Sunday, May 22, 2016

African Architecture, Arts and Crafts

This is by no means an all inclusive presentation of indigenous African history or cultures, merely some interesting examples of such. For example, when one thinks of mud brick construction do you envision drab, brown, primitive huts? If so, prepare to be dazzled. Th variations in style, shape and color are amazing.  
 
Gurunsi architecture in Burkina Faso and Ghana










Gurunsi architecture in Burkina Faso and Ghana

Kassena architecture
Kassena architecture
The roofs are for storage of food and for sleeping during the dry season.
Tiebele, Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark
The roofs are for storage of food  and for sleeping during the dry season.
Tiebele, Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Kassena compound, Donnawanu family’s home
Navrongo-Saboro, Ghana
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark
Kassena compound, Donnawanu family’s home
Navrongo-Saboro, Ghana
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Kassena architecture
Navrongo-Saboro, Ghana
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark
Kassena architecture
Navrongo-Saboro, Ghana
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Kassena, Tiebele


Kassena, Tiebele


Nankani architecture

Nankani architecture
Sirigu, Ghana
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark

Sirigu, Ghana
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Nankani architecture
Biloa Wenna paints her home
Zecco, Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark
Nankani architecture
Biloa Wenna paints her home
Zecco, Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Nankani architecture
Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark
Nankani architecture
Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Nankani home
Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark

Nankani home
Burkina Faso
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark

Soninke Architecture
Soninke home
Ouloumbini, Mauritania
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark
Soninke home
Ouloumbini, Mauritania
photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark









Soninke, Mauritania
Soninke, Mauritania









Shelves made by Khoumba Camara
Soninke, Ouloumbini, Mauritania
Photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark

Shelves made by Khoumba Camara
Soninke, Ouloumbini, Mauritania
Photographed by Margaret Courtney-Clark


Dinka Architecture

Dinka Luak to house cattle. Southern Sudan
Dinka
 
Dinka man stands on an old truck tire to thatch his roof near Malakal in southern Sudan.


Zulu Architecture
Zulu House. South Africa


Yoruba
Below is Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Osogbo. The place is a a must visit for anyone interested in Nigerian art and culture. You can read more about here on the UNESCO website here










 Sudano-Sahelian
Sudano-Sahelian or Sudanese architecture are terms used to describe a specific type of architecture that was developed in West Africa with the oldest examples in Mali. i’m not sure if calling this architecture Sundanese and not Malian is a way of erasing West African influences on architecture. btw this is not referring to all Malian and Sahelian and Sudanese architecture, but a specific style of mudbrick architecture characterized by wooden support beams that stick out from the wall face.
Koumaira (Bara Issa) - 1994 (c)
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Koumaira (Bara Issa) - 1994 (c)
Waki (Issa Ber) - 1994 (c)
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Waki (Issa Ber) - 1994 (c)


Owa (Issa Ber) - 1995 (c)
Aka (Lac Debo) - 1991 (c)
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Aka (Lac Debo) - 1991 (c)
Owa (Issa Ber) - 1995 (c)
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Owa (Issa Ber) - 1995 (c)
Guindio Saré (Lac Debo) - 1991 (c)
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Guindio Saré (Lac Debo) - 1991 (c)

Gourao Bozo (Lac Debo) - 1991 (c)
Sindegue - 1991 (c)
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Sindegue - 1991 (c)
Walado - 1994 (c)
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Walado - 1994 (c)
Mayo Dembé - 1999 (c)
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Mayo Dembé - 1999 (c)
Dia (Diaka) - 1991 (c)
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Dia (Diaka) - 1991 (c)
Mopti architecture - 2006 (c)
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Mopti architecture - 2006 (c)

Mopti - 1994 (c)

Sahona (Niger) - 1991 (c)
Ngomi (Niger) - 1991 (c)
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Ngomi (Niger) - 1991 (c)
Kouakourou (Niger) - 1993 (c)
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Kouakourou (Niger) - 1993 (c)



Niger - 2010 (c)

Kouakourou (Niger) - 1997 (c)
Koa (Niger) - 1999 (c)
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Koa (Niger) - 1999 (c)


Koa (Niger) - 1993 (c)
Koa (Niger) - 1993 (c)
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Koa (Niger) - 1993 (c)
Koa (Niger) - 1991 (c)
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Koa (Niger) - 1991 (c)
Koa (Niger) - 1991 (c)
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Koa (Niger) - 1991 (c)
Koa (Niger) - 1993 (c)
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Koa (Niger) - 1993 (c)


Koa (Niger) - 1993 (c)
Niger - 1999 (c)
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Niger - 1999 (c)

Bani - 1992 (c)


Nouhoun Bozo (Niger) - 2010 (c)


Diafarabe (Niger-Diaka) - 1993 (c)
Kouli (Niger) - 1993 (c)
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Kouli (Niger) - 1993 (c)
Kouli (Niger) - 1993 (c)
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Kouli (Niger) - 1993 (c)
Nouhoun Bozo (Niger) - 2010 (c)
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Nouhoun Bozo (Niger) - 2010 (c)

Nouhoun Bozo (Niger) - 2010 (c)
Djenne architecture (c)
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Djenne architecture (c)
Sirimou - 1985 (c)
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Sirimou - 1985 (c)


Djenne architecture (c)

















Djenne architecture (c)

 

Djenne - 1997
Djenne - 1986 (c)
San - 1997 (c)
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San - 1997 (c)
Mio - 1993 (c)
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Mio - 1993 (c)


Kougkoun - 1993 (c)

Segou - 1984 (c)






Segou Sikoro : mosque/mosquée Ba Sounou Sacko - 1986 (x)




The Sudano-Sahelian architecture (also Sudanese) covers an umbrella of similar indigenous architectural styles common to the African peoples of the Sahel and Sudanian grassland (geographical) regions of West Africa, south of the Sahara, but above fertile forest regions of the coast. This style is characterized by the use of mudbricks and an adobe plaster, with large wooden-log support beams that jut out from the wall face for large buildings such as mosques or palaces. These beams also act as scaffolding for reworking, which is done at regular intervals, and involves the local community. The earliest examples of Sudano-Sahelian style likely comes from Jenné-Jeno around 250 BC, where the first evidence of permanent mudbrick architecture in the region is attested.[1]

Difference between Savannah and Sahelian styles

The earthen architecture in the Sahel zone region is noticeably different from the building style in the neighboring savannah. The “old Sudanese” cultivators of the savannah built their compounds out of several cone-roofed houses. This was primarily an urban building style, associated with centres of trade and wealth, characterised by cubic buildings with terraced roofs comprise the typical style. They lend a characteristic appearance to the close-built villages and cities. Large buildings such as mosques, representative residential and youth houses stand out in the distance. They are landmarks in a flat landscape that point to a complex society of farmers, craftsmen and merchants with a religious and political upper class. With the expansion of Sahelian kingdoms south to the rural areas in the savannas (inhabited by culturally or ethnically similar groups to those in the Sahel), the Sudano-Sahelian style was reserved for mosques, palaces, the houses of nobility or townsfolk (as is evident in the Gur-Voltaic style), whereas among commonfolk, there was a mix between either typically distinct Sudano-Sahelian styles for wealthier families, and older African roundhut styles for rural villages and family compounds.

Substyles

The Sudano-Sahelian architectural style itself can be broken down in to four smaller sub-styles that are typical of different ethnic groups in the region. The examples used here illustrate the construction of mosques as well as palaces, as the architectural style is concentrated around inland Muslim populations. As with the people, many of these styles cross-pollinate and produce buildings with shared features. Any one of these styles is not exclusive to one particular modern countries borders, but are linked to the ethnicity of its builders or surrounding populations. For example, a Malian migrant community in traditionally Gur area may build in the style characteristic of their ancestral homeland, while neighbouring Gur buildings are built in the local style. These styles include:
  • Malian - of the various Manden groups of southern and central Mali. Characterized by the Great Mosque of Djenne and the Kani-Kombole Mosque of Mali.
  • Fortress style - predominantly used by the Zarma peoples of northern Nigeria and NigerHausa-Fulani and Tuareg mixed communities in Agadez, the Kanuri people of Lake Chad, andSonghai of northeastern Mali. Military aspect to construction of high protective compound walls built around a central courtyard. Minaret is the only structure with support beams showing. Characterized by the Sankore Mosque of Timbuktu, the tomb of Askia in Gao Mali, and the Agadez mosque of northern Niger.
  • Tubali - The characteristic Hausa architectural style predominant in North and Northwestern Nigeria, Niger, Eastern Burkina Faso, Northern Benin, and Hausa-predominant zango districts and neighbourhoods throughout West Africa. Characterised by its attention of stucco detail in abstract design and extensive use of parapets. One to two storey buildings. Examples in the architecture of the Yamma Mosque and old town of Zinder, The Hausa quarter of Agadez Niger, the Gidan Rumfa of Kano, and various Hausa districts across West Africa.
  • Volta basin - - of the Gur and Manden groups of Burkina Faso, northern Ghana and northern Cote d'Ivoire. The most conservative of the three styles. A single courtyard, characterized by high white and black painted walls, inward curved turrets supporting an exterior wall, and a larger turret nearer the center. Characterized by the Larabanga mosque of Ghana and the Bobo-Dioulasso Grand Mosque.

Notes

Further reading

image credits: 

The Great Mosque of Djenne, Mali (Malian) by Andy Gilham - from [1] JCarriker (304322 bytes) (used with the permission of Andy Gilham of www.andygilham.com CC BY-SA 3.0

Agadez Grand Mosque, Niger (Fortress style) by Dan Lundberg - Flickr This image, which was originally posted to Flickr.com, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 17:27, 20 December 2007 (UTC) by AxelBoldt (talk). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Larabanga Mosque, Ghana (Gur-Voltaic) by Sathyan Velumani - Own work CC BY-SA 3.0

An ancestral Hausa multi-storey townhouse exhibiting the Tubali/Hausa architectural style, Agadez, central Niger by Dan Lundberg - Flickr This image, which was originally posted to Flickr.com, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 17:46, 20 December 2007 (UTC) by AxelBoldt (talk). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Historic mosque of Kong, now in Cote d'Ivoire, 1892 by Édouard Riou - New York Public Library, [1], from Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée par le pays de Kong et le Mossi, par le capitaine Binger (1887-1889)
Sudano-Sahelian Architecture
Indigenous architectural style common to Islamized West Africa
Dogon Country, Mali
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hourgold:
“ Mosque Of Djenne in Mali ”


A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." 




The University of Sankoré, or Sankore Masjid is one of three ancient centers of learning located in TimbuktuMaliWest Africa. The three mosques of Sankoré, Djinguereber Mosque and Sidi Yahya compose the famous University of Timbuktu. During the 14th -16th century, Sankore University enrolled more foreign students than New York University today. 

The Mali Empire gained direct control over the city of Timbuktu in 1324 during the reign of Mansa Kankou Musa also known as Musa I “King of Kings”. He designed and saw the construction of one of Sankore’s first great mosques and the Jingeray Ber Masjid in 1327.The foundations of the previous structure were laid around 988 A.D. on the orders of the city’s chief judge Al-Qadi Aqib ibn Mahmud ibn Umar. A local mandinka lady, esteemed for her wealth, financed his plans to turn Sankoré into a world class learning institution. 

By the end of Mansa Musa’s reign (early 14th century CE), the Sankoré Masjid had been converted into a fully staffed Madrassa (Islamic school or in this case university) with the largest collections of books in Africa since the Library of Alexandria. The level of learning at Timbuktu’s Sankoré University was superior to that of all other Islamic centers in the world. The Sankoré Masjid was capable of housing 25,000 students and had one of the largest libraries in the world with between 400,000 to 700,000 manuscripts.

Today, the intellectual legacy of Timbuktu is neglected in historical discourse. These pages of WORLD history tend to get ripped out.

Zaria, Nigeria
Zaria, Nigeria | s

The Djenné Mosque
an example of Sudanese architecture in Mali
The Djenné mosque, an example of Sudanese architecture in Mali. | s
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Mosque in Burkina Faso
Mosque in Burkina Faso | s
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Mosque in Mali
Mosque in Mali | s


 

1 comment:

  1. Amazing, not boring or plain! Id love to go to Africa some day.

    ReplyDelete