Old Dondoli Central Mosque

Dondoli, Wa is a town in the Upper West region of Ghana. It is the home to one of the 3 recently lost mud mosques standing on the shores of Ghana. The mud mosques show the influence of Islam on especially the northern parts of Ghana. The mud mosques are built in two styles: the ‘Sudanese’ and the ‘Djenne’ types. The Dondoli mosque is built in the ‘Sudanese’ style.
The Moroccan invasion of the Songhai kingdom (1591) resulted in battalions of Mande warriors, Islamic traders and missionaries migrating southwards. They colonised the indigenous peoples along the kola and trade routes. The migration of the Mande warriors led to a deep penetration of Neo-Sudanese influences in the now northern parts of Ghana. Its influence also led to the formation of Islamic states like Wala, Dagbong, Gonja and Mamprugu.
Dondoli is a town in the Wala state. Typical of the ‘Sudanese’ type of mud mosques, the Dondoli mosque has a flat roof and a rectangular shaped with irregular shaped pinnacle buttresses and two-point towers (the minaret and the mihrab). The roof is made of timber logs. The minaret comprises a small prayer room with access to the roof top. The whole structure is enforced with timber frames.
This 19th century old Dondoli mosque fell into disuse after a new one was built. This series of photographs shows scenes from the mosque site.