Djenne, and back to Bamako

If I wax too lyrical about Mali it is because the sights and experiences it offers are unique and fascinating; discovery simply fills me with joyous delight. While I know that much needs to be done in some areas, health, education, infrastructure, I have a pervasive confidence and faith in the hard-working, resilient and resourceful Malian people. There is a strong spirit of mutual respect and interdependence. While they may not have economic capital yet, they have enormous social capital: there are many ethnic groups living together peaceably and this is an enormous source of pride: Touregs, Peul, Bobo, Bambara…

 

After returning to the Amberdjele outside of Mopti for the night, we headed back south to stop at Djenne. In the Land Rover, Lamine would blast out his music. We shared the same tastes and he introduced many more Malian singers and styles to me. Music is a huge part of the experience of Mali, and most musical styles and many instruments can be traced back here. Lamine never went to school. He does not know the date of his birthday or that of his children’s’. He taught himself to read and write and is currently teaching himself English. Because of illiteracy and because of the traditional oral tradition of passing down the stories of each village, novelist Amadou Hampate Ba wrote, “Quand un vieillard meurt, c’est une bibliotheque qui brule.” When an old man dies, a library burns. The driving is good and roads are clear. Tarmacked roads link most cities since the Mali hosted the African Soccer championships in 2002.

 

Djenne is a UNESCO World heritage Site. The adobe town contains the largest mud mosque in the world. As it is made of rice and fermented mud from the river Niger, it needs restoring regularly, as does most of the town. The old town is situated on an island on the Niger and dates back to the 12^th or 13^th centuries. They had a sophisticated sewage system back in the day…and still use it today. We marvelled at the construction and admired the influences of the original inhabitants and the Moroccans on the architecture. Wandering around the markets is a fascination and Djenne’s did not disappoint: hibiscus leaves, calabashes, spices, home goods, negotiation, colour, beauty. We also visited a Peul village. The Peul are farming nomads. The women have blue tattoos around their mouths and eyes and are breathtakingly beautiful.  The fabric of their dress is much more fine and detailed than the more flamboyant Senegalese style.  

 

Unesco and other international groups are helping Mali in many ways. Desertification was felt to be a pressing issue in the north, several years ago and much aid was given to protect Tombouctou, although it is recently felt that this is more of a man made problem: man’s erosion of the top soil, tree removal for farming, etc. 

We arrived in Bamako after a night in the adobe campement of Djenne Djeno with heavy hearts. We have blobbed and slept and enjoyed hot water and a/c again but yet another etape of this amazing journey is over. We did go two nights to the open-air live music venue, Savana. This is where I will be coming regularly on my sabbatical here. 

We have just learned the terrible news of the death of an Old Greenwich neighbour, a father of two girls. He was taken off life support yesterday after suffering a stroke 10 days ago while having surgery to remove a benign tumor from behind his eye. Our hearts go out to Cheryl, Brooke and Alana. Glenn Elliott R.I.P.