Djenné
Encyclopedia
Djenné is an Urban Commune
Communes of Mali
A Commune is the third level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight regions and one capital district . These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city. The regions are divided into 49 Cercles...

 and town in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 32,944. Administratively it is part of the Mopti Region
Mopti Region
Mopti is the fifth administrative region of Mali, covering 79,017 km². Its capital is the city of Mopti.-Geography:Mopti Region is bordered by Tombouctou Region to the north, Ségou Region to the southwest, and Burkina Faso to the southeast....

.

The history of Djenné is closely linked with that of Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...

. Between the 15th and 17th centuries much of the trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...

 in goods such as salt, gold and slaves that moved in and out of Timbuktu passed through Djenné. Both towns became centres of Islamic scholarship. Djenné's prosperity depended on this trade and when the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 established trading posts on the African coast, the importance of the trans-Saharan trade and thus of Djenné declined.

The town is famous for its distinctive mud-brick (adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...

) architecture, most notably the Great Mosque
Great Mosque of Djenné
The Great Mosque of Djenné is the largest mud brick or adobe building in the world and is considered by many architects to be the greatest achievement of the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style, with definite Islamic influences. The mosque is located in the city of Djenné, Mali on the flood plain...

 which was built in 1907 on the site of an earlier mosque. To the south of the town is Djenné-Jéno
Jenné-Jeno
Jenne-Jeno is the original site of Djenné, Mali and considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers in sub-Saharan Africa. It has been the subject of archeological excavations by Susan and Roderick McIntosh and has been dated to the 3rd century BC...

, the site of one of the oldest known towns in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...

. Djenné together with Djenné-Jéno were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 in 1988.

Geography

Djenné is situated 398 km (247.3 mi) north-east of Bamako
Bamako
Bamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...

 and 76 km (47.2 mi) south-west of Mopti
Mopti
Mopti is a city at the confluence of the Niger and the Bani in Mali, between Timbuktu and Ségou. The city lies on three islands linked by dykes: the New Town, the Old Town and Medina Coura. As a result it is sometimes known as the "Venice of Mali".-History:The city of Mopti derives its name from...

. The town sits on the floodplain between the Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

 and Bani
Bani River
The Bani River is the principal tributary of the Niger River in Mali. Its length is about 1100 km. The Bani is formed from the confluence of the Baoulé and Bagoé rivers some 160 km east of Bamako and merges with the Niger near Mopti.-Geography:...

 rivers at the southern end of the Inland Niger Delta. The town has an area of around 70 ha and during the annual floods becomes an island that is accessed by causeways. The Bani river is 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the town and is crossed by ferry.

For administrative purposes the town forms part of the Urban Commune
Communes of Mali
A Commune is the third level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight regions and one capital district . These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city. The regions are divided into 49 Cercles...

 of Djenné which covers an area of 302 km2 and consists of the town itself and the surrounding villages: Ballé, Diabolo, Gomnikouboye, Kamaraga, Kéra, Niala, Soala, Syn, Velingara and Yenleda. The population figures are for the commune and include these villages. The commune is bounded to the north by the communes of Ouro Ali
Ouro Ali
Ouro Ali is a rural commune of the Cercle of Djenné in the Mopti Region of Mali. The commune includes the villages of Senossa, Koloye, Ouro Djikoye, Siratintin, Weraka, Wono, Kotola, Djimatogo, Ali Samba, Kandia and Somena. The administrative center is the village of Senossa. In the census of...

 and Derary
Derary
Derary is a rural commune of the Cercle of Djenné in the Mopti Region of Mali. The commune contains eight villages. The administrative center is the village of Gagna. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 6,558....

, to the south by the commune of Dandougou Fakala
Dandougou Fakala
Dandougou Fakala is a rural commune in the Cercle of Djenné in the Mopti Region of Mali. The administrative center is the village of Konio. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 9,841....

, the east by the communes of Fakala
Fakala
Fakala is a Rural Commune of the Cercle of Djenné in the Mopti Region of Mali. The commune contains around 30 villages and had a population of 32,689 in the census of 2009. The local government is based in the village of Sofara....

 and Madiama
Madiama
Madiama is a rural commune and village in the Cercle of Djenné in the Mopti Region of Mali. The commune contains ten villages.The commune lies to the west of the main RN6 highway linking Bamako with Gao and is crossed by the spur road linking the highway with the Djenné ferry across the Bani River...

 and to the west by the commune of Pondori
Pondori
Pondori is a commune of the Cercle of Djenné in the Mopti Region of Mali. The principal village lies at Gomitogo. The commune also includes the villages of Koba, Kobassa, Siroumou, Noina and Djera. In the census of 2009 the commune had a population of 4,315, a substantially lower value than the...

.

Climate

The weather is hot and dry throughout much of the year. Average daily maximum temperatures in the hottest months, April and May, are around 40 °C. Temperatures are slightly cooler, though still very hot, from June through September, when practically all of the annual rainfall occurs. Only the winter months of December and January have average daily maximum temperatures below 32 °C. Between December and March the warm dry north-easterly Harmattan
Harmattan
The Harmattan is a dry and dusty West African trade wind. It blows south from the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea between the end of November and the middle of March...

 wind blows from the Sahara. When it blows strongly the dust-laden wind reduces visibility and creates a persistent haze. The annual rainfall is around 550 mm but varies greatly from year to year. August is normally the wettest month.

Annual flood

In Djenné the annual flood produced by Bani and Niger rivers begins in July and reaches a maximum in October. During this period the town of Djenné becomes an island and the Souman-Bani channel which passes just to the east of the town fills and connects the Bani and Niger rivers. The year to year variation in the height of the flood leads to a large variation in the area of land that is flooded. This has important consequences for the local agriculture. The drought that began in the early 1970s resulted in a big reduction in the volume of water flowing in the Niger and Bani rivers. The effect on the Bani was particularly severe as the reduction in flow was much greater than the reduction in rainfall. The annual discharge of the river has not returned to the volumes experienced in the 1950s and 1960s. It is only during the flood season (mid-July till December) that the Bani river between Djenné and Mopti is easily navigable. At other times of the year, sandbars lie close to the water surface. The French explorer René Caillié made the journey to Mopti in a small boat in March 1828 and was "obliged several times to unload the vessel in order to pass over sandbanks."

Talo dam

In 2006 the Talo Dam was constructed on the Bani River to irrigate parts of the floodplain near the town of San
San, Mali
San is a town and commune and capital of the Cercle of San in the Ségou Region of Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 26,744.San is the center of bògòlanfini production, a traditional Malian fabric.-References:...

. The dam is located 43 km west of San and 110 km upstream from Djenné. The dam functions as a weir in that water can flow over the top of the retaining wall. The construction of the dam was highly controversial. The environmental impact assessment
Environmental impact assessment
An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....

 commissioned by the African Development Bank
African Development Bank
The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

 was criticised for not fully taking into account the hydrological impact downstream of the dam. The 0.18 km3 of water retained by the dam represents 1.3% of the average annual discharge of the river (the average for the period 1952–2002 is 13.4 km3). From the published information it is unclear how much of the total discharge will be diverted for irrigation and, of the diverted water, how much will drain back into the river. The downstream effect of the dam will be to delay the arrival of the annual flood and to reduce its intensity.

Djenné dam

In May 2009 the African Development Bank approved funding for an irrigation dam/weir to be built on the Bani near Soala, a village within the commune situated 12 km south of Djenné. The dam is one element in a 6 year 33.6 billion CFA franc (66 million USD) program that also includes the building of a dam on the Sankarani River
Sankarani River
The Sankarani River is a tributary of the Niger River Flowing northward from the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea, it crosses into southern Mali, where it joins the Niger approximately 40 km upstream of Bamako...

 near Kourouba and the extension of the area irrigated by the Talo dam. The proposed Djenné dam will retain 0.3 km3 of water, significantly more than the Talo dam. It will allow the "controlled flooding" of 14,000 ha of the Pondori floodplain (on the left bank of the river to the south of Djenné) to allow the cultivation of rice and the irrigation of an additional 5000 ha for growing 'floating grass' (Echinochloa stagnina
Echinochloa stagnina
Echinochloa stagnina is a species of Echinochloa widespread in tropical Africa and Asia, with an invasive status in many Pacific islands....

known locally as bourgou) for animal feed.

History

Lying 2.5 km south-east of the present town is the archaeological site of Djenné-Jéno
Jenné-Jeno
Jenne-Jeno is the original site of Djenné, Mali and considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers in sub-Saharan Africa. It has been the subject of archeological excavations by Susan and Roderick McIntosh and has been dated to the 3rd century BC...

 or Djoboro. Excavations undertaken by Susan and Roderick McIntosh in 1977 and 1981 indicate that Djenné-Jéno was first settled around 200 BC. It had developed into a large walled urban complex by 850 AD, but after 1100 AD the population of the town declined and by 1400 the site had been abandoned. Many smaller settlements within a few kilometres of Djenné-Jéno also appear to have been abandoned around this date. Preliminary archaeological excavations at sites within modern Djenné indicate that the present town was first settled after 1000 AD.

The town of Djenné may have started out as the furthermost western outpost of the Songhay people's migration from the east, and converted to Islam around 1050. Under Almoravid pressure, the decline and collapse of the Ghana Empire
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE...

 after 1076, allowed Djenné to surge forward as a major town in the region. Between the 11th and 13th C., Djenné was a leading commercial center in west Africa, the major terminus of the gold, salt and slave trade of the Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...

 route. However, lying much further south, Djenné's name never made as much a magical impression on Arab and European writers as the Sahelian towns of Oualata
Oualata
Oualata or Walata is a small oasis town in south east Mauritania that was important in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route...

 and Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...

 (even thought the latter, during this time, were probably smaller outposts along the route established for Djenné trade). Some scholars believe Djenné is the source of the Arabic term Guinauha, which would be later translated by Europeans to Guinea
Guinea (region)
Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel.-History:...

. Djenné was also a chief center of Sudanese Islam in this period, its Great Mosque built 11th C. (destroyed 1830) being an important center of religious life.

Djenné brief period of dominance came to an end in the 13th C., with the rise of the Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...

, which invaded the upper lands from the west, disrupted the old routes and redirected the trade to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...

, thus catapulting that hitherto small outpost above its mother city. Djenné's fortunes never recovered and declined gradually thereafter, and it was eventually reduced to a tributary state of the Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...

.

During the fourteenth century, Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...

 was known as the major southern terminus of the trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...

 in gold, salt and slaves. The first direct mention of Djenné in European sources is in connection with this trans-Saharan trade to . In a letter written in Latin in 1447 by Antonio Malfante
Antonio Malfante
Antonio Malfante was a Genoese trader, known for traveling to Africa on behalf of the Centurione Bank in 1447. In a letter written in Latin from the Saharan oasis of Tuwat to a merchant in Genoa, Malfante reported on what he learned from an informant about the trans-Saharan trade...

 from the Saharan oasis of Tuwat
Tuat
Tuat is a desert region in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara desert.-Geography:...

 to a merchant in Genoa, Malfante reports on what he had learnt from an informant about the trans-Saharan trade. He lists several 'states' including one called 'Geni' and describes the Niger River "Through these lands flows a very large river, which at certain times of the year inundates all these lands. This river passes by the gates of Thambet [Timbuktu]. ... There are many boats on it, by which they carry on trade."

Djenné probably had a tribute-paying fiefdom status during the time of the Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...

 (mid 13th to early 15th century). Seventeenth century indigenous Arabic chronicles give different accounts of the status of the town. Al-Sadi in his Tarikh al-Sudan claims that the Malians attacked the town ninety-nine times but that Djenné was never conquered while the other major chronicle, the Tarikh al-fattash
Tarikh al-fattash
The Tarikh al-fattash is a chronicle written in Arabic in the second half of the 17th century. It provides an account of the Songhay Empire from the reign of Sonni Ali up to 1599 with a few references to events in the following century. The chronicle also mentions the earlier Mali Empire. Octave...

, describes the chief of Djenné as a humble vassal of the Malian emperor.

The town was conquered by Sonni Ali
Sonni Ali
Sonni Ali, also known as Sunni Ali Ber or "Sunni Ali", was born Ali Kolon. He reigned from about 1464 to 1492. Sunni Ali was the first king of the Songhai Empire, located in west Africa and the 15th ruler of the Sonni dynasty...

 (reigned 1464–1492) during his expansion of the Songhai Empire
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...

. According to al-Sadi, the siege of Djenné lasted 7 months and 7 days and culminated in the surrender of the town and the death of the chief. The chief's widow then married Sonni Ali, and peace was restored.

The town is mentioned by Leo Africanus
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus, was a Moorish diplomat and author who is best known for his book Descrittione dell’Africa describing the geography of North Africa.-Biography:Most of what is known about his life is gathered from autobiographical...

 in his Descrittione dell’Africa
Description of Africa
Description of Africa, a largely firsthand geographical book, which was published under the title Descrittione dell’ Africa by Giovanni Battista Ramusio in his collection of travellers' accounts Delle navigationi e viaggi in Venice in 1550, contained the first detailed descriptions published in...

completed in 1526 but not published until 1550. He had visited Mali with an uncle in around 1510 and perhaps again 3 years later. At several places in his book Leo Africanus describes the Niger River as flowing westwards from Timbuktu to Djenné. This has led some scholars to suggest that his account of Djenné was unlikely to be based on first hand observations and was probably based on information obtained from other travellers. He describes Djenné as a village with houses constructed of clay with straw roofs. He mentions an abundance of barley, rice, livestock, fish and cotton and also the importance of trade with north Africa in which merchants exported cotton and imported European cloth, copper, brass, and arms. In the trade with Timbuktu merchants visited during the annual flood using small narrow canoes. Unstamped gold was used for coinage.

Between the 14th and 17th centuries Djenné and Timbuktu were important entrepôt
Entrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...

s in a long distance trade network. Salt was mined at Taghaza
Taghaza
Taghaza is an abandoned salt-mining centre located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 17th century when it was abandoned and replaced by Taoudenni. Salt from the mines formed an important part of the...

 in the Sahara and transported south via Timbuktu and Djenné. Gold from the Akan goldfields in the forested area between the Komoé
Komoé River
The Komoé River is a river in West Africa. The river originates in Burkina Faso, is joined by the Léraba River, then forms the border between Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire until it enters Côte d'Ivoire near Ferké, where it is the major drainage for northeastern portion of that country before...

 and Volta
Volta River
The Volta is a river in western Africa that drains into the Gulf of Guinea. It has three main tributaries—the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volta...

 rivers was traded at the town of Begho (Bitu) and then transported north through Djenné and Timbuktu and across the Sahara to North Africa where it was exchanged for merchandise such as cloth, copper and brass. However, by the early sixteenth century, the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 had established trading posts along the African coast and were shipping large quantities of gold from Elmina
Elmina
Elmina, is a town in the Central Region, situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, about 12 km west of Cape Coast...

 in present day Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. This maritime trade competed with the trans-Saharan gold trade.

The Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 sultan, Ahmad al-Mansur, wanted to control the export of gold and in 1590 sent an army of 4,000 mercenaries across the Sahara led by the converted Spaniard Judar Pasha
Judar Pasha
Judar Pasha was a military leader of Morocco's Saadi Dynasty and the conqueror of the Songhai Empire.Born a Spaniard, Judar had been captured as a baby. As a young boy he joined the service of Moroccan Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi...

. The Songhai were defeated at the Battle of Tondibi
Battle of Tondibi
The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Morocco's 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire. Though vastly outnumbered, the Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing the Empire's downfall....

 in 1591 and this led to the collapse of their empire
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...

.

In the 17th century Djenné was a thriving centre of trade and learning. In his chronicle al-Sadi describes the town in 1655, 70 years after the Moroccan conquest:
Jenne is one of the great markets of the Muslims. Those who deal in salt from the mine of Taghaza meet there with those who deal in gold from the mine of Bitu. ... This blessed city of Jenne is the reason why caravans come to Timbuktu from all quarters-north, south, east and west. Jenne is situated to the south and west of Timbuktu beyond the two rivers. When the river is in flood, Jenne becomes an island, but when the flood abates the water is far from it. It begins to be surrounded by water in August, and in February the water recedes again.

Despite the initial success of the Moroccan occupation, the logistics of controlling a territory across the Sahara soon became too difficult and by 1630 the Saadians
Saadi Dynasty
The Saadi dynasty of Morocco , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554, when he vanquished the last Wattasids at the Battle of Tadla....

 had lost control. The collapse of a centralised kingdom able to maintain order over a wide area led to a lack of security and a decline in the movement of traders and scholars. Djenné changed hands several times over the following centuries. The town formed part of the Segou kingdom
Bambara Empire
The Bamana Empire was a large pre-colonial West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. It was ruled by the Kulubali or Coulibaly dynasty established circa 1640 by Kaladian Coulibaly also known as Fa Sine or Biton-si-u...

 from 1670 to 1818 and the Massina Empire
Massina Empire
The Massina Empire was an early nineteenth-century Fulbe Jihad state centered in the Macina and Inner Niger Delta area of what is now the Mopti and Ségou Regions of Mali...

 under the Fula
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

ni ruler Seku Amadu
Seku Amadu
Seku Amadu was the founder of the Fula Massina Empire in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali...

 between 1818 and 1861.

In 1828 René Caillié became the first European to visit Djenné. He published a detailed description in his book Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo:
The town of Jenné is about two miles and half in circumference; it is surrounded by a very ill constructed earth wall, about ten feet high, and fourteen inches thick. There are several gates, but they are all small. The houses are built of bricks dried in the sun. The sand of the isle of Jenné is mixed with a little clay, and it is employed to make bricks of a round form which are sufficiently solid. The houses are as large as those of European villages. The greater part have only one storey ... They are all terraced, have no windows externally, and the apartments receive no air except from an inner court. The only entrance, which is of ordinary size, is closed by a door made of wooden planks, pretty thick, and apparently sawed. The door is fastened on the inside by a double iron chain, and on the outside by a wooden lock made in the country. Some however have iron locks. The apartments are all long and narrow. The walls, especially the outer, are well plastered with sand, for they have no lime. In each house there is a staircase leading to the terrace; but there are no chimneys, and consequently the slaves cook in the open air.


In 1861 the town became part of the Toucouleur Empire
Toucouleur Empire
The Toucouleur Empire was founded in the nineteenth century by El Hadj Umar Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali....

 under Umar Tall
Umar Tall
El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall , , born in what is now actual Senegal was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, and Toucouleur military commander who founded a brief empire encompassing much of what is now Guinea, Senegal, and Mali.-Name:Umar Tall's name is spelled variously: in...

 and then in April 1893 French forces under the command of Louis Archinard
Louis Archinard
Louis Archinard was a French Army general at the time of the Third Republic, who contributed to the colonial conquest of French West Africa. He was traditionally presented in French histories as the conqueror and "Pacifier" of French Soudan . Archinard's campaigns brought about the end of the...

 occupied the town. The French journalist, Félix Dubois, visited the town in 1895, two years after the occupation. He published an account of his travels, together with many illustrations, in his book, Timbuctoo: the mysterious. At the time of his visit the town was still encircled by a mud-brick wall. It was through this book, and the French edition published in 1897, that Djenné and its architecture became known in Europe and the United States.

The French chose to make Mopti the regional capital and as a result the relative importance of Djenné declined.

Architecture

Djenné is famous for its Sudanese-style
Sudano-Sahelian
The Sudano-Sahelian covers an umbrella of similar architectural styles common to the Islamized peoples of the Sahel and Sudanian regions of West Africa, south of the Sahara, but above the savanna and fertile forest regions of the coast...

 architecture. Nearly all of the buildings in the town, including the Great Mosque, are made from sun-baked mud bricks which are coated with mud plaster.

The traditional flat roofed two-storey houses are built around a small central courtyard and have imposing facades with pilaster like buttresses and an elaborate arrangement of pinnacles forming the parapet above the entrance door. The facades are decorated with bundles of rodier palm (Borassus aethiopum) sticks, called toron, that project about 60 cm from the wall. The toron also serve as readymade scaffolding. Ceramic pipes also extend from the roofline and ensure that the rain water from the roof does not damage the walls.

Some of the houses built before 1900 are in the Toucouleur-style and have a massive covered entrance porch set between two large buttresses. These houses generally have a single small window onto the street set above the entrance door. Many of the more recent two-storey houses are in the Moroccan-style and have small ornate windows but lack the covered entrance porch.

The sun-dried bricks are made on the river bank using a wooded mold and a mixture of mud and chopped straw. They are typical 36 x 18 x 8 cm in size and when laid are separated by 2 cm of mud mortar. Up to the 1930s hand molded cylindrical bricks were used called djenné-ferey. All the brickwork is covered with a protective layer of plaster consisting of a mixture of mud and rice husks.

In Djenné the mud-brick buildings need to be replastered with mud at least every other year and even then the annual rains can cause serious damage. The Great Mosque is replastered every year and yet in 2009 one of the minarets collapsed after a period of heavy rainfall. The older buildings are often entirely rebuilt. A survey of the town in 1984 identified 134 two-storey buildings of significant architectural importance, yet by 1995, in spite of restrictions resulting from the town's World Heritage status, 30% of the buildings on the list had been demolished, with most having been replaced with entirely new mud-brick buildings. Between 1996 and 2003 the Dutch government funded a project to restore around 100 of the older buildings in the town. For some buildings the restoration work involved little more than replastering the facade while for others it involved demolition and rebuilding. The total cost was 430 million FCFA (655,000 Euro).

In the early 1980s foreign aid organizations funded a system to supply drinking water to both public taps and private homes. However, no wastewater disposal system was installed at the time and, as a result, wastewater was discharged into the streets. This was both unsightly and unhygienic. Between 2004 and 2008 the German government funded a project to construct gravel filled trenches outside each home to allow the wastewater to infiltrate the soil. By 2008 1,880 homes had been provided with these local infiltration systems.

Great Mosque

In 1906 the French colonial administration arranged for the present Great Mosque to be built on the site of an earlier mosque. Different views have been expressed as to what extent the design was influenced by the colonial administration. The journalist Félix Dubois revisited the town in 1910 and was horrified by what he considered to be a French design with three minarets resembling bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

s while Jean-Louis Bourgeois
Jean-Louis Bourgeois
Jean-Louis Bourgeois is an author and the son of artist Louise Bourgeois and art historian Robert Goldwater. He is the author of the volume "The spectacular vernacular: the adobe tradition" which established him as one of the foremost experts in the world on the subject...

 has argued that the French had little influence except perhaps for the internal arches and that the design is "basically African".

World heritage status

The Republic of Mali initially submitted a nomination to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 for World Heritage
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 status for Djenné in 1979 but the advisory committee (ICOMOS) observed that the "anarchic urbanization has modified the environment of the most significant complexes" and recommended that any decision be deferred until information on the urban development of the town and the protection of historic sites had been provided by the Malian government.

After a further review, the ICOMOS committee recommended that the nomination should be broadened to include the town of Djenné together with the surrounding archaeological sites of Djenné-Djéno, Hambarketolo, Tonomba and Kaniana. The committee argued that "the definition of a large zone of protection can only help Malian authorities to control urban development and conserve the archaeological reserves and the natural site of the inland delta." The Republic of Mali submitted a broadened nomination which was approved by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 1988 as the "Old Towns of Djenné". For the archaeological sites the Committee cited Criterion (iii): "bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared" while for the town they cited Criterion (iv): "be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history".

Since 2005 the reports of the World Heritage Committee have contained criticism of what the committee considered to be a the lack of progress in tackling the problems arising from the conservation status of the town. In its 2005 report, while praising the efforts in restoring the mud brick building and improving the sanitation, the Committee commented on the lack of a development plan and requested that the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and the ICCROM undertake, in collaboration with the Malian Government a study of alternative solutions to relieve urban development pressure.

The 2006 report produced by the Committee was more critical. It commented that "The inhabitants and the elected officials have the impression of living in a protected area where, in their view, nothing is allowed." and provided a list of issues that it considered to be the consequences of the intense development pressure. These included the lack of respect for building regulations, the inappropriateness of houses with regards to comfortable living areas and family composition, the desire of the population to transform the spatial organisation of the houses using modern materials, the lack of technical and financial resources and competence within the Djenné to resolve the city’s urban development and sanitation problems. The Committee made a number of recommendations including the preparation of a management plan and the production of a map identifying the boundaries of the archaeological sites.

Economy

Although historically Djenné had been an important commercial and trading centre, in the 20th century commerce in the town declined due to its relatively isolated position. The local economy is now mainly based on agriculture, fishing and livestock and is very dependent on the annual rainfall and flooding of the Niger and Bani rivers. As a consequence, the severe drought that began in the late 1970s caused great hardship in the already impoverished town.

The town is a centre of Islamic scholarship and the Quranic schools attract students from outside the region.

Tourism is an important part of the local economy particularly in the dryer cooler winter months between November and March. Most tourists visit the Monday market and spend only one night in one of the 5 hotels/guest houses. In 2007 the town received around 15,000 visitors of whom 4,200 stayed overnight. Of these just over a third were from France with the remainder coming from a large number of other countries. In 2005 tourism contributed around 450 million CFA francs (687,000 Euro) to the economy of the town.

The town has received significant quantities of foreign aid with many countries contributing. The Canadian government helped fund the infrastructure to supply drinking water while the United States has contributed funds to maintain the system. The Dutch government funded a project to restore and plaster some of the old mud-brick buildings and the German government funded a scheme to improve the sanitation. Repairs to the mosque have been funded by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
Aga Khan Trust for Culture
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network . It focuses on the revitalization of communities in the Muslim world—physical, social, cultural, and economic...

.

Sights

The main attractions are the Great Mosque and the two-storey mud houses with their monumental facades. The best known house is that of the Maiga family who supply the town's tradition chief. This old building with its Toucouleur-style entrance porch is in the Algasba district on the eastern side of the town. René Caillé visited the house in 1828. Other attractions include the tomb of Tapama Djenepo, who in legend was sacrificed on the founding of the city, and the remains of Djenné-Jéno, an important settlement from the 3rd century BC until the 13th century AD.

The weekly Monday market, when buyers and sellers converge on the town from the surrounding regions, is a key tourist attraction. There is also a daily (women's) market that takes place in a courtyard opposite the mosque.

The town is approximately eight hours by road from Bamako. The coaches to Mopti drop off passengers at the crossroads 29 km from Djenné. It is here that the 1000 CFA franc tourist tax is collected.

The great mosque is out of bounds for non-Muslim tourists.

Demographics

The inhabitants of Djenné mostly speak a Songhay
Songhay languages
The Songhay, Songhai, or Songai languages are a group of closely related languages/dialects centered on the middle stretches of the Niger River in the west African states of Mali, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. They have been widely used as a lingua franca in that region ever since the...

 variety termed Djenné Chiini
Koyra Chiini language
Koyra Chiini , or Western Songhay, is a variety of Songhai in Mali, spoken by about 200,000 people along the Niger River in Timbuktu and upriver from it in the towns of Diré, Tonka, Goundam, and Niafunké, as well as in the Saharan town of Araouane to its north...

, but the languages spoken also reflect the diversity of the area. The villages around it variously speak Bozo
Bozo languages
Bozo is spoken by the Bozo, the principal fishing people of the Inner Niger Delta in Mali. According to the 2000 census, the Bozo people number about 132,100. The Bozo dialect cluster is often considered to be one language, but there is quite a bit of diversity...

, Fulfulde, or Bambara
Bambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...

.

Sources

.... Google books: Volume 1, Volume 2....... Pages 30–31 contain a table dated 2003 prepared by J.R. Patenaude, giving values for the discharge in an average year (assumed to be 125 m3/s or 3.9 km3/y).... Also available from Aluka but requires subscription.. Internet Archive: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3. The original text of Pory's 1600 English translation together with an introduction and notes by the editor......
.. Link requires subscription to Aluka...... Also published in French with the title Le Niger: une Artère vitale. Gestion efficace de l’eau dans le bassin du Haut Niger.

Further reading

. Reproduces postcards and photographs dating from the early years of the 20th century..... Reprinted in 1971 by Éditions Anthropos, Paris..

External links

. The official website for tourism in Djenné...
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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