Ganvie, Lake settlement in Sô-Ava, Benin
Ganvie is a water settlement housing approximately 20,000 residents on Lake Nokoue, where bamboo houses built on wooden stilts create an extensive network of structures rising directly from the water. The houses are connected by pathways and wooden channels that form the main routes through the community.
The Tofinu people founded this settlement in the 16th century on Lake Nokoue to escape slavery, protected by local beliefs that regarded those living on water as sacred. This refuge established a way of life that has continued uninterrupted for centuries.
The Tofinu people speak their own language alongside French and earn their living primarily through fishing using traditional nets and underwater traps. Daily life revolves around the water, with residents paddling between houses and selling their catch at floating markets.
Getting around requires a wooden pirogue or boat, as the settlement has no roads and all structures stand above water on stilts. Visitors should expect wet conditions, slippery surfaces, and should hire a local guide to navigate the waterways safely and learn about community life.
There is only one piece of actual dry land in the entire settlement, reserved exclusively for a school building, while every other structure rises from the water. This small patch of solid ground is remarkable because it represents the only place where conventional construction was possible.
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