The Magic of the Great Mosque of Djenne

In the beginning of the 20th century the French administrator of Djenne, William Merlaud-Ponty, was friendly with the incumbent Imam. 

One day he asked his friend – a marabout well versed in magic like most Djenne Imams through history – if he could help him become the Governor General of French West Africa. ‘Sure’ said the Imam. ‘If you help me rebuild the Mosque of Djenne’. And so it came to pass.  

The Mosque was rebuilt by order of the French Colonial administration and by the masons of Djenne. And the magic worked, because Monsieur Merlaud-Ponty did indeed become the Governor of the whole of French West Africa.

Whether the present Mosque is an invention of the French architectural advisors of the day, or really a recreation of the original Mosque has been debated.

The picture of the ruin shows a good indication of the remnants from which a replica could have been built, and when the building work was undertaken there were still old people alive in Djenne who remembered the original Mosque and could guide the masons. 

It is therefore not impossible that the present Mosque is indeed a near copy of the original one. The architecture is the most flamboyant example of the Sudan-Sahelian Style of architecture of which there are many examples throughout towns and villages in the Niger inland delta.