Back in Europe, I found that this vernacular architecture is largely un-documented. Although the highlights of this 'Sudanese' style are cherished by cultural actors such as UNESCO as well as by international book editors and documentary makers, no one seems to bother about unnamed village mosques. Not even tourists, who simply step over them en route to 'discovering' Djenné and Timbuktu.

So I decided to make an extensive photographic survey of the mosques of the Niger Inner Delta. This area harbors a multitude of village mosques -- there are close to 2300 villages -- in a wide variety of styles. Historically, this area played a significant role in the early period of Islam's expansion into West Africa, adding another layer to this photographic survey.

But the work had to be more than just photographic inventory, it needed to capture the originality of this underestimated architecture. My starting principle was that every mosque has a character of its own, determined by morphology and surface structure. To emphasize these elements, I used a large format camera (4-5 inch) and black & white film. To stress their sculptural qualities, I tried to isolate the mosques from context and people. The uniqueness of each mosque emerges very clearly by this sober, uniform approach.

This project began in 1998. For several months I traveled from village to village by bicycle and 'pirogue', navigating with IGN 1:200.000 maps. The inaccessibility of the area made me realize why this hadn't been done before. Villagers were often surprised that I came all the way to take a picture of their old mosque. I hope my presence encouraged those among them interested in preserving traditional building styles. From the 111 mosques I photographed, a selection of large format prints (94 x 120 cm) was exhibited in the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.

From October 2001 through to March 2002, I continued this work with financial support from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. A motorized 'pirogue' and a light motorcycle allowed me to travel faster, and reach the most remote parts of the Inner Delta. To increase the documentary value of the collection, I worked with 35 mm color slides, and photographed every mosque from different angles. Whenever I encountered a particularly pretty mosque, I also photographed it on 4-5 inch black & white negative, to add to the 'vintage' collection.

With 515 mosques photographed, this collection shows a representative image of the adobe mosques of the Niger Inner Delta. Advancing modernity, and a lack of appreciation for this 'archaic' approach to building, are serious threats to the continuity of this living architecture. I hope my images will seduce researchers to give these mud mosques the attention they deserve.

www.sebastianschutyser.com

Mr. Schutyser's complete photographic work on the adobe mosques of Mali is available in his book, Banco, Adobe Mosques of the Inner Niger Delta, 5 Continents Editions, 2003, ISBN 88-7439-051-3. The Book also contains two essays by leading authors on the matter, Jean Dethier and Dorothee Gruner. French and an Italian versions of the publication are also available.