Mawlid in Timbuktu

About Mawlid in Timbuktu

In Timbuktu, a city of scholars and saints, the Mawlid is a major occasion with a long history. Families and neighbourhoods take part in readings of the poems of praise through the night, often in the old mosques of Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, and sing with drums and hand claps. In the morning, there are processions in which the manuscripts of the city, the great written heritage of Timbuktu's libraries, are sometimes shown. Food is offered, and meat is cooked to be shared with neighbours and the poor. In Mali and across the Sahel, with Gamou in Senegal and Niger, the day is also a time to ask for blessings. In recent years, security concerns have changed the ways in which the celebrations are held in the region.

Mawlid in Timbuktu dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

This date follows the moon or a local calendar and can move by a day, so check with a local source nearer the time.

What is eaten

• rice
• meat stew
• sweet millet cakes

Traditions of Mawlid in Timbuktu

MawlidThe wider tradition.

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