Tato (fortress)

An illustration of a typical 19th century West African tattoo

A Tato (spelling variant: Tata ) was a fortress built by the local population in West Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. (The fortresses of the British and French colonial rulers are called forts ).

Especially during the Soninke-Marabout Wars , which began in the early 1850s, this type of fortress construction was widespread in Senegambia , i.e. in today's states of Gambia and Senegal . Some remains of former tattoos in Gambia are still preserved, the National Center for Arts & Culture lists some locations.

Perhaps the best known is the tato at Genieri .

See also

• See also : List of historical forts and tattoos of Gambia  and List of places of worship in Gambia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Allen Meagher, Andrew Samuel, Baba Ceesay, National Council for the Arts and Culture (Gambia) et al .: Historic sites of The Gambia: an official guide to the monuments and sites of The Gambia. National Council for the Arts and Culture, Banjul, The Gambia 1998, ISBN 9983-80-011-014
2. ^ Other Historic & Sacred Sites ( Memento of March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) National Center for Arts & Culture , accessed July 2011