African art and culture had been a driving inspiration to European modern artists like Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and Amedeo Modigliani, among others. I have written a book and several peer reviewed journal articles. But after this generation, human beings were usually born single. The cliffs and rocky terrain provided excellent protection from slave Because the word sewa is so commonly repeated throughout a Dogon village, neighboring peoples have dubbed the Dogon the sewa people. In referring to relatives, linguistic usage distinguishes between the forms of address and the specific relationship. However, the date of retrieval is often important. The Dogon religion was centered on this loss of twinness or androgyny. The key spiritual figures in the religion were the Nummo/Nommo twins. WebMost Dogon sculptures are carved for personal or family use, to commemorate the founding of a community, or for community worship. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000. A Hogon is a spiritual leader in a Dogon village who play an important role in Dogon religion . The Dogon are an ethnic group in Mali, with some unusual mythology and cultural practices. [15] These jihadic expeditions formed themselves to force the Dogon to abandon their traditional religious beliefs for Islam. 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. 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. WebThe Hogon must live alone in his house. Marriage. Retours au 'pays du reel'", Genevive Calame-Griaule: "On the Dogon Restudied". Ogotemmli classified the Nummo as hermaphrodites. Their images or figures appeared on the female side of the Dogon sanctuary. After initiation, he wears a red cap, and a pearl bracelet. Ogotemmeli taught Griaule the religious stories in the same way that Ogotemmeli had learned them from his father and grandfather; oral instruction which he had learned over the course of more than twenty years. 'Sigi' is a society-wide ritual to honor and recognize the first ancestors. Since the late 20th century, the Dogon have developed peaceful trading relationships with other societies and have thereby increased variety in their diets. 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. (2003), Wanono, Nadine & Renaudeau, Michel (1996), Hochstetler, J. Lee, Durieux, J. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/dogon, Beierle, John "Dogon [18] Griaule had lived amongst the Dogon people for fifteen years before this meeting with Ogotemmeli took place. [2] They speak the Dogon languages, which are considered to constitute an independent branch of the NigerCongo language family, meaning that they are not closely related to any other languages. WebStudy with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Sculpture Tellem, Mali. An enlarged family can count up to a hundred persons and is called guinna. Dogon art revolves around religious values, ideals, and freedoms (Laude, 19). [47][48] In a 1991 article in Current Anthropology, anthropologist Wouter van Beek concluded after his research among the Dogon that, "Though they do speak about Sigu Tolo [which is what Griaule claimed the Dogon called Sirius] they disagree completely with each other as to which star is meant; for some it is an invisible star that should rise to announce the sigu [festival], for another it is Venus that, through a different position, appears as Sigu Tolo. Demography. Today, at least 35% of the Dogon practice Islam. Often the buildings are so close to one another that the floors of some houses begin where the roofs of adjacent ones end. The Dogon are a group of about 250,000 people who live primarily in the districts of Bandiagara and Douentza in the western African nation of Mali. Morton, Robert (ed.) The smiths have important ritual powers and are characteristically poor. This page was last edited on 16 February 2023, at 14:24. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? Dogon art consists primarily of sculptures. The other factor influencing their choice of settlement location was access to water. The mausoleum was built during the reign of Timur, the ruler of the Timurid Empire. When a woman leaves her husband, she takes with her only the youngest childthe remaining children stay with the husband's family. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? Until the masqueraders have completed their dances, and every ritual has been performed, any misfortune can be blamed on the remaining spirits of the dead (Davis, 68). AtAncient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. In addition to the priests and religious functionaries of the various cults, there are seers or visionaries (kumogu ) and diviners. The colour white was a symbol of males. Due to the expense, the second traditional funeral rituals, or "damas", are becoming very rare. A hogon is a religious figure as well as a temporal authority; the hogon may be hereditary or may be chosen from among the village elderscustom varies from place to place. 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. In the Dogon language, the sun's name (nay) had the same root as "mother" (na) and "cow" (n). Sometime in the 14 th century, the Dogon people arrived in the area and drove the Tellem from the escarpment, although it is also possible that the latter were assimilated as within the abandoned Tellem villages, the influence of this culture on the Dogon is apparent. It is thus mysterious that there are so few references to the planets in ancient literature. 23 Feb. 2023 . In Dogon thought, males and females are born with both sexual components. Another 10% practices Christianity. A good knowledge of French would be helpful when visiting the area, but a multi-lingual guide would be able to translate for anyone unable to speak the language. Dogon lineage is patrilineal, meaning Dogon damas include the use of many masks, which they wore by securing them in their teeth, and statuettes. The Dogon are primarily agriculturalists and cultivate millet, sorghum and rice, as well as onions, tobacco, peanuts, and some other vegetables. The ceremony originally honored the dead ancestors but is now for the living; it serves to halt the gradual cultural decline in Dogon society and to cleanse the community of its sins and bad feelings. Elaborate ceremonial stools of this kind were owned by the hogon, the supreme religious and political leader in each Today, at least 35% of the Dogon practice Islam. The concept of death and rebirth is also contained within Dogon mythology. Every Dogon village or clan has its own totem. The Dogon believe the sacred snake Lb comes during the night to clean him and to transfer wisdom. 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. 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. [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. 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]. The 'Awa' is characterized by the intricate masks worn by members during rituals. Because of his solitary state, the first son of God acted as he did. This marks the end of their youth, and they are initiated. Paris: ditions Domat-Montchrestien, F. Loviton. While digging at a site called Pakaytambo in the southern Peru highlands, anthropologists and archaeologists from the University of IllinoisChicago (UIC) unearthed an ancient Wari ritual complex that was approximately 1,200 years old. [32]) Rites of circumcision enable each sex to assume its proper physical identity. The leather-workers engage in significant trade with other ethnic groups and accumulate wealth. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Expert Answer Introduction. Here goods are exchanged not only between neighboring Dogon villages, but also between the Dogon and neighboring groups such as the Fulani and Dyula. This leads linguists to conclude that Dogon is likely to have diverged from NigerCongo very early.[when?] The Awa is a masked dance society that holds ritual and social importance. "The dual soul is a danger; a man should be male, and a woman female. Religious Practitioners. Another 10% practices Christianity. 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. 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. In a recent overview of the NigerCongo family, Dogon is treated as an independent branch.[3]. This chief head is the oldest living son of the ancestor of the local branch of the family. Dogon religion and Dogon philosophy both expressed a haunting sense of the original loss of twin-ness. This was to prevent a being like the Jackal from ever being born on Earth again. During the danyim, masqueraders perform dances every morning and evening for any period up to six days, depending on that village's practice. A few villages also keep bees. Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System, The Gristhorpe Man: A Bronze Age Skeleton with a Story to Tell, 3: The Perfect Number - Trinity Symbolism in World Religious Traditions, Evidence that Noahs Ark Landed on a Mountain 17 Miles South of Ararat, The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts, The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend Part I, Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera Part I, Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations, The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures Part I, Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures Part I, The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription, The Dogons Extraordinary Knowledge of the Cosmos and the Cult of Nommo, Those Who Once Reigned: Experts Name Famous and Forgotten Ancient Gods, The Legend of How Mansa Abu Bakr II of Mali Gave up the Throne to Explore the Atlantic Ocean, https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=084681896, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/africa/article/dogon-cultureprofane-and-arcane/47CD44EC412C57D64B141529BD52F19B, https://journals.openedition.org/articulo/417, Petra Historic World Heritage Site Blasted By Flash Floods, The Classical Gardens of Suzhou: A Sight to Behold, Denizens of South Africas Cradle of Humankind: The First Walking Apes, The Unfinished Timurid Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, The Magnificent Citadel of Erbil - A True Archaeological Sandwich, Kunta Kinteh - The African Island at the Heart of the Slave Trade. Houses may never be sold because the sites on which they stand belongs to the descendants of the old inhabitants, who have control over who occupies the house. [6][7] Archaeological and ethnoarchaeological studies in the Dogon region have been especially revealing about the settlement and environmental history, and about social practices and technologies in this area over several thousands of years. [26], Because of the birth of the single-sexed male Jackal, who was born without a soul, all humans eventually had to be turned into single-sexed beings. Formally, wives join their husband's household only after the birth of their first child. Other authors have argued that previous 20th-century European visitors to the Dogon are a far more plausible source of such information and dispute whether Griaule's account accurately describes Dogon myths at all. Dogon society is organized by a patrilineal kinship system. A new 'sigi' is started every 60 years. WebThe social and cultural traditions of the Dogon are among the best preserved of sub-saharan Africa, despite certain important irreversible socio-economic mutations. & E.I.K. Durieux-Boon (2004). The most ancient dialects are dyamsay and tombo, the former being most frequently used for traditional prayers and ritual chants. The problem of "twin births" versus "single births", or androgyny versus single-sexed beings, was said to contribute to a disorder at the beginning of time. 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. Heaven on Earth? Whether on the high plateau, the cliff-faces, or on the plain, the Dogon have exploited all the elements available to build their villages that reflect their ingenuity and their philosophy of life and death. In certain cultural areas, the Dogon villages comprise numerous granaries, for the most part square with a thatched tapering roof. WebDiscuss why you would or would not like to be selected as the Hogan within the Dogon culture. Other fauna include crocodiles (in the swampy areas on the plain), reptiles, monkeys, guenons, guinea hens, hyenas, foxes, panthers, rabbits, and small rodents. After being chosen, a hogon must pass through several months without washing or shaving. [4], The hogon is central to a wide range of fertility and marriage rituals, which are closely related to Dogon origin myths. Socialization. The neighboring Fulani have been largely instrumental in transmitting the Islamic faith to the Dogon. ); Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture, probably an ancestor figure; 17th18th century; wood; height: 59cm (23 in. Man in Peru Caught Out Drinking With an 800-year-old Mummy! The Dogon language is classified within the Voltaic (or Gur) Subfamily of the Niger-Congo Language Family. After initiation, the Hogon wears a red fez. 32, No. Unlike norms for the rest of society, parallel-cousin marriage is allowed within castes. Linguistic Affiliation. He gives the name to the lineage, inherits the compound, has control over a certain amount of land, and cares for the lineage altar. [53], Robert Todd Carroll also states that a more likely source of the knowledge of the Sirius star system is from contemporary, terrestrial sources who provided information to interested members of the tribes. They were one of the last people in West Africa to lose their independence and come under French rule.[18]. The first wife, or ya biru, holds a higher position in the family relative to any wives from later marriages. As human beings were usually born single any wives from later marriages usage distinguishes between forms! Of God acted as he did 23 in recent overview of the original loss of twinness or androgyny one. 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