Ancient Malian city celebrates annual replastering of mosque
DJÉNNÉ, Mali: Thousands of Malians have replastered the iconic earthen mosque in the historic city of Djenne during an annual ceremony that helps preserve the World Heritage site.
To the sound of drums and festive music, townsmen on Thursday coated the towering three-minaret mosque with fresh mud plaster.
The annual replastering with 'banco' — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather ahead of the Sahel region's often violent rainy season.
'This mosque belongs to the whole world,' said Aboubacar Sidiki Djiteye, his face streaked with mud as he joined the 'unifying' ritual.
'There's no bigger event in Djenne than this,' he told AFP.
'Replastering the mosque is a tradition handed down from generation to generation,' said Bayini Yaro, one of the women tasked with carrying water for the plaster mix.
Locals prepared the mix themselves, combining water, earth, rice bran, shea butter and baobab powder — a hallmark of Sahel-Sudanese architecture.
Chief mason Mafoune Djenepo inspected the fresh coating.
'The importance of this mosque is immense. It's the image on all Malian stamps,' he said.
A blessing ceremony followed the replastering, with Qur'anic verses recited in the mosque courtyard. Participants then shared dates and sweets.
First erected in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1907, the mosque is considered the world's largest earthen structure, according to the United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO.
Djenne, home to around 40,000 residents and known for preserving its traditional banco houses, has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1988.
The site was added to the endangered heritage list in 2016 due to its location in central Mali, where jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, as well as ethnic militias and criminal gangs, have waged a violent insurgency since 2012.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
21 hours ago
- Arab News
Ancient Malian city celebrates annual replastering of mosque
DJÉNNÉ, Mali: Thousands of Malians have replastered the iconic earthen mosque in the historic city of Djenne during an annual ceremony that helps preserve the World Heritage site. To the sound of drums and festive music, townsmen on Thursday coated the towering three-minaret mosque with fresh mud plaster. The annual replastering with 'banco' — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather ahead of the Sahel region's often violent rainy season. 'This mosque belongs to the whole world,' said Aboubacar Sidiki Djiteye, his face streaked with mud as he joined the 'unifying' ritual. 'There's no bigger event in Djenne than this,' he told AFP. 'Replastering the mosque is a tradition handed down from generation to generation,' said Bayini Yaro, one of the women tasked with carrying water for the plaster mix. Locals prepared the mix themselves, combining water, earth, rice bran, shea butter and baobab powder — a hallmark of Sahel-Sudanese architecture. Chief mason Mafoune Djenepo inspected the fresh coating. 'The importance of this mosque is immense. It's the image on all Malian stamps,' he said. A blessing ceremony followed the replastering, with Qur'anic verses recited in the mosque courtyard. Participants then shared dates and sweets. First erected in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1907, the mosque is considered the world's largest earthen structure, according to the United Nations' cultural body, UNESCO. Djenne, home to around 40,000 residents and known for preserving its traditional banco houses, has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1988. The site was added to the endangered heritage list in 2016 due to its location in central Mali, where jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, as well as ethnic militias and criminal gangs, have waged a violent insurgency since 2012.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Ethiopia's Vast Lake Being Pumped Dry
There is a constant hum around Ethiopia's enormous Lake Dembel -- the sound of its water steadily being sucked out by pumps. The pumps irrigate farms all around the lake, which is four times the size of Manhattan, and are vital for hundreds of thousands of people, AFP said. Ethiopia has already lost at least one large lake -- Haramaya, in the east of the country -- to over-pumping. Now it risks losing another. Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 from four meters to two (13 feet to over six), according to Wetlands International, an NGO. "If things continue like this, the lake could disappear," said its project manager Desalegn Regassa. Pumping by farmers and industry is not the lake's only problem. Heavy pesticide use is also killing its fish, locals and the NGO say. Belachew Derib has been fishing the lake since the 1980s but says stocks are disappearing. "I built my house thanks to the income from fishing and support my three children through this work," Belachew, 60, told AFP as he rowed his small boat out to pull up his nets. "Previously, we could catch 20 to 30 fish a day. Nowadays, young fishermen are lucky to catch two or three," he said. Just a few dozen meters (yards) from the shore, AFP found Habib Bobasso, 35, liberally covering his small onion plot with pesticides from a pump strapped to his back. "There are many worms that can damage the plants... we could lose the entire harvest," he said as he sprayed, with just a shawl to cover his face. He knows the pesticides are harmful but sees no alternative. "The fertilizers and pesticides we use degrade the soil. We spend too much money on fertilizers and chemicals for a low yield," he said. Degradation Water management is essential for Ethiopia, a land-locked giant in east Africa with a rapidly growing population already estimated at more than 130 million and often hit by droughts. But a lack of funds and government oversight has allowed bad practices to continue for decades. A recent report by the Stockholm International Water Institute blamed Ethiopia's "lackluster policy frameworks" for "the demise of Lake Haramaya, the shrinking of Lake Abijata (and) the pollution of Awash River and Ziway and Hawassa Lakes." Lately, the government has shown signs it is taking the problem seriously. It passed a law earlier this year imposing a fee to extract water from Lake Dembel, which lies around 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa. A local official, Andualem Gezahegne, told AFP he hoped this would curtail the pumps. It cannot come too soon -- Wetlands International said there were some 6,000 pumps installed around the lake last year, running 24 hours a day, and "maybe more today". AFP witnessed two huge tanker trucks filling up for a nearby highway project during a recent visit. Keeping fishing under control is another challenge, said Andualem. "Unfortunately, the peak fishing activity coincides with the fish spawning periods, from January to May," he said. On the surface, the lake is still full of life -- from hippos to marabou storks. But as the fishermen head out at dawn, the steady hum of the pumps strikes an ominous note for the future.
Arab News
6 days ago
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: Worlds of Unfreedom by Roquinaldo Ferreira
In 'Worlds of Unfreedom,' Roquinaldo Ferreira recasts West Central Africa as a key battleground in the struggle to abolish the transatlantic slave trade between the 1830s and the 1860s. Ferreira foregrounds the experiences and agency of enslaved Africans, challenging Eurocentric narratives that marginalize African participation in abolition efforts. Drawing on archival research, he shows how enslaved people resisted the oppressive systems that sought to commodify their lives. He integrates microhistorical analysis with broader world history.
