African Villages Fractals

This traditional African village in Camaroon is one example of many of the pervasiveness of fractals in many African cultures. Ron Eglash has documented the indigenous use of fractals – repeating patterns on ever-larger scales – in African religions, textiles, and village communities. Sometimes, as one approaches the smaller or innermost components of a fractal, the core significance of the pattern is stressed – for instance, a big religious precinct encircling a particular shrine, encircling a sacred object. Link to Eglash’s Ted Talk below.