Text by Alpha Diop / DNPC-UNESCO Mission, August 2013

After an interruption of around two rainy seasons, due to the occupation of the city of Timbuktu by terrorists and other armed groups, the plastering of the minaret and acroterial wall of the Grand Mosque of Djinguareyber took place on Thursday, August 15, 2013. deux saisons des pluies, due à l’occupation de la ville de Tombouctou par les terroristes et autres groupes armés, il a été procédé le jeudi 15 Août 2013 au crépissage du minaret et du mur acrotère de la grande mosquée de Djinguareyber.

As usual, preparations were coordinated by the Imam, the mosque's management committee and the traditional masons' guild with the head of the masons' guild, responsible for the Djingareyber mosque.

On the morning of this August 15, 2013, under the supervision of the traditional masons, a final mixing of the banco plaster that had already been prepared for several days was first carried out. The technique used here is known as “rotting”. Rice and millet husks were added to the banco mixture.

Baobab (or monkey pine) powder is added to plaster the eastern and southern facades. This powder makes the plaster more resistant to rainwater, which in Timbuktu comes mainly from the east and sometimes from the south.

The people of Timbuktu take an active part in the traditional plastering of the mosque.

This year, the plaster was prepared in bins to the south of the mosque. It was transported by the youngsters from the bins to the roof of the mosque.

When a large quantity of plaster had been transported to the roof, the symbolic start of the work was given by the head of the traditional masons responsible for the upkeep of the mosque (usually a single family is in charge).

The morning's work covered the north and west faces of the central minaret, as well as the acroterial walls on the west and south sides of the mosque.

Plastering work on the east and south facades of the minaret is scheduled for the afternoon after the Asr prayer (4pm).

The start of this work is marked by the “ceremonial cotton strip”.

This strip of cotton is prepared by the‎ old masons‎ with knots, and incantations are also said. It is then threaded onto the‎ young masons‎ who climb to the top of the minaret to begin plastering its eastern facade.

This strip of cotton cloth, which is given by the elders to the young masons, is a sort of umbilical link between the generations and is supposed to protect the workers from accidents (falls) during the work.

At the end of the plastering work, the Imam of the Djingareyber mosque, surrounded for the occasion by those of the Sankoré and Sidi Yahia mosques, offered his blessings to all participants and to the entire population of the town.