Gallery
Description
Property Name: Zaira Friday Mosque, Masallaci Juma’a
Inventory No: 234-69-1
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2008-02-21
Country (State party): Nigeria
Province: Zaria
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 11° 4′ 46.07″ N
7° 42′ 56.42″ E
Historic Period:
Year of Construction: 1830s-1840s
Style: Eclectic
Original Use: Mosque
Current Use: Mosque
Architect: Unknown
Significance
The mosque is one of the few remaining examples of the Hausa religious building tradition. However its exterior had been completely changed in the 1970s. The mosque was built by the order of Sarkin (Emir) Abdulkarim (1835-1847) the third Fulani king of Zaria. The building was advised by Muhammed Bello, the Sultan of Sokoto, who helped to fund the project and who brought in the chief builder of Sokoto as its architect. The original mosque complex included a main prayer hall and a Shari’a court enclosed in a wall into which are embedded entry vestibules which double as ablution chambers. With a Fulbe client and a Hausa builder, the building shows a confluence of style.
Selection Criteria
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State of Preservation
The Mosgue was built in the later 1830s or early 1840s and one of the few remaining examples of the historic Hausa religious building tradition, though its exterior underwent a complete redesign in the 1970s.
Though part of the original mosque has been demolished, the remainder is encased in a new cement shell, within which the arch and vault construction unique to Hausaland has been preserved.
References
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