The Inner Niger river Delta

The vast flood prone region that begins north of Segou and spreads out as far as Mopti and Timbuktu is known as the Inland Niger Delta. This area was since earliest times, an important link between Africa and the Mediterranean Coast, as it was the route of the caravans.

>> After the 1400's the region began to lose the territories to the north such as Timbuktu, Gao and Djenné following the conquest of the Songhai ruler Sonni Ali Ber who organized the newly conquered lands under centralized governors. The art that flourished during this period that was extraordinary, purely traditional and non-Islamic.

>> Objects of metalwork and terracotta have been unearthed from these areas, and much mystery surrounds their conception; their meaning and purpose have still not been clearly defined and understood.

>> This region of Mali where this civilization flourished in the early millennium is described as the « Lost Civilization ».

>> The theme of the serpent often figures in the art of Djenne, as serpent worship was likely prominent as it is often depicted in works of terracotta, and appears to have played an important role either as a symbol of protection or as an ancestral effigy or even as a votive offering.

>> The culture of the Niger Inland River Delta was seemingly one with with strong animistic beliefs that paradoxically co-existed amidst a population of close adherents to Islamic law; an aspect of African society that is hardly unique even today.