Photography - Issue #1
Every year the people of Djenné, Mali, come together in an act of resistance. Beyond the looming threat of the militants active in the vicinity, the traditionally constructed mud buildings are under constant threat from the elements. Mali’s hot, arid climate, punctured by the rain season, is harsh on the mud buildings of Djenné, causing cracks and erosion.To preserve and protect the walls of Djenné’s GreatMosque, every year, before the rains come, the residents gather together to re-plaster the walls – an act known as the crépissage de la Grande Mosquée (the plastering of the Great Mosque).
The mosque stands in relative peace the day before the crépissage.
While sitting on one of the mosque’s many palm beams, a teenager applies the banco mix.
Men and boys carry the banco mix in baskets from the pits to the Great Mosque.
Feature - Issue #15
New Ways of Being and Healing Outside
A conversation between Sonji Shah and Maymana Arefin with illustrations by Camila Fudissaku
The Great Mosque
The Great Mosque of Djenné on the morning of the annual crépissage.
The mosque stands in relative peace the day before the crépissage.
While sitting on one of the mosque’s many palm beams, a teenager applies the banco mix.
Men and boys carry the banco mix in baskets from the pits to the Great Mosque.
After helping to create the banco mix, a group of boys rests on the mosque’s front wall.
Women and girls carry water to the mosque where it will be mixed with earth and rice husks to produce the banco mix, and to stop the mix from drying. Women and girls are responsible for bringing water to the mosque and men and boys are responsible for climbing the mosque and plastering.
Men and boys carry baskets of mud to a staircase that leads to the roof of the mosque, where they will place a new layer of banco on the minarets. This page: Young me
Young men on handmade palm ladders begin plastering the mosque in the early hours of the morning.
A young boy applies mud to the base of the Great Mosque.
The end of the crépissage, which sees the whole community come together to complete the task in just four hours.
