Entrance of an adobe mosque. Songo village, Mali

Islam expansion throughout West African societies since the 19th century was known to be highly adaptive to the problem associated with culture contact and change. Attesting to its impact all along the savanna belt are the adobe mosques found in great number in cities and larger villages. These mosques, in turn, reflect the influence of local building traditions, as in the case of the Dogon and Bobo rural mosques of Mali and Burkina Faso. During his trip to Mali, Elisofon visited Songo village, at the western end of the biandagara plateau. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for National Geographic and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.