The great annual Feast of Sowing (bulu ) begins in April or May, prior to the beginning of the rainy season, in all the villages of the region. WebIn this short article, the authors present a brief and clear-cut account of the relationship between the Dogon cosmogony and their social organization in terms of a discussion of And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there existcountless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts thathave yet to be discovered and explained. The Dogon are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, and in Burkina Faso. He was eaten by another nommo, and their spirits merged; the nommo vomited out a new Lebe (part human and part spiritual), plus copious liquid which shaped the landscape.[7]. Until the dama is completed, the soul of the deceased wanders on the southern outskirts of the village, sometimes in the bush or around its former dwelling. Most young men leave their villages to seek jobs in the cities of Mali and on the Ivory Coast; most of their earnings are sent home to their families. All the rites and ceremonies involve, in varying degrees of complexity, offerings and sacrifices, mock battles, and the prominent display of the carved masks (generally through their use in the elaborate dances of the masked society). They have been linked to the Mande subfamily but also to Gur. The blind Dogon elder Ogotemmeli taught the main symbols of the Dogon religion to French anthropologist Marcel Griaule in October 1946. For the ethnic group of the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north of Ghana, see. The appealing factor lies in many raw, visual, fetishized pursuits and compelling cultural narratives. The Satimbe mask represents the women ancestors, who are said to have discovered the purpose of the masks by guiding the spirits of the deceased into the afterlife (Davis, 74). Every four days, Dogon people participate in markets with neighboring tribes, such as the Fulani and the Dyula. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? The newly circumcised youths, now considered young men, walk around naked for a month after the procedure so that their achievement in age can be admired by the tribe. The Dogon languages show few remnants of a unique noun class system, an example of which is that human nouns take a distinct plural suffix. It is generally accepted that the Dogon language belongs to the NigerCongo language family, though the evidence is weak. Some young men will hunt for small game, but wild animals are relatively scarce near villages. Man in Peru Caught Out Drinking With an 800-year-old Mummy! This chief head is the oldest living son of the ancestor of the local branch of the family. [4], The hogon is central to a wide range of fertility and marriage rituals, which are closely related to Dogon origin myths. . Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Organisation sociale des dogon (Soudan Franais). Articulo-Journal of Urban Research, (4), Available at: https://journals.openedition.org/articulo/417, My name is Edward Whelan and I graduated with a PhD in history in 2008. According to this oral tradition, the first Dogon settlement was established in the extreme southwest of the escarpment at Kani-Na. The Dogon people with whom French anthropologists Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen worked during the 1930s and 1940s had a system of signs which ran into the thousands, including "their own systems of astronomy and calendrical measurements, methods of calculation and extensive anatomical and physiological knowledge, as well as a systematic pharmacopoeia". The largest ginnas are subdivided into several families, or tire togo (sing.). Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Universit de Paris, Travaux et Mmoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie, 33. In a recent overview of the NigerCongo family, Dogon is treated as an independent branch.[3]. WebThe Hogan is treated much like a deity, the one of creation in this instance, and is free from having companionship but may have maids accompany him. Dogon insecurity in the face of these historical pressures caused them to locate their villages in defensible positions along the walls of the escarpment. [41] They reported that the Dogon believe that the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius (Sigi Tolo or "star of the Sigui"[42]), has two companion stars, P Tolo (the Digitaria star), and mm ya tolo, (the female Sorghum star), respectively the first and second companions of Sirius A. In 1912 a school was established for them in Sanga, followed by a Christian mission in the 1930s, and later a medical dispensary. Religious Practitioners. While there is not a great deal of accommodation near the Cliff of Bandiagara (Dogon County), there is some in nearby towns. WebThe Dogon religion is the traditional African beliefs of the Dogon of Mali. In conjunction with the council of elders, he makes decisions concerning public affairs. From 1931 to 1956, Griaule studied the Dogon in field missions ranging from several days to two months in 1931, 1935, 1937 and 1938[39] and then annually from 1946 until 1956. According to Shawn R. Davis, this particular ritual incorporates the elements of the yingim and the danyim. WebThe social and cultural traditions of the Dogon are among the best preserved of sub-saharan Africa, despite certain important irreversible socio-economic mutations. Heaven on Earth? ", "Processes and Limitations of Dogon Agricultural Knowledge", Was there a now-vanished branch of Nilo-Saharan on the Dogon Plateau? The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. The authority of the household unit is vested in the father, who controls both the economic and ceremonial functions of the family and demands unquestioning obedience from his offspring. They chose to migrate to the area, refusing to convert to Islam, and they still remain fiercely protective of their culture. Damas that are still performed today are not usually performed for their original intent, but instead are performed for tourists interested in the Dogon way of life. Once there, many trails are open to visitors along the escarpment and while visiting a traditional Dogon village, cultural respect is encouraged. The 'Awa' is characterized by the intricate masks worn by members during rituals. During this time, new masks are carved and dedicated to their ancestors. Fruit trees are valued possessions, and although they may be sold, the previous owner reserves the ownership of the field in which they are planted for his own use. Within Dogon culture, an individuals status is determined by position within a family group according to rules of descent and age. In referring to relatives, linguistic usage distinguishes between the forms of address and the specific relationship. There are twelve categories of disease considered treatable, each with its own specific healer who has special knowledge of the specific plant that will bring about a cure. During the danyim, masqueraders perform dances every morning and evening for any period up to six days, depending on that village's practice. Each district had its own recognized war leaders. During a greeting ritual, the person who has entered the contact answers a series of questions about his or her whole family, from the person who was already there. I have written a book and several peer reviewed journal articles. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. [11] Other oral histories place the origin of the Dogon to the west beyond the river Niger, or tell of the Dogon coming from the east. The yingim consists of both the sacrifice of cows, or other valuable animals, and mock combat. His saliva is the source of the life-giving humidity, and his foot must not touch the earth directly or the ground will dry up. Blood alliances frequently were contracted between the Dogon and other groups such as the Bozo. According to Griaule, the celebration of twin-births was a cult that extended all over Africa. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Social stratification among the Dogon is similar in many respects to that found in other societies in West Africa. The This is manifested through the cult of the masks, the Lebe cult, the Binu cult, and the more general cult of the ancestors associated with the ginna. [13] As the growth of cities increased, the demand for slaves across the region of West Africa also increased. Then the Dogon who has entered the contact repeats the ritual, asking the resident how his or her whole family is. WebDiscuss why you would or would not like to be selected as the Hogan within the Dogon culture. WebDogon or Tellem peoples (?) Beierle, John "Dogon At present I am a Read More. Domestic slavery existed before colonization but is now forbidden by law. Each large district has a hogon, or spiritual leader, and there is a supreme hogon for the whole country. Dieterlen, G., 1955. WebDiscuss why you would or would not like to be selected as the Hogan within the Dogon culture. 575577, Index of African mythology and creation narratives, List of African deities and mythical figures, Traditional African religion and other religions, "Population dynamics and Paleoclimate over the past 3000 years in the Dogon Country, Mali", "Did the Dogon of Mali know about Sirius B? Unlike norms for the rest of society, parallel-cousin marriage is allowed within castes. 16th-20th Century. [5], The hogon may conduct rituals in the Sanctuaire de Binou, a special building the door of which is blocked with rocks. Houses are built extremely close together, many times sharing walls and floors. African religions: Ritual and religious specialists. Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Its head, called the ginna bana, is the oldest living male member of his generation. Trade. Amsterdam: Time-Life Books B.V. It was first inhabited by the Tellem, Stone Age hunters, at least 10,000 years ago. Individuals with high status may own a small number of cattle.[30]. This enigmatic figure is an ancestor figure from the Dogon people of Mali. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. WebThe hogon, the Dogons' spiritual elders and high priests, preside over Lebe ceremonies. Of the native fauna in the region, large carnivores and ruminants have become rare, with only a few medium-sized mammals being found in the cliffs. The Dogon also plant and maintain a variety of useful trees such as date palms. The Dogon also believe in various malevolent and benevolent spirits who populate the bush, trees, and uninhabited places. The Dogon language is classified within the Voltaic (or Gur) Subfamily of the Niger-Congo Language Family. Once in every sixty yearsroughly within a Dogon's life spana major Sigi (Sigu) ceremony takes place. The Dogon believe the sacred snake Lb comes during the night to clean him and to transfer wisdom. As sacred leader of the Lebe cult he oversees the important planting and All agree, however, that they learned about the star from Griaule. [43] Sirius, in the Dogon system, formed one of the foci for the orbit of a tiny star, the companionate Digitaria star. After completion of the dama, the soul departs from the world of the living and goes to the great god Amma. After initiation, the Hogon wears a red fez. This leads linguists to conclude that Dogon is likely to have diverged from NigerCongo very early.[when?] I have lived nearby and visited Dogon country. The answer is sewa, which means that everything is fine. He has an armband with a sacred pearl that symbolises his function. Nobody should touch the hogon. Morton, Robert (ed.) Orientation, Kota There are also two types of granaries - male granaries with a pointed roof is where seeds are stored, and female granaries (without points) are where the women of this society (who are economically independent from their husbands), store their personal belongings. Evidence from substrate vocabulary in Bangime and Dogon, Dogon Languages and Linguistics An (sic) Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography, The Dogon People of Bandiagara, Mali, The Dance of Masks of the Dogon People, The Dogon People of Bandiagara, Mali: the Dogon Fish Festival, African worlds: studies in the cosmological ideas and social values of African peoples, Dogon images from the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dogon_people&oldid=1139711208, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using infobox ethnic group with image parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2017, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2017, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from December 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bedaux, R. & J.D. van der Waals (eds.) Ritual dance of Dogon County (Gleeson, G / CC BY 2.0 ). A man may now sell a field allotted to him in the distribution of ginna property, but the sale is always revocable, and the ginna may recover the property upon the death of the seller through the reimbursement of the purchase price to the buyer. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Dogon sculptures are not made to be seen publicly, and are commonly hidden from the public eye within the houses of families, sanctuaries, or kept with the Hogon (Laude, 20). Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Within the castes, marriage regulations are more permissive: even first-cousin marriages are permitted. The Iliad can provide new insights on the role of motherhood among the ancient Greek gods, and by extension, amongst ancient mortal Greek women themselves. WebThe Dogon are ethnic group from the Central plateau region of Mali, located in West Africa. Photographs of masked dancers, first taken in 1907, as well as examples of native art work, soon made their way into Europe and the United States, catching the interest and curiosity of the Western world. Inheritance. Members of these castes are physically separate from the rest of the village and live either at the village edge or outside of it entirely. All initiated Dogon men participate in Awa, with the exception of some caste members. A. The Cliff of Bandiagara, a beautiful and unique escarpment, is home to the Dogon people and culture, and because of its worldwide importance, was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1989. Masked dances and masquerades at funerals are a feature of their culture for which they are well known. Between 2010-2012 I worked in the Limerick City Archives. African art and culture had been a driving inspiration to European modern artists like Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and Amedeo Modigliani, among others. WebThe Hogon must live alone in his house. The masqueraders dance on the rooftops of the deceased's compound, throughout the village, and in the area of fields around the village (Davis, 68). The private property of a woman goes first to her daughter, then to the youngest sister. Palau Marti, Montserrat (1957). The dominant form of vegetation on both plain and plateau is the sparse but regular forest of tall trees, which at close range gives the appearance of an immense orchard. Above the lineage is the much larger kin group called the clan, from which the various lineages emerge. Villages usually contain a single localized lineage whose dwellings are grouped around the "great house" (ginna ) of the head. Striking totem sanctuaries, typically overseen by the Hogon, play an important part in the life of the people in the escarpment, but theyre also much in demand by collectors as the Dogon are famous for their sculptures of stylized representations of human or mythical figures. The Hogon has to live alone in his house. Although the Dogon recognize the creator god Amma as the Supreme Being and address prayers and sacrifices to him, the core set of beliefs and practices focuses on ancestor worship. It has a strict code of etiquette, obligations, interdicts, and a secret language (sigi so). (2003), Wanono, Nadine & Renaudeau, Michel (1996), Hochstetler, J. Lee, Durieux, J. There are two major events at which the Awa perform: the 'sigi' ritual and 'dama' funeral rituals.[35]. Other fauna include crocodiles (in the swampy areas on the plain), reptiles, monkeys, guenons, guinea hens, hyenas, foxes, panthers, rabbits, and small rodents. ', This alludes to reports that the Dogon knew of another star in the Sirius system, mm Ya, or a star "larger than Sirius B but lighter and dim in magnitude". Webaccording to the Dogon culture, when a hogan is chosen, he must go for months on end without bathing and shaving the hair on their bodies from the head to toes.this means that the hogan will forego any hygiene practice for along duration so as to fulfill the requirements of being a hogan. Each Dogon village, or enlarged family, is headed by one male elder. [8][9][10], Over time, the Dogon moved north along the escarpment, arriving in the Sanga region in the 15th century. [3], The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture, and their architecture. Craft specialization is determined by gender and caste. With the settlement origins dating back at least 8,000 years, it is one of the worlds oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Not many people know of the Gambia. ." During the colonization of Mali by the French, the inhabitants of the escarpment were able to use caves and tunnels to avoid the Europeans and were able to preserve their way of life. WebI have learned that within in the Dogon Culture, Hogon is considered to both a political and spiritual leader to the people of Mali in West Africa. "The dual soul is a danger; a man should be male, and a woman female. The dama consists of an event, known as the Halic, that is held immediately after the death of a person and lasts for one day (Davis, 68). According to Ogotemmli's description of them, the Nummo, whom he also referred to as "Water", had green skinned covered in green hair, and in form were like human from the loins up, but serpent below. The designation "Naga" is applied to the numerous Indo-Mongoloid tribes living in the hill country at the, Chin & Hollyman, Stephenie (photographs) & Walter E.A. Identification. The Dogon are strongly oriented toward harmony, which is reflected in many of their rituals. Dogon lineage is patrilineal, meaning Those fields that are not repurchased subsequently become individual property. Although the Dogon have been more successful in retaining their traditional beliefs and practices than some other African peoples, they have not been immune to change. The leather-workers engage in significant trade with other ethnic groups and accumulate wealth. [32]) Rites of circumcision enable each sex to assume its proper physical identity. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie. A secret language known as sigi so is used by members of the men's society (awa ) in connection with religious rites. Kin Groups and Descent. Orientation The fundamental unit of Dogon social organization is the patrilineage, or ginna. Kado), a Fulbe word meaning "stranger" or "pagan.". Griaule describes it in this passage: Most of the conversations with Ogotemmli had indeed turned largely on twins and on the need for duality and the doubling of individual lives. He is responsible for the creation of three other subordinate beings, the worship of which is the basis of several totemic cults. The blacksmith performs the circumcision. One example: 'If a Sirius-C is ever discovered and found to be a red dwarf, I will conclude that the Dogon information has been fully validated. Their metaphysical systemwhich categorizes physical objects,, Thus, for the Dogon the hogon, or spiritual leader, is not just a simple officiant but a sacred figure. She returns to her home at night. [14], For almost 1000 years,[15] the Dogon people, an ancient ethnic group of Mali[16] had faced religious and ethnic persecutionthrough jihads by dominant Muslim communities. It is advisable to hire a guide with a car as the area is remote. [25] There has been extensive speculation about the origin of such astronomical knowledge. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. The Mali landscape around Dogon (Spooner, J / CC BY 2.0 ). Historically, Dogon villages were established in the Bandiagara area a thousand years ago because the people collectively refused to convert to Islam and retreated from areas controlled by Muslims.[5]. Pern, Stephen (1982). The Dogon believes that the sacred serpent Lebe comes during the night to purify him and communicate wisdom to him. The Dogon religion was centered on this loss of twinness or androgyny. Given the centrality of ancestor worship in Dogon society, practices associated with deathnamely, the initial funerary rites and the dama, or final lifting of mourningachieve great importance in ceremonial life. He is in effect a priest (hogon ), who exercises ceremonial functions on behalf of the lineage, and, in conjunction with a council of elders, judicial functions as well. Dogon CultureProfane and Arcane . The curvilinear design and the accompanying child suggest a female. 23 Feb. 2023
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