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Iraqw Hidden House:
Here you can see how the house is tucked into the hill. As the
Iraqw man I met explained to me, Iraqw used to build such houses to reduce
the likelihood of having their dwellings spotted from a distance--protection
against pastoralists like the Maasai who might raid cattle from them.
This house has been built in Karatu specifically as an educational "cultural
village," much like you might visit pioneer houses in the US. It
is decorated as an Iraqw house would have been decorated for a wedding.
After Tanzania became independent, former President Julius Nyerere's government
started a villagization program as part of their socialist vision. Houses
like this one were discouraged in favor of taller houses that allow more
air to circulate--reasoned to be healthier. The result is a certain degree
of homogenization in styles of houses built from locally available materials.
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