Djenné

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Djenné
Djenné is located in Mali
Djenné
Coordinates: 13°54′N 4°33′W / 13.9°N 4.55°W / 13.9; -4.55
Country  Mali
Region Mopti Region
Cercle Djenné
Settled
Population (1987)
 - Total 12,000

Djenné (also Dienné or Jenne) is a historically and commercially important small city in the Inner Niger Delta of central Mali. It is situated 5 km north-west of the Bani River and 37 km south of the Niger River. It has an ethnically diverse population of about 12,000 (in 1987). The city is famous for its mud brick (adobe) architecture, most notably the Great Mosque of Djenné which was rebuilt in 1907. In the past, Djenné was a centre of trade and learning, and has been conquered a number of times since its founding. It is one of the oldest known cities in sub-Saharan Africa and its historic city center was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Administratively it is part of the Mopti Region.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Djenné is situated 398 km (247 mi) north-east of Bamako and 76 km (47 mi) south-west of Mopti. The town sits on the floodplain between the Niger and Bani rivers at the southern end of the Inner Niger Delta. The Bani river is only 5 km (3.1 mi) south of the town and is crossed by ferry.

[edit] Climate

The weather is hot and dry throughout much of the year. Average daily maximum temperatures in the hottest months of the year - 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 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.

[edit] 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 Djenné becomes an island and the Souman-Bani channel which passes just to the east of the town connects the Bani and Niger rivers. The year to year variation in the height of the flood waters leads to a significant variation in the area of land flooded. 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 very close to the water surface. 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."[1]

[edit] History

The town was originally situated 2 km south-east of its present position at a site known as Jenné-jeno or Djoboro.[2] The results from archaeological excavations suggest that Jenné-jeno was first settled around 200 BCE and had developed into a large walled urban complex by 850 CE.[3][4] After about 1100 CE the population of the town declined and by 1400 CE the site had been abandoned. Many smaller settlements within a few kilometres of Jenné-jeno 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 CE.[5]

During the fourteenth century the trans-Sahara trade in gold, salt and slaves grew in importance and moved eastwards from Oualata to Timbuktu.[6] The first possible mention of Djenné in the historical record is in connection with this trans-Saharan trade. In a letter written in Latin in 1447 by Antonio Malfante from the Saharan oasis of Tuwat 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."[7]

Two important indigenous Arabic chronicles give different accounts of the status of Djenné during the time of the Mali empire (mid 13th to early 15th century). Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan of 1655 claims that the Malians attacked the town ninety-nine times but that Djenné was never conquered[8] while the other major chronicle, the Tarikh al-Fattash, reports that the chief of Djenné was one of the humble vassals of the Mali emperor.[9] It is probable that during the period of the Mali Empire the town had a tribute-paying fiefdom status.

Djenné was conquered by Sonni Ali (reigned 1464-1492) during his expansion of the Songhai Empire. The siege of Djenné is said to have lasted 7 months and 7 days culminating in the death of the towns's chief and its capitulation.[10] The chief's widow married Sonni Ali, and peace was restored. In 1591, Moroccan forces conquered the town after destroying the Songhai's hold in the region. By the 1600s, Djenné had become a thriving centre of trade and learning. Al-Sadi describes the town 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.[11]

The town changed hands several times. Djenné was part of the Segou kingdom from 1670 to 1818 and the Massina Empire under the Fulani ruler Seku Amadu between 1818 and 1861. In 1828 the French explorer René Caillié became the first European to visit Djenné. Caillié gives a detailed description of the town:

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 story ... 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.[12]

Between 1861 and 1893 the town became part of theToucouleur Empire under Umar Tall. French forces under the command of Louis Archinard conquered the town in April 1893.[13] The French chose to make Mopti the regional capital and as a result the relative importance of Djenné declined.

[edit] Sights

Old Towns of Djenné*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Great Mosque of Djenné
State Party  Mali
Type Cultural
Criteria iii, iv
Reference 116
Region** Africa
Inscription history
Inscription 1988  (12th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Attractions include the tomb of Tupama Djenepo, who in legend was sacrificed on the founding of the city, and the remains of Jenné-Jeno, a major city from the 3rd century BC until the 13th century.

Approximately eight hours by road from Bamako, Djenné is notable in that it becomes an island when the rivers rise at the end of the rainy season. However, problems of a different nature were reported in 2008 when it was said that Djenné was "drying up" because of a controversial dam, completed in 2007, across the Bani River at Talo, about 150 km upstream.[14] The weekly market, when buyers and sellers converge on the town from the surrounding regions, is a key tourist attraction.

Due to an unsavoury incident with an Italian fashion photography shoot, the great mosque is out of bounds for non-Muslim tourists.[15][16]

[edit] Demographics

The inhabitants of Djenné mostly speak a Songhay variety termed Djenné Chiini, but the languages spoken also reflect the diversity of the area. The villages around it variously speak Bozo, Fulfulde, or Bambara.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Caillié 1830, p. 2 Vol. 2
  2. ^ McIntosh & McIntosh (1981) provide a brief history of Djenné up to the 19th century and summarise the available historical sources.
  3. ^ Results of archaeological excavations at Jenné-jeno are described in McIntosh & McIntosh (1981) and McIntosh (1995).
  4. ^ Radiocarbon dates are approximate. For a discussion see McIntosh (1995, p. 59).
  5. ^ McIntosh 2004
  6. ^ Levtzion 1973, pp. 80,158
  7. ^ Crone 1937, p. 87-88
  8. ^ Hunwick 1999, p. 16
  9. ^ Kâti 1913, p. 65, Levtzion 1973, p. 82 and McIntosh 1998, p. 274
  10. ^ Hunwick 1999, p. 20
  11. ^ Hunwick 1999, p. 17-18
  12. ^ Caillié 1830, p. 459, Vol. 1
  13. ^ de Gramont 1976, p. 260
  14. ^ "Village of the dammed", by Ben Willis, in Geographical, (London) March 2008
  15. ^ "Amazon.com listing for the "Cruelest Journey: 600 Miles to Timbuktu"". http://www.amazon.com/Cruelest-Journey-Hundred-Miles-Timbuktu/dp/0792274571/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217561655&sr=8-1. 
  16. ^ Salak, Kira. "Non-fiction book about Mali, "The Cruelest Journey"". http://www.kirasalak.com/Cruelest.html. 

[edit] Sources

[edit] Further reading

  • Bedaux, R.; Diaby, B.; Maas, P. (2003), L'architecture de Djenné (Mali): la pérennité d'un Patrimonie Mondial, Leiden: Rijksmuseum, ISBN 90-5349-420-0 .
  • Marchand, Trevor H.J. (2009), The Masons of Djenné, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0-253-22072-1 .

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 13°54′20″N 4°33′18″W / 13.90556°N 4.555°W / 13.90556; -4.555

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