Plastering the Great Mosque

Plastering the Great Mosque is a unique annual famous festival that aims to preserve the historic mosque, which holds a special place in the history and daily life of the city. Each year, a leader announces the date from late April to early May when the entire population of Djenné gathers to smear fresh mud on the city's historic Grand Mosque. Mud is prepared in pits with young men helping to stir it by playing in them. Women and girls carry water for the men as they carry and carefully smear mud on the mosque. Afterward, all Djenné celebrate with a huge party filled with dancing and drumming.

In Plastering the Great Mosque, the entire community of Djenné plays an active role in the maintenance of the mosque through its unique annual festival. This includes music and food but has the primary goal of repairing the damage done to the mosque over the past year (mainly erosion caused by annual rain and cracks due to heat changes). temperature and humidity). In the days before the festival, plaster is prepared in pits. It takes a few days to cure but needs to be stirred periodically, a task that usually belongs to boys who play in the mix, thus stirring up the substances inside. Men climbed the mosque's scaffolding and palm-timbered ladders and smeared plaster on the mosque's face.

• Organization time: late April to early May every year
• Location: Mali