Djenne

I am just returning from a trip up north to Djenne with some friends. Djenne is a small island surrounded by the Bani river. The architecture is very distinct, very un-Malian. The northern African influence on the city is evident in the two story buildings reminiscent of Morocco or Tunisia. It is also the home of the world’s largest mud mosque. We took transport from my friend Esther’s village to Djenne on Monday, their market day. Our transport was a cattle truck, filled up to the brim with sacks of charcoal and beans and millet, and boxes of tea. We sat atop the market wares, the wind in our hair. (Don’t worry, mom, I wore sunscreen.) The ride itself really only took a couple hours, including the barge trip to cross onto the island. As we waited in line, we watched the men on horseback forge the river. The horse in the back of the line was obviously less healthy and seemed to struggle to cross the water, but they all made it through, prancing out of the water on the other side.

When we got to Djenne, it was mid morning. We strolled around the town as the people were beginning to set up their market stalls. Immediately, we were pegged as tourists and so many people began to follow us around, selling random souvenirs and offering their guide services. It was funny that even when we spoke to them in Bambara, they didn’t relent. Usually that works for us here in San, or even in Bamako. We were able to connect with two other volunteers who live in the area, or near it, and they played our guides for the rest of the day. We had lunch at a campemont, and then went to the center of market to look around. We wandered around the mosque, which is supposed to be closed to non-Muslims, although for the right price off course, the rules can be bent.

We got to see the library, which is in the middle of a project to collect ancient manuscripts that have been left in homes around the city. They estimate that there are about 10,000 manuscripts through out the whole area, but they have only been able to collect about 3,000. The project is about 2 years old, and will continue as more manuscripts become available. The works are written in Arabic characters, but in the languages of Bambara, Djenneke, and Peul. The man at the library explained that at the time the manuscripts were written, the languages used hadn’t been alphabetized yet and therefore were not in written form yet. He also explained that they are in the process of scanning all of the works to be electronically catalogued. Currently, the books are being housed in cabinets organized by family. More manuscripts will become available as families allow them to be. The families must locate all members and get them to agree to relinquish the works before they can be taken in by the library. Our guide also explained that one of the more difficult parts of the project was finding someone who could type, read, and translate the Arabic characters and the languages they are written in, as well as use a computer.

Our journey to Djenne concluded as the rains began. The men began to load the trucks up, and once they were loaded, we scrambled up on top of the goods and pulled a tarp over ourselves. The ride home was extremely long on account of the wait at the river crossing. We were treated to some very cool lightening storms, had a great sing along to the amusement of the Malians on the ride with us, and were witness to a fight over the tarp covering us and protecting us from the rain, which was most unusual because Malians tend to be some of the most level headed people. I guess everyone gets cranky at the end of a wet, muddy ride, especially when that 40k ride took about 4 hours. Suffice it to say we had an adventure.