In 2009, Flickr user Rita Willaert traveled to an isolated village named Tiébélé in Burkina Faso, West Africa, where every house is an expression of art.
One of the oldest ethnic groups in the country, the Kassena people, reside in this village. The village occupies a circular 1.2 hectare complex at the foot of a hill.
This is no ordinary village. It has been the residence of the nobility of the Kassena people, such as the chief and the royal court, since the 15th century when they first settled in the area.
Every house in the village is intricately embellished with traditional earthen architecture of the isolated Kassena culture. Some of the art carries symbolic meaning.
This village is extremely shut off from outsiders in the interest of ensuring conservation and the integrity of their structures, and to protect the local traditions.
It is also important to note that some of the most elaborately decorated houses are not living quarters but mausoleums for the dead, laid to rest in the same compound.
View some of these pictures below:
[via Messy Nessy Chic]