The document provides information on Konso vernacular architecture and landscape in Ethiopia. It describes the geographical and climatic characteristics of Konso, the attractive terraced landscapes, and population of around 263,000. It then discusses the cultural characteristics of the Konso people, including their generation grading system, oral traditions, and principles of equality, peace, and truth. The document also examines Konso fortified villages, houses, granaries, and moora public spaces in detail. It provides examples of different house types used for storage, living, and social gatherings, describing their construction methods.

1. KONSO VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ETHIOPIAN ARCHITECTURE
2015 EC

2. GEOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS
• Konso is found in the southwest of Ethiopia at about 600 Kms away from Addis
Ababa.It covers an area of about 2354.3 km2 It is surrounded by Derashe, Amaro
and Burji Special Woredas and the Oromia Regional State and Debub Omo Zones,
in the north, northeast, east, south and west respectively.
• The Konso has varied climate: high temperature, dry, hot and rainfall and different
landscapes like hilly, valley and flat land. Most of the areas of Konso are
characterized by dry and hot Climate with temperature that ranges from 27-50
degree Celsius. The hilly landscape treated with extensive dry stone masonry
terraces that serve the society for more than 400 years attested. According to the
environmental condition classification, Konso is in a hot climatic zone with altitude
below 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) above sea level.

4. CHARACTERS OF KONSO LANDSCAPE
Attractive far view of the terracing
farmland of konso.

5. One of the atractive landscape
arround Gessergio Kebele in
Konso. called New York

6. The good-looking terracing
farmland of Kalla Gezaghn in
Gamole.

7. The dray stone terracing accumulate the rain
water in the rainy season and protect the soil
erosion from the farm land.

8. THE KONSO POPULATION
• According to population estimate by
the Office of Statistics and Population
of Southern Nations, Nationalities and
Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS), and
the Central Statistics Agency (CSA,
2007), the Konso population projected
for 2011 was 262,993. The population
had been formed in a number of
smaller, organized, self governing and
fortified villages, later transformed into
towns.

9. CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF KONSO
• Under the spiritual leadership of the Aylo family, the founding group of the nine
Konso clans, they organized and developed their traditional Konso culture.
According to their tradition, even at that very early time they had the generation
grading system (xhelta) and an advanced agricultural system as well. Political
power, like today, peacefully passed from the older generation grade to the
younger one after a fixed period of years, based on the clan or their alliance
number. The Konso clans are 9 and their alliances make up 5. It is in the interest of
a region to choose one of their own as chief.

10. con’t
• The Konso had evolved an efficient organization to make decisions consistent with public
opinion and to enforce law and order.
• The Konso still dislike the idea of being ruled by one man. They are against
totalitarianism and authoritarianism in that they reject the idea of being governed by
one man, and of arbitrary personal authority.
• Within the family, the father can beat his children or wife, but only within reason. He
would be restrained if he used too great violence on any of them.
• The Konso have a well-developed language called Afa'xhonso, rich in proverbs, riddles,
puzzles, figurative speeches, idioms, etc., and complex in syntax.
• Among the basic Konso moral principles are equality of human beings (qhittuma a'inna
nama), peace and harmony (nagayta isho afa olli dhagaya), and truth (dhuga'ta).

11. LITERATURE REVIEW
• We review a literature called KONSO FORTIFIED VILLAGES: integrating architecture with nature By
Arch. Sara Capurro (University of Genoa), Eng. Enrico Castelli (Konso Cultural Centre) and Arch.
Lorenzo Fontana (University of Genoa)
• the Konso traditionally lived in stone walled settlements on hillsides for defence
from wild animals and human enemies
• The age of these fortified towns is unknown.
• Within the Konso settlements are closely spaced, fenced, individual households, as
well as walkways, public and ritual spaces such as the moras, ranging in size from
small sitting areas to large spaces with a men’s house and a dancing area.
• Most settlements have a place where the inhabitants watched out for enemies
approaching the settlement called mora.

12. THE KONSO FORTIFIED VILLAGE
• The Konso live in about 39 villages spread in a
650 square kilometer territory subdivided into
three distinct regions; Garati in the east, Takati
in the west and Turo in the north. As to
(Capurro, 2012) , the Konso walled villages
contains vernacular houses, households, walk
ways, closed fences for every Individual
residential compound (Tikka), public spaces
(Morra), and small seating spaces formed
under shades and communal footpath are
located and respected for the Konso
landscape.

13. FOREST
• The Konso notion of a a forest (mura),
gives us what special interest they
attach to these natural resources.
Outside the farmlands, almost no tree
survived the demand for construction
timber or firewood; only a special
reason or purpose, commonly
acknowledged by the entire
community could save the small but
intact forests in neighborhoods of the
villages.
• some of them are traditionally
connected with a clan leader.

14. STONE WALLS
• The great defensive walls are found not only on the
external ring of the town, but even inside, in
concentric rings that speak of centuries of growth of
residential communities that found a sustainable
balance and equilibrium within the environment,
thus making it possible to settle permanently and for
a long time.
• The walls are made by stratification of irregular basalt
stones without any mortar: a structure considered
one of the most ancient typologies, known as pelagic
or cyclopic. The inner walls, which are the oldest and
often the tallest, reach a height of 4 meters and a
width of 2.5 meters.
• wood is used in the upper part in order to make the
compounds impenetrable.

15. Rampant Walkways and Gates
• The defensive purpose for these
megalithic walls is also underlined by
the presence of rampant walkways
that, in times of war, were allowing the
warriors fast deployment to the
endangered section.
• The technique of Konso warriors was
based on throwing heavy stones or
spears, not using arrows or firearms;
this is the reason why, unlike other
warrior societies, thewalls never
present any slit in their continuous
structure.

16. ZIGZAG PATHWAYS
• In some villages, as in Olanta, access to
the main gate was originally possible
only by a zigzag path, enclosed by high
walls, following the climb of the hill.
Sections of the path vary: in some
points it is narrow while in at least two
sections it opens into a wide square.
This is a feature related to its defensive
purpose: while enemies have to climb
the hill following the “S” path in order
to attack the village, warriors could
conceal themselves in the squares to
counterattack them by the side.

17. HOUSE
• The Pafta, or cave house is archaic and rare to
find these days, being extensively used only in
the Kolme area. Using the natural slope of the
compound, a cavity is excavated to obtain a
rectangular shape; logs are disposed
horizontally and a front wall erected using
stones cut in order to have a flat surface with
straight angles. The door in the centre of the
wall is usually lower than a standing person.
The roof is of earth, flat and solid enough to
have cows walking on it. When covered by
grass and from a distance, the house
disappears into the landscape.

18. Granaries
• In the lower part of the compound, are several
granaries, presenting the same shape of the
double roofs just described. The granary itself
is a sort of cylindrical basket covered with
chikka, presenting only one lateral wooden
flap. It is sustained by four poles, one and half
meters above the ground, the space under it is
used as stable for cows, goats and sheep;
animals in Konso are kept inside the
compound, water and fodder are brought daily
to them by women.

19. MOORA
• The term moora, in the local language,
indicates a well-defined typology of public
space, and, for each village there are many of
them, from ten to twenty, with different
functions, shapes and attributes.It’s the place
of social and spiritual life.
• Morra is not only an open public spaces it has
several elements located in Morra; the Paffta
( public thatched roof housing unit),Pahpaha
(the wide open public space), Olahitta ( the
generation pole), Arumma (the circular
stone), flat stone and Daka Dirumma(the
stone of manhood)

20. KONSO VERNACULAR HOUSES
• Konso vernacular houses are divided into three major parts:
(1) those which serve as a storage housing character like Kossa, Alita kossa, Reqa, and Agita:
(2) housing characteristics that serve as living cottages like Manna and Elfennotta (Elphign): and
(3) social service housing character called Paffta that is located only in open communal spaces
known as Morra.
houses are constructed with thatched roof and wall surfaces, having one small sized exit and entrance
door (Harra).
houses are constructed with thatched roof and wall surfaces, having one small sized exit and entrance
door (Harra).

21. AGITA
• Agita has two floor levels with different spatial functions. Their spaces are
located at ground floor level and on the upper floor level with different uses.
The upper floor level is supported by four columns called Tudayata and it
creates a secret spatial storage functional room called Kudda.

22. Agita and Manna need a similar construction system and building form but Agita
follows a slightly different system because it does not use central wooden column
and it has a raised floor surface supported by four wooden columns (with 1.4 meter
length).

23. MANNA
• Manna is built mostly by or for the second born person of every Konso family. The Manna house unit
is built on the upper part of Tikka in the compound. The construction involves steps such as
collection of local building materials, positioning of the central pillar (which is wooden), digging of
the hole for the pillar, reinforcing the pillar, raising the wooden wall surface, reinforcing the wall by
horizontal bracing, and, finally, installing the thached roof (Kekisha) and wall surface (Kembeba).
• Manna is functionally used as sleeping space for husband and wife, maternity services and Cheka
preparation. Manna has one small exit and entrance door (Harra).

24. • the construction of a Manna housing character starts from the main entrance of the hut
called Harra, which is built from a timber wood (particularly the vertical left and right side
membranes). Its top should be a wooden lintel building element called Mendurayeda.
Then the central wooden column of the house (Tudata) would be in place. The walls
would then be constructed and the diagonal roof bracing (known as Kololta) would be
connected to the wall surface.

25. Reqa
• Reqa is located in all of the Konso residential compounds and it is constructed on the lower level of
the konso residential compound (Arhata). Reqa has three special architectural spaces: the ground
floor level is used as storage facility for crops, local beer (Cheka) preparation and sleeping or sitting
space for grandfather of the family. The upper floor level has two architectural spaces Tudata and
Arhita.
• Reqa is the storage housing character of the Konso society which is administered by the father of the
family. It is constructed with wood for building columns, flooring beams, floor finish, roofing beams,
and inclined supporting roof bracing materials. Grass is applied as a construction material to the two
types of roof surface. Rope is made from animal skin, grass, or bark of local trees. It is used to tighten
every connection of wooden joints. Stone is very important building material easily available in Konso
and used for floor finish and unmortared masonry foundation and for resting or sitting space under
shade areas.

27. THANK YOU!