SOAS Research Online

Abstract

For centuries, Djenné’s architecture has been sculpted and renewed by the town’s masons. Mud bricks and secret incantations combine to make houses, and each year the majestic mosque is dressed with a fine new coating of mud. Konmusa is heir to this masonry tradition and he plans for his son to succeed him in the trade. But classroom education and connections to a globalizing world deliver new opportunities and lifestyles, and continuity is threatened. Grounded in Trevor Marchand’s anthropological research, the film explores the challenges and choices faced by a mason’s family and raises important questions about heritage and changing traditions. In addition to the film’s documentary content, the technique of blending fact and fiction in the service of ‘truth’ raises a number of compelling issues.