with grass.

Brick huts( credit given)

Traditional huts Zimbabwe: Formerly known as Rhodesia Zimbwe is another landlocked country located between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers in South Africa. It is bordered by the Republic of South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east.Thse huts are made with mud and thatched with dyed grass thatched. The house are lower and more cone like than round.

Traditional huts (credit given)

Traditional clay Huts , Malawi: Malawi was formerly known as Nyasaland and is also landlocked. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, and separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. The huts below are made with clay with the thatch having the design of an umbrella to give the house a cooler feel. On the homestead ther is a stone water tank which collects rain water.

Clay hut (Credit given)

Modern village brick house, Malawi: This house is made with brick and unlike most traditional houses has corrugated iron for roofing. The design is also square as opposed to round or oval.

Brick house (credit given)