Asante shrine house, Besease, Ghana

"A shrine house or 'Obosomfie' is made up of 4 buildings enclosing a central courtyard or 'gyase'. A striking characteristic of traditional Asante architecture was the high steep-pitched roofs often with angle of 60 degree and more, which allowed for a very good efficiency and durability of the thatch roof, and therefore ensured the good protection of the overall building but required constant upkeep and maintenance. In the last century, corrugated iron has replaced thatch, cement the mud plaster and cob, and more recently mud brick masonry has replaced the wattle and daub technique. Today, at Besease, the shrine has just been restored. Works implemented were aimed at restoring the shrine house and presenting it to the public. Efforts have been made to reconstruct it to its original state." [Asante Traditional Buildings. World Heritage. A Ghana Museums and Monuments Publication]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.