Another important part of many early W. African cultures was the “soul mound.” Cultures like the native Manding and Songhay depend on an ancestral presence embodied in single pillar shrines, or clusters of these pillars. These mounds of earth and/or stone call upon ancestors to protect the household or dwelling. This tradition was later incorporated into the building of mosques. In many cases these soul mounds sit in front of an entrance to a dwelling, but other times they are part of the structure itself.