| Djenné | |
|---|---|
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  Djenné
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| Coordinates: 13°54′N 4°33′W / 13.9°N 4.55°W | |
| 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 Niger Inland 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.
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History
The town was originally situated 2 km south-east of its present position at a site known as Jenné-jeno or Djoboro.[1] 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.[2][3] 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.
It is not known why Jenné-jeno was abandoned but there is evidence for a significant decline in the population of the area during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.[4] Preliminary archaeological excavations at sites within modern Djenné indicate that the present town was first settled after 1000 CE.[5]
Two important indigenous Arabic chronicles give rather 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[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] The chief's widow married Sonni Ali, and peace was restored. In 1591, Morocco 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. Caravans from Djenné frequented southern trading towns like Begho, Bono Manso, and Bonduku.
The city continued to change hands several times. Djenné was part of the Segou kingdom from 1670 to 1818, Massina under the Fulani ruler Seku Amadu from 1818 to 1861, and the Toucouleur Empire under Umar Tall from 1861 to 1893. The French finally conquered the city that year. During this period, trade declined and the city's importance with it.
Sights
| Old Towns of Djenné* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| 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. |
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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.[9] 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.[10][11]
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.
Notes
- ^ McIntosh & McIntosh (1981) provide a brief history of Djenné up to the 19th century and summarise the available historical sources.
- ^ Results of archaeological excavations at Jenné-jeno are described in McIntosh & McIntosh (1981) and McIntosh (1995).
- ^ Radiocarbon dates are approximate. For a discussion see McIntosh (1995, p. 59).
- ^ McIntosh 1998, pp. 202,245
- ^ McIntosh 2004
- ^ Hunwick 1999, p. 16
- ^ Kâti 1913, p. 65, Levtzion 1973, p. 82 and McIntosh 1998, p. 274
- ^ Hunwick 1999, p. 20
- ^ "Village of the dammed", by Ben Willis, in Geographical, (London) March 2008
- ^ "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.
- ^ Salak, Kira. "Non-fiction book about Mali, "The Cruelest Journey"". http://www.kirasalak.com/Cruelest.html.
Sources
- Caillié, Réné (1830), Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and across the Great Desert, to Morocco, performed in the years 1824-1828 (2 Vols), London: Colburn & Bentley. Google books: Volume 1, Volume 2.
- Dubois, Felix; White, Diana (trans.) (1896), Timbuctoo the mysterious, New York: Longmans, http://www.archive.org/details/timbuctoomyster01whitgoog.
- Hunwick, John O. (1999), Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 9004112073.
- Jackson, John Glover (2001), Introduction to African Civilizations, Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel, ISBN 0806521899.
- Kâti, Mahmoûd Kâti ben el-Hâdj el-Motaouakkel (1913), Tarikh el-fettach ou Chronique du chercheur, pour servir à l'histoire des villes, des armées et des principaux personnages du Tekrour, Houdas, O., Delafosse, M. ed. and trans., Paris: Ernest Leroux, http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q. Also available from Aluka but requires subscription.
- Levtzion, Nehemia (1973), Ancient Ghana and Mali, London: Methuen, ISBN 0841904316.
- Mass, Pierre; Mommersteeg, Geert (1992), Djenné: chef-d'oeuvre architectural, Amsterdam: Institut Royal des Tropiques, ISBN 9068322281.
- McIntosh, Roderick J.; McIntosh, Susan Keech (1981), "The inland Niger delta before the empire of Mali: evidence from Jenne-jeno", Journal of African History 22: 1-22, http://www.jstor.org/stable/182149. Also available here.
- McIntosh, Roderick J. (1998), The peoples of the Middle Niger: the island of gold, London: Blackwell, ISBN 0631173617.
- McIntosh, Roderick J.; McIntosh, Susan Keech (2004), "Results of recent excavations at Jenné-jeno and Djenné, Mali", in Sanogo, K.; Togola, T., Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress of the Pan-African Association for Prehistory and Related Fields, Bamako: Institut des Sciences Humaines, pp. 469-481. Text available here.
- McIntosh, Susan Keech (ed.) (1995), Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana (Inland Niger Delta, Mali), the 1981 season, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 0520097858, http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.sip100038&pgs=4%2C5%2C7%2C8%2C9%2C21%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28%2C31%2C35%2C38%2C39%2C41%2C42%2C50%2C51%2C53%2C85%2C88%2C91%2C156%2C157%2C158%2C159%2C160%2C240%2C244%2C272%2C278%2C290%2C320%2C345%2C360%2C374%2C386%2C390%2C395%2C397%2C399%2C401%2C402%2C405%2C406%2C411%2C413%2C416%2C417%2C419%2C420%2C421%2C422%2C423%2C460%2C614%2C617%2C618%2C619.
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.
External links
- Djenné on World Heritage Sites website
- Mali Empire and Djenne Figures
- Pictures of Djenné and villages around it
- Djenné site page in Aluka
- Djenné Patrimoine (in French)
Coordinates: 13°54′20″N 4°33′18″W / 13.90556°N 4.555°W
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