THOUGHTS OF A DJENNE MASTER MASON

My name is Boubakar Kouroumansse. I am a master mason in Djenne, just like my father and my grandfather before me. I love this town, its tradition and its history. But I also look ahead. It's my mission to preserve our heritage, and to carry it forward into the time to come. I feel that I am an intermediary between the past and the future of Djenne.

My work, and my very identity depend on those who came before me. It's important to know what life was like here in the past. For me, everything starts with Tapama, the virgin girl who was sacrificed many centuries ago to preserve Djenne. She gave her life for all of us. Do you know the story? Perhaps a thousand years ago, Djenne was menaced by floods and failing crops. A holy man determined that disaster could only be avoided if a father with a single daughter,who was a virgin, would sacrifice the girl. Such a man was found. The girl, Tapama, willingly died for Djenne. She was buried alive and her tomb stands to this day on the bank of the river.

Boubakar Kouroumansse

Tradition is central to the work of a mason in this town. (By the way, we do not use the term 'architect' here, although my work comes down to that). Every mason has a traditional relationship with certain families. Their house has been built and maintained by that mason's family for many years. If any work needs to be done, the family will appeal to the mason traditionally connected with them. The mason will know the history of the family and the house. He is responsible for the house during his whole life, and his son will continue the relationship after his death. This is a heavy responsibility. He will even dig and construct the tomb of the families who live in the houses he maintains.

I believe it is crucial to preserve our architectural tradition, with regard to materials, style, and the lay out of the houses. Therefore I have become involved in the 'Projet Patrimoine', which aims at the restoration and conservation of the 160 most important buildings of Djenne.

A house ruined by the rain, with the mosque in the background

The whole town has been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and the Dutch government is financing the project to conserve the traditional houses of Djenne. Up till now we have restored 30 houses (one of them is photographed above). I supervise the work.

A house in need of restoration

We also try to make the people here aware of the importance of preserving their heritage. It's coming along slowly, but surely. We owe this to our children. if we lose our heritage, we lose all. That is my firm conviction. So....I hope that one day you will come to see for yourself how we preserve our architectural heritage, and carry it into the future.

With regards, Boubakar Kouroumansse, master mason in Djenne, Mali