The Mosques of West Africa are mosques located in the region of West Africa that encompasses Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The architecture of these mosques differs from mosques around the world as they have unique building practices and cultural roles. Islam in Africa spread to the region around the 10th century and established the first written language of West Africa. The spread of Islam into West Africa had impacted scholarship, commerce, and utilized indigenous traditions unique to the area. Sudanese Jihads had formulated their own branch of Islam, establishing powerful Islamic states. Islam is one of the major religions present in Africa, with mosques being architectural spaces used for Muslim worship.
West African mosques, commonly made from mud brick, form a unique distinction from other mosques around the world. There are two typical architectural substyles of West African mosques: Sudanese and Sudano-Sahelian. Due to geographical variations within West Africa, building practices differ throughout the region. Features of West African mosques manifest differently depending on the population and climate of their location, from larger, more intricate structures to unadorned, more sculptural forms. Mosques are architectural spaces that serve as the locations for not only Muslim worship but also centers of education, community, commerce, and celebration. While this is a rich and multifaceted topic, there are still many holes in scholarship and not much information has been published on many West African mosques to this day.
Building practices
As Islam spread into Africa, West African mosques developed to share certain unifying architectural characteristics, namely the utilization of building materials localized to the environment. One of the main ways we see this in the mosques is through their construction, as they are largely built with mud brick. Sub-Saharan African mosques are formed with materials that lack long term durability. Due to this building technique, more frequent maintenance is necessary. The mosques are also built with wood or palm sticks that protrude from their edifice to help stabilize the structure and act as scaffolding for upkeep due to the mud's reaction in the humid climate of West Africa.
Mud construction is used across West Africa and seen as an exclusively indigenous building material. This specific building resource can be used to form different structures due to its manipulative qualities.
Craftsmen, specifically of the Great Mosque of Djenné, possess extreme levels of talent and artistry in the mud-brick masonry practice. Due to their expertise in their construction of mud bricks, they were able to form distinct building styles representative of West African mosques. Masons of West African mosques were considered middle class due to the skills they possessed but this was dependent on the number of clients they were able to have. Mud brick craftsmen adhered to a specific building season when the mud itself is driest. The building period ranged from January to April, but repair work on the mosques could be done outside of that time. Construction of the mosques of West Africa takes incredible skill, requiring mud brick masons to understand the trade and pass down their knowledge to future generations to ensure its continuation. Within the mud brick mason trade, a sense of community is formed due to its difficulty, time required, and artistic element that is required.
While West African mosques share these features and mainly revolve around a recognizable basic form, there are many ways these building practices can be employed and varied within the region. Places such as the boucle du Niger and Voltaic Basin, in Western Sudan, have a distinct architectural design compared to other mosques of West Africa. Along the equator, these locations span from the ancient emporia to places such as the Niger River and rainforest. They are referred to as Sudanese mosques.
Defining architectural features There are two main substyles of West African mosques: Sudanese and Sudano-Sahelian.
Sudanese architecture is defined by its use of pilasters (rectangular pillars on the sides of walls used for decoration), wooden beams known as toron, buttresses with cone-shaped summits, mihrabs, flat roofs, courtyards, sand floors with mats, arches, decorated exteriors, and Tata Tamberma (a defensive West African architecture style that is reminiscent of a fortress by including walls made of earth around the exterior made by the Takyenta people).
Sudano-Sahelian architecture is defined by its use of mudbrick and adobe plaster (a natural material that gives earth walls a hard finish). Within the Sudano-Sahelian style there are five main subgroups: Malian, Songhai, Hausa, Volta basin, and ribāṭ. Malian architecture originates from the Manden groups of southern and central Mali and mainly uses mudbrick in its construction."Sudano-Sahelian Architecture." Pan-Africa, mebaatw.github.io/linkinghearts/sudan-sahel-arch/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024. Songhai architecture comes from the Songhai groups of Niger and Northern Mali and include features such as flat roofs and double niched mihrabs. Hausa architecture is typically found in North and Northwestern Nigeria, Niger, Eastern Burkina Faso, Northern Benin, and Hausain neighborhoods in various countries in West Africa. Hausa architecture is defined by its use of abstract stucco designs, parapets (a small wall along the edge of the roof), and being between one or two stories. Volta basin architecture is built by Gur and Mandé groups. They are defined by their white and black walls, curved turrets, an exterior wall, a single courtyard, and a larger turret near the center of the building. Ribāṭ architecture is a defensive style of building originally used to describe fortifications made in the first few years of the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, using large walls for defense and a central minaret, a tower traditionally used to project the daily calls for prayer in Islam, designed to be as a lookout along with its religious connotations.
In some scholarly articles, Ribāṭ architecture is defined as Fortress architecture, but this language mainly arises from Western research and does not cite local cultural reasons for this distinction.
Cultural functions Mosques in West Africa are not only places of worship but also serve as important community centers. These spaces can host marketplaces and schools, as well as events such as births, weddings, funerals, and festivals.
The marketplace has been historically intertwined with West African mosques, contributing to the region's economic development and facilitating cultural exchange. In eighteenth century Mampurugu, now known as Ghana, the establishment of the mosque as an economic hub was integral to the area's involvement in trans-Saharan trade. Islamic law governed trade practices, fusing religious and secular activity. Today, one of the most famous markets in Mali takes place each Monday outside of the Great Mosque of Djenné, a tradition that originated in the Middle Ages."The Mosque and the Monday Market in Djenne." Kanaga Africa Tours, 18 May 2022, www.kanaga-at.com/en/trip-info/mali-en/the-mosque-and-the-monday-market-in-djenne/. Street vendors offer a variety of colorful goods, from traditional foods and medicines to jewelry, gold, and salt from Timbuktu.Colville, Alex. "Explore the Djenné Market." Google Arts and Culture, artsandculture.google.com/story/explore-the-djenn%C3%A9-market-the-mcubed-initiative/OgWxgjWJWsS5Kg?hl=en. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.
The Great Mosque of Djenné also hosts an annual festival known as the Crepissage de la Grand Mosquée. During this event, men and women of all ages participate in the re-plastering of the mosque's exterior. As mud is transported through the streets, young girls wave Malian flags while playing calebasse drums. A guild of masons called the Barey-Ton passes down ancestral knowledge of building practices and magical rituals. The crepissage is blessed by both the Imam and the masons using incantations and talismans."Why Does the Great Mosque of Djenné Need to Be Repaired Every Year?" Google Arts & Culture, artsandculture.google.com/story/why-does-the-great-mosque-of-Djenné-need-to-be-repaired-every-year-instrument-for-africa/iAVBFtM7yl3Rtw?hl=en.
Some renowned mosques have become popular tourist destinations. The Larabanga Mosque in Ghana is commonly referred to as the "Mecca of West Africa", attracting pilgrims and tourists alike."Ancient Mosques of the Northern Region." Ghana Museums & Monuments Board, www.ghanamuseums.org/ancient-mosques.php#:~:text=Apart%20from%20their%20usual%20role,other%20donations%20for%20the%20community. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024. While the tourism industry has generated revenue for the community, it has resulted in a shift in cultural dynamics, creating tension among locals as some oppose the heavy commodification of such a sacred space.
Significant examples Most West African mosques share unifying architectural characteristics based on the practices used to construct them. These include the materials used, and the processes by which the structures are maintained. Depending on the location, climate, and population of the region of a West African mosque, these features present differently.
These examples are some of the mosques in West Africa that have been most widely researched and are currently best understood, or which play prominent roles in their respective countries and communities. There are many examples and styles that have not been included due to a lack of scholarly research and information on the structures. Additionally, the construction of many mosques in West Africa was paid for and backed by other countries and imperial powers; these examples have been omitted here as they do not reflect the vernacular building practices of West Africa.
Great Mosque of Djenné, Djenné, Mali
The Great Mosque of Djenné is a monumental hypostyle mosque with a central prayer hall supported by many columns. The mosque appears symmetrical and intricate, with large pointed minarets decorating the front of the building, made out of mud brick with supporting wood beams. These features are often common in populated areas where mosques need to meet the demands of a larger community and more resources can be devoted to the craftsmanship of the structures. Additionally, the community participates in an annual re-claying ceremony and celebration to maintain the mosque, where areas that have been worn down are repaired. The Great Mosque of Djenné is perhaps the most famous mosque in West Africa due to its stature and existence as the largest known mud structure in the world. Due to its fame, this mosque also has the most available scholarship on it out of the Mosques in West Africa.
Sankore Mosque, Timbuktu, Mali
The Sankore Mosque is similarly massive to the Great Mosque of Djenne but is built in a sturdy style with pyramidal minarets that create a weightiness at the bottom of the structure. The structure has smoother, flat sides that do not have as many defined ridges. Due to its immense size, wider base, and smoother appearance, this mosque and others of a similar style appear quite dense and have a solid presence in the landscape. This style is common in larger urban regions that were often centers of trade, like Timbuktu, but did not develop into unified city-states. This blockier, heavy building style is somewhat of a bridge between more complex mosques in larger, populated regions, and more sculptural structures in rural areas.
Grand Mosque of Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso