Nigerian Canadian Muslim Association

The Yaama Mosque is a mosque built in the indigenous Sudano-Sahelian architectural style, constructed in 1962 in Yaama, a village in the semi-desert region of Niger. when the village decided to build a Friday mosque in which everyone could gather for prayers, they chose to use traditional methods. This structure was constructed of mud bricks and later modifications included the construction of a central dome surrounded by four corner towers.Every villager made a contribution, from the landowner who donated the site, to the people who made mud bricks, carried water, gathered wood,etc. This mosque was the recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. The first version of this mud brick Friday mosque, begun in 1962, took the form of a rectangular hypostyle prayer hall with the projecting mihrab as the only secondary volume. In subsequent repairs a central dome was added and four corner towers built. Each tower is an individual sculpture with banded tapering walls becoming gradually more elaborate toward its pinnacle. Crenellations of half circles decorate the parapets and rounded cones mark the corners. Mud brick structures require cyclical maintenance, alterations and repairs. For the Yaama mosque this activity was from the beginning an act of religious devotion in which the entire community participates, and so it continues to be. Everyone contributes to the caretaking of the mosque in proportion to his or her ability to do so. Some make mud bricks; others carry them to the building site. Women carry water for brick and mortar production while others cut and gather wood. The jury commended the manifest will to use traditional techniques in a creative manner, to experiment with them and to achieve results that induce a new awareness of their possibilities. The mosque is located in the Sahel region of Niger where the economy is based on agricultural production. The construction is realized in the traditional banco technique. It is characterized by a central dome and four minarets, one at each corner of a rectangular plan. Irregular in their shape the minarets rise in a stepped manner and are punctuated by both rectangular and arched openings of varying dimensions. The external walls are pierced by small rectangular windows around which geometrical decorations have been painted at ground level. The upper limit of the walls are marked by crenellations. This mosque is considered to be an original interpretation of local traditional architecture. The Yaama Mosque is a vibrant expression of the total act of building. The community desired and was encouraged to achieve a splendid mosque that would be an appropriate rendering of their devotion to the Islamic faith. The architect, the master mason Failed Barmou, responded to, as well as nourished, these requirements through the use of more advanced techniques and great originality. There is a manifest will to use traditional techniques in a creative manner, to experiment with them and to achieve results that induce a new awareness of their possibilities. Within the local context this is a very striking element: almost everywhere traditional architecture is losing its momentum, but in this case it is very much alive and exploring its possibilities.
5 8 years ago (05-06-2018)

Its a good little musalla kinda thing. Alhmdulillah. I prayed my jumma there. Parking could be a little issue but you could still park on the side of the road.
5 9 years ago (20-10-2017)

Its a nice quite place to offer prayer. No jamat for prayer.
3 9 years ago (22-06-2017)

Me and my kids love it
5 9 years ago (01-06-2017)

Small building with a warm intimate community.
5 11 years ago (05-04-2016)