Songhai architecture or Zarma architecture refers to the traditional Sahelian architectural style of the Songhai people in West Africa. The architecture typically encompasses mud-brick buildings, flat roofs, and distinctive designs reflecting the cultural and historical aspects of the Songhai civilization.[1][2]
City of TimbuktuMosque in Dantiandou, Kollo, Niger
In Songhai homelands, rural areas consist of fortified enclosures where a family group known as “windi”lives. A typical rural Songhai house is either round with mud walls or rectangular with walls made of sun-dried mud bricks, often featuring thatched roofs. The Songhai predominantly reside in houses within walled or fenced enclosures, which usually include a main house for the husband and smaller dwellings for each of his wives and their children. Traditional houses are huts called “Bugu.” Social activities commonly occur outside in the compound, where food is prepared and consumed, and people visit each other in the evening.[3][4]
Historic Songhai-dominated urban centers like Gao, Hombori, Dosso, Timbuktu, and Djenne feature traditional adobe buildings such as the Great Mosque of Djenné, the University of Timbuktu, as well as the Palace of the Djermakoy and Royal palace of Gao-Saney and the Tomb of Askia. In Niamey, where traditional Songhai structures in urban areas often blend modern design with traditional Songhai building techniques.[5]
^The Architecture & Art of the Songhai Empire, study.com, retrieved 2024-01-11
^Kingdom of Songhai, 8 October 2018, p. thinkafrica.net, retrieved 2024-01-11
^Les maisons du peuple Zarma, maison-monde.com, 20 February 2017, retrieved 2024-01-11{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^LES MONUMENTS HISTORIQUES DE LA VILLE GOTHEYE, retrieved 2024-01-11
^Quick summary of African architectures, 2019, retrieved 2024-01-11
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