In the small northern town of Larabanga stands Ghana’s oldest Mosque yet now that time is beginning to erode this historic monument it is becoming a constant, desperate struggle for locals to keep the ancient building erect.
Although small, the incredible white structure of the mosque built in the mode of West-Sudanese architecture sits powerfully in the centre of Larabanga. Its very appearance commands awe and respect as it stands out so strikingly from its modern day surroundings: grand, white with the unusual use of wooden supports holding the ancient mud walls together. The locals claim that the Mosque was constructed in 1421, however, the National Museum in Accra puts the construction date at around 1643-75. The simple truth is that nobody really knows when this rare, ancient building came to be and there is similar air of mystery surrounding who built it. According to the locals the founder, a great warrior named Ndewura Jakpa and his spiritual guide Ibrahim, decided to throw his spear into the air seeking spiritual guidance of where he could set up a Muslim settlement for his people. After the spear was thrown Ibrahim had a dream/vision of where the spear had landed and the following morning he and Jakpa went to the place that the spear had landed in his dream, Larabanga, to find the foundations of the mosque already in place. Soon after Jakpa died and Ibrahim went on to build the mosque on Jakpa’s last orders. Legend has it that while being built the mosque noticeably increased in height each night and the locals suggest that Allah helped to build it – making this a ‘God given Mosque’. The Mosque is also home to a copy of the holy Koran that is said to have descended from heaven making it one of the holiest Muslim sights in Africa.
It has four entrances with small doors, each for a different type of person (men, women, chiefs and Eman, Mula) and a limited number of seats – on Fridays most gather outside to hear the proceedings over a loudspeaker with only 200 seats inside the Mosque and 4,000 people (made up of 12 clans) gathering around. This demonstrates how important this holy, historic building is to the modern Muslim people of Ghana.
For this reason it is incredibly alarming that this ancient and precious Muslim Monument is being threatened by its own incredible age and the struggle of the local people to keep this Mosque standing has been present for several decades now. In 2002 the mosque was placed on the World Monuments Watch by the Word Monuments Fund because of damage sustained after an inappropriate, botched restoration in the 1970s. In 2000 one of the minarets collapsed during a storm and the financial services company, American Express, provided $50,000 for the mosque to be restored. A team of local artisans and laborers used the funding to restore the monument with special emphasis on reviving the ancient knowledge of mud-plaster maintenance.
The restoration project was a success and now the Mosque stands splendidly in the centre of town. However, the incredible age of the building means that it is in constant need of maintenance - the sight of green moss growing over the white wall is a visual reminder of the erosive effect of time that ticks like a time bomb. To make things worse in the area local conmen have started to take money from tourists under the false pretence that all proceeds will be spent on the restoration of the mosque, when in reality they go towards their personal gain that means that the major source of income to keep the Mosque standing is being significantly compromised. There are many issues facing this wonderful piece of living history and if Ghanaians are to prevent one of the most precious, ancient and holy monuments of the country from crumbling into non-existence then decisive action must be taken before its too late.
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