Dala'il al-Khayrat Prayer Book

This prayer book comprises a compilation of loose folios that are held together within a front and back papier-mâché cover. Leather bands are attached to the covers to wrap the unbound manuscript. This construction is characteristic of West African devotional bookmaking traditions. The text is written in the barnavi script (particular script from Borno), common in Nigeria and Chad and distinguished by bold application, round letters, and short letter-shafts. Additional characteristics of this prayer book are the decorative geometrical tables that serve to divide chapters and sections. These are composed as geometric patterns with simple repeat motifs—circles, cross, double-T, and others, which are rendered as colorful grids in red, brown, and sparkling yellow. Typical for Dala’il al-Khayrat prayer books, this example includes illustrations of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, rendered in an abstract geometric style. In addition to reflecting the artistic vibrancy of West and Sub-Saharan Africa, these patterns and themes bear talismanic and other meanings that surpass the devotional function of such manuscripts.