Mysteria
Verified13.9054° N · 4.5554° W · 283 m

Great Mosque of Djenné

Grande Mosquée de Djenné · Djenne Mosque · Djénné Great Mosque

Medieval to Modern (13th c original; current 1907 reconstruction)·Sudano-Sahelian / Malian / French colonial restoration·🇲🇱 Mopti Region, Mali

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About

About Great Mosque of Djenné

World's largest mudbrick (banco) structure, Great Mosque of Djenné dominates island town: 56×56 m, 11 m high, three 34 m minarets with ostrich-egg pinnacles, toron wooden poles for annual re-plastering (crépissage) by bare hands. 13th c original (Koi Kunboro conversion), razed 1830 by Seku Amadu, current hall rebuilt 1907 (French-Bamako hybrid debate). Hub of UNESCO Old Towns of Djenné.

Why it mattersGreatest mudbrick monument; living Sudano-Sahelian tradition

Open questions

Mysteries & theories

Mysteries

  1. 01Authorship of 1907 reconstruction – French Émile Dupont vs Bamako mason Ismaila Traoré primacy
  2. 02Original 13th c plan vs 1907 invention of minaret height

Theories

  1. 01Sudano-Sahelian style continuity via masons' guilds (barey ton) across millennia
  2. 02Mosque on mound may overlie older palace tell (archaeology not excavated)

Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.

History

How it came to be

Built
13th c under Koi Kunboro; 1907 rebuild by Ismaila Traoré and French sponsor
Period
Medieval to Modern (13th c original; current 1907 reconstruction)
Culture
Sudano-Sahelian / Malian / French colonial restoration
Purpose
Congregational mosque of Djenné market city and symbol of Sudano-Sahelian mudbrick architecture
Excavation
Excavated

  1. 13th c under Koi Kunboro; 1907 rebuild by Ismaila Traoré and French sponsor

    Initial construction

  2. c. 1472 CE

    Major expansion

On the ground

Structures & features

13.9054° N · 4.5554° W · 283 m · 3 mapped features

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