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Room Concept: A
Courtyard The African
Heritage Classroom's unifying concept is a courtyard. Courtyards can be found throughout
Africa. They are the center of family life, a place
where traditions are kept alive. In more formal religious structures they serve as settings
for rituals and celebrations and
symbolize the importance which Africans place
on family, community, and spiritual values Asante Courtyard Of
the many courtyard styles found in Africa, the one which serves as the prototype for our classroom
is the Central Courtyard, in
which four buildings are joined at the corners to enclose a central square. This style
predominates among the Asante of Ghana, among
the Yoruba, Igbo and Bini of Nigeria, and
among other groups in Togo, Benin, and the Ivory Coast.
Traditional Asante
home, with four attached rooms forming a central courtyard. From Murray,
Cultural Atlas of Africa
Traditional Yoruba
central courtyard. From Murray, Cultural Atlas of Africa. The
decor of the classroom draws inspiration from the red-colored earth, grass thatch, bas relief figures, and
pierced earthen screens of an
Asante temple. Documented by drawings
made by English explorer T.E. Bowdich in 1817, this design meets the
University requirement that the
period of all Nationality Rooms predate 1787, the founding date of the University of Pittsburgh. The
classroom's two-tiered seats recall the benches and steps of an Asante temple. The peripheral
benches and chieftain
stools provide African alternatives to auditorium seating. Large bas reliefs adorn
the window wall reminding us of the
religious rituals that occur in Asante temples. The frieze symbols on the upper walls display achievements in mathematics, literaure, music and art by peoples
from throughout the African continent.
(For illustrations of the classroom architecture and features, go to Features.) Below are two
illustrations of Asante architecture and festivals in Kumasi, Ghana, as recorded
by English explorer T.E. Bowdich in 1817. |
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Asante
architecture; City of Kumasi, Ghana, 1817 From T.E. Bowdich,
Mission From Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee (1817)
Asante Yam Festival after T.E. Bowdich, Mission
From Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee (1817) |
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