Back to my assertion that Africa was not only the birthplace of the human race, but human culture and learning as well..................masons..............i bet they started in Africa...........i think Judaism did as well.........but now the masons...........in the short film i heard some interesting stuff................the mud masons featured in it are from modern day Mali in West Africa.........they are negroid Muslims.................and the apprentice to a master learning how to be a mason...............must learn not only architecture but symbols and knowledge to ward off powerful unseen forces as the film put it..............now that sounds familiar................in Clavells' Noble House..........sequel to Tai Pan set on Hong Kong during Opium Wars in the 19th Century..............in Nobel House, set in the modern world..............like the 1980s or so...........but the same family from ancient times..............anyways, it deals in part with architecture and the Chinese very superstitious ways............for instance.........it was set in Hong Kong...............a certain person did not want to build on the eye of the dragon,,,,,,,,,,,very bad luck, but on the back of the dragon.......



Masons i think came from Africa............they are not just Europeans................but Arabics, Orientals, Africans, etc.........





Here is the exhibit, ........mud masons...........stone masons.............

On the broad floodplain of the Bani River stands one of the most celebrated cities in Africa— Djenné, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its earthen architecture. Over 200 historic houses in the city date back several centuries, while the magnificent central mosque built in 1907 rises above the central square and dominates the skyline.

Djenné owes its unique character to its masons, inheritors of a craft tradition handed down from one generation to the next since the city arose in the 14th century. Masons belong to a professional organisation, the barey ton, which sets wages, regulates working conditions, and orchestrates the annual re-claying of the town’s mosque. In their work, masons control spiritual forces, manage culturally-diverse work teams, and creatively build with limited means and within a setting dominated by ideals of timeless tradition.

Following the 2012 political upheaval in Mali and the resulting collapse of tourism, foreign aid and the economy, Djenné's masons are operating in a period of pronounced austerity and uncertainty. The experiences, concerns and hopes of the five masons you meet here– each one representing a different generation – give voice to the pride that they take in their work and to the challenges they face today.