The Launch “Réné Caillé” at Sansanding
This little steamer was my home for some 450 miles of the journey down the Niger. We had halted here to take in fuel, and my camera has had the effect of interrupting some heated bargaining between the fish-sellers on the beach and some native passengers.
Steel Canoes on the Upper Niger
Steel canoes are a convenient and much-used means of conveyance on the Niger. They are strong, light, of very shallow draught, and at the same time can carry a big cargo of passengers or merchandise. Shelter from the sun is improvised by fixing palm-thatch awnings overhead. These craft can be poled or paddled, according to the depth of water available.
The appearance of the river alters considerably from this point. The banks become more wooded, and backwaters and small tributaries penetrate far into the country on both sides. Some of these waterways are navigable for launches, but the channel is narrow and constantly broken into two or more parts by small islands. At Diafarabé the right bank is intersected in a hundred places by these creeks, and in the rainy season the town, which is low-lying, must be almost under water. From this place the interesting town of Djenné can be reached by water. Djenné is the “holy city” of the French Soudan.
The biggest mosques are here, and the priests have the reputation of being the most devout. The standard of learning is also higher here than elsewhere; so much is this the case that the French have allowed an Arabic school to be established at Djenné in preference to any of the commercially more important towns of the Soudan. Almost every village has a “Kadi,” who practically corresponds to the “Munshi” of India. He it is who writes all the letters of the villagers, for most of the latter cannot read or write, of course. When a reply comes it is his business to read it to the recipient. These “Kadis” make a profitable income out of this work, and it is at Djenné that they are taught. The letters are written in Arabic characters. All letters are written in Arabic in this country, there being no written native language; it follows that, even if a letter is read out to the addressee by the “Kadi,” the former cannot understand the purport until it has been translated into his own tongue. It will be understood that under these circumstances letter-writing and reading are slow and tedious matters.
The majority of the inhabitants of Djenné are Sonrhais, a nation of whom there will be more to say later. In olden times, probably up to the fifteenth century, they used to display a certain amount of originality in their architecture. The houses of the town are built with minarets and cupolas, while over the doorways and in the windows there is a fair amount of fresco work. This is the only race which apparently had some idea of architecture, for this art is noticeably conspicuous by its absence as a rule among negroid tribes of Western Africa.
There is no doubt that this interesting place has always been a town of importance. It is situated in the richest grain-producing country of the Niger south of Timbuctu, and thus has invariably attracted a large number of traders.