THE MASONS OF DJENNÉ # 45
14:00, Wednesday 17th June, Cinema 3
Director/Anthropologist: Trevor H J Marchand, SOAS
Year of Release: 2013
Duration: 22 mins
Country of Production: UK
Location: Leiden (The Netherlands) and Djenné (Mali)
Ethnic Group: Bozo
Language: Bamana, French, English with English subtitles
The art of mud building reaches its zenith in the sculpted contours of Djenné’s mosque and its elegant houses. The town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. In recent years, however, the region has been plagued by drought, ethnic tension, Islamist insurrection, and political upheaval. Djenné’s masons – like craftspeople across Mali – struggle to find work and to survive. The Masons of Djenné is a film created for the exhibition “Mud Masons of Mali” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The masons speak about their town’s history, the building profession, and the changes and challenges they face.
