Great Mosque of Djenné
Mali. Founded c. 1200 C.E.; rebuilt 1906-1907. Adobe.
Mali. Founded c. 1200 C.E.; rebuilt 1906-1907. Adobe.
As one of the wonders of Africa, and one of the most unique religious buildings in the world, the Great Mosque of Djenné, in present-day Mali, is also the greatest achievement of Sudano-Sahelian architecture. It is also the largest mud-built structure in the world. We experience its monumentality from afar as it dwarfs the city of Djenné.
Identify:
- #168.
-Great Mosque of Djenné.
-Founded c. 1200 C.E.; rebuilt 1906–1907
-flood plain of the Bani River in Djenné, Mali
-Adobe mud brick
Form:
-Made from cylindrical adobe (mud brick)
-made by hand with contribution from the whole society-- complex organization of society
-"rectilinear and partly enclosed by a wall"
-Supported by massive pillars
-Topping the conical pillars are ostrich eggs
- Contains a mihrab
-Supported by massive pillars
-Topping the conical pillars are ostrich eggs
- Contains a mihrab
Function:
-sign of the chief's religious devotion to Islam
- Mosque, center for prayer and community. Still has a practicing congregation
- political symbol to Europe
- "Epicenter for religious and cultural life"
- Location of Crepissage, a festival dedicated to the replastering of the mosque.
- The replastering is a communal effort.
- political symbol to Europe
- "Epicenter for religious and cultural life"
- Location of Crepissage, a festival dedicated to the replastering of the mosque.
- The replastering is a communal effort.
Content:
- 3 minerets
- Earthen roof
- Qibla faces Mecca
-Terracotta lids cover holes on the roof
-Timber poles poke out of the mosque called torons for decoration and climbing the mosque for replastering
-stairs symbolize transition from everyday life of the marketplace to a sacred place.
Context:
-oldest known city in Sub-Saharan Africa
-largest mud-brick structure in the world
- Has been rebu'ilt 3 times, the original, in 1830s, then by the French in 1906
- Current version built in 1907
- Current version built in 1907
- African chiefs quickly adopted Islam
-built in a marketplace
- Built by first converted Muslim ruler in Djenné (Koi Konboro)
- Islamic culture had a huge impact on the region.
- Islamic culture had a huge impact on the region.
-Mali emerged as a powerful empire, allowing it to be very prosperous
- Ostrich eggs represent fertility
- Tombs of great regional Islamic scholars are adjacent to the mosque.
- Tombs of great regional Islamic scholars are adjacent to the mosque.
Cross Cultural Comparisons:
Great Mosque at CordobaGreat Mosque at Timbuktu
Hagia Sofia
Western Wall
