Dogon country

Dogon country (French: Pays Dogon) is a region of eastern Mali and northwestern Burkina Faso populated mainly by the Dogon people, a diverse ethnic group in West Africa with diverse languages. Like the term Serer country occupied by the Serer ethnic group, Dogon country is vast, and lies southwest of the Niger River belt. The region is composed of three zones: the plateau, the escarpment and the Seno-Gondo plain.[1][2][3]

The Bandiagara cliff and its view of the plain.

In Mali, this historic region belongs to the Mopti Region and extends on either side of the Bandiagara Escarpment. Dogon country in Mali is the most visited tourist area of the country, due to the Dogon people's rich cultural heritage.[2][3] Sangha, Mali is the heart of Dogon country with its rich history of Dogon religion, shrines and temples.[4][5]

Landscapes

Starting from the Niger River in a south-eastern direction, towards Burkina Faso, we successively meet three types of landscapes in Dogon country: plateau, cliff and plain.

Plateau

The region is a vast sandstone plateau rising gradually from the river to the cliff. It is on this plateau that Bandiagara, the “capital” of Dogon country is established.

Cliff

Its often almost vertical wall faces Burkina Faso. With a height varying from 100 to around 400 m, it overlooks the Seno plain, which is between 250 and 300 m above sea level.

It is about 200 km long and oriented from southwest to northeast starting from Ségué in the south, and ending in Douentza in the north. The altitude increases from south to north until it reaches 791 m near Bamba, Koro.

It is the emblematic place of the country and its main center of tourist attraction.

Plain

Located at the foot of the cliff, the Séno-Gondo plain stretches to the Burkinabé border.

Archeology

The Dogon country has many vestiges of ancient habitat from successive periods of occupation. From the ancient Toloy and Tellem, to the Dogon.[6]

There is the rocky channel located near Sangha where the remains of the Toloy were found, such as granaries, skeletons, pottery and plants, with a carbon-14 dating of 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.[6][7][8]

Religion and festivals

The Dogon religion is the traditional African beliefs of the Dogon of Mali. Those who follow this spiritual path believe in one Supreme Creator, Amma (or Ama[9]),[10] the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Creator.[11]

They also believe in ancestral spirits such as the Serpent Ancestor Lebe, and the "Water Spirits" Nommo.[12] Veneration of the ancestors forms an important aspect of Dogon religion. They hold ritual mask dances immediately after the death of a person and sometimes long after they have passed on to the next life.[13] Twins, "the need for duality and the doubling of individual lives" (masculine and feminine principles) is a fundamental element in their belief system. Like other traditional African religions, balance, and reverence for nature are also key elements.[14]

Many Dogons have also converted to Islam recently despite centuries of fleeing persecution and Islamization from other dominant communities.

Villages

Most Dogon villages are located within Mopti Region, Mali. The tables below list the number of villages by Dogon language group as of 2004. All of the villages and cercles listed below are located within Mopti Region, with the exception of Tominian Cercle in Ségou Region.[15] However, due to the presently ongoing Mali War that had begun in the early 2010s, some of the villages in the region may have already been abandoned.

Distribution of Dogon villages in Bandiagara Cercle
CommuneNumber of villages by Dogon subgroup (2004)
Bandiagara34 Donno-sɔ, 9 Mombo, 1 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 1 Tomo-kan
Kendié29 Bondum, 14 Dogulu, 13 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 5 Tiranige-diga
Ningari47 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 5 Bondum, 3 Nanga
Kani-Gogouna30 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 14 Dogulu, 12 Donno-sɔ, 1 Tɔrɔ-sɔɔ
Goundaka15 Mombo, 3 Bangime, 2 Korandabo, 1 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 8 Tiranige-diga
Sangha74 Tɔrɔ-sɔɔ, 7 Donno-sɔ, 1 Jamsay
Dourou12 Donno-sɔ, 4 Tɔrɔ-sɔɔ
Ouo57 Tomo-kan, 12 Ampari
Distribution of Dogon villages in Koro Cercle
CommuneNumber of villages by Dogon subgroup (2004)
Koro24 Jamsay, 19 Togo-kan, 14 Tɔrɔ-sɔ, 4 Teŋu-kan, 2 Tomo-kan
Diankabou24 Jamsay, 15 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 6 Yanda, 3 Oru Yille, 3 Tɔrɔ-sɔ, 1 Nanga
Dinangourou19 Jamsay
Dioungani32 Jamsay, 8 Tɔrɔ-sɔɔ, 1 Togo-kan
Madougou48 Tɔrɔ-sɔɔ, 28 Jamsay, 1 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 1 Togo-kan
Koporokénié-Na32 Togo-kan, 1 Jamsay, 1 Tɔrɔ-sɔɔ, 1 Teŋu-kan
Toroli30 Togo-kan, 3 Teŋu-kan, 1 Jamsay
Distribution of Dogon villages in Bankass Cercle
CommuneNumber of villages by Dogon subgroup (2004)
Bankass12 Teŋu-kan, 10 Tomo-kan
Kani-Bonzon24 Tomo-kan
Diallassagou57 Tomo-kan
Ségué45 Tomo-kan
Baye2 Tomo-kan
Sokoura15 Tomo-kan
Ouenkoro4 Tomo-kan
Distribution of Dogon villages in Douentza Cercle
CommuneNumber of villages by Dogon subgroup (2004)
Douentza26 Bondum, 28 Tɔmmɔ-sɔ, 10 Jamsay
Mondoro15 Jamsay
Boré28 Bondum
Boni12 Tɔrɔ-tegu
Distribution of Dogon villages in Tominian Cercle, Ségou Region
CommuneVillages by Dogon subgroup (2004)
Timissa10 Tomo-kan
Koula4 Tomo-kan, 1 Ampari

In addition, there is one Tomo-kan village in Djenné Cercle.[15]

Biodiversity

The irregularities of the rocky plateau generate very high concentrations of water, which means that, beyond a typical Sahelian vegetation, extremely arid zones can rub shoulders with all kinds of lush green oases, pockets of extraordinary biodiversity.

Each microclimate in the region offers a unique assortment of medicinal plants and tree species with significant value for the population, such as shea, the locust bean, Faidherbia albida, the tamarind, African palmyra palm, and the baobab.[16]

The Dogon country also has many bird species.[17][18]

Insects

Dogon ethnoentomology has been thoroughly documented by Jeffrey Heath. The following are various types of insects that are well known to the Northern Dogon people.[19]

Beetles
Diptera (flies)
True bugs
Bees and wasps
Ants
Grasshoppers
Neuroptera (antlions, etc.)


Mantises (such as Eremiaphila reticulata), earwigs (such as Forficula senegalensis), termites (such as Macrotermes subhyalinus), and many other types of insects are also found in Dogon Country. Lepidopteran species are diverse, including Agrius convolvuli and many pearl millet and sorghum pest species.[20]

Among non-insect arthropods, the scorpions Androctonus amoreuxi (a common house scorpion) and Pandinus imperator (black emperor scorpion, locally called the "horse scorpion"), which are non-insect arthropods, are also common in the region.[19] Spiders include Galeodes olivieri. Ticks include Hyalomma impeltatum and Rhipicephalus turanicus. Millipedes include Archispirostreptus sp., and centipedes include Scolopendra sp.[20]

See also

References

  1. Dogon, Huib Blom (2010), pp.11, 18, (retrieved March 25, 2020) ISBN 9782839907255
  2. Velton, Ross, Mali: The Bradt Safari Guide, Bradt Travel Guides (2009), pp. 159, 187, ISBN 9781841622187 (retrieved March 25, 2020)
  3. Silverman, Raymond, Museum as Process: Translating Local and Global Knowledges, Routledge (2014), p. 189, ISBN 9781317661931 (retrieved March 25, 2020)
  4. United States. Department of State, Niger, Post Report, U.S. Department of State (1985), p. 13,
  5. St gelais, Remi; Landry, Denise; Mali : Culture mythique en pays Dogon à Youga Nah Falaise, Ulysse (2012), p. 6 ISBN 9782765805458 (retrieved March 25, 2020)
  6. Bedaux, Rogier Michiel Alphons, « Tellem, reconnaissance archéologique d'une culture de l'Ouest africain au Moyen Âge : recherches architectoniques », Journal de la Société des Africanistes (1974), nº 42, p. 103–185 [in] Persée (retrieved March 15, 2020)
  7. photos & texte : Huib Blom, esquisses : Arian & Anneke Blom, p.2 (PDF) dogon-lobi.ch (retrieved March 15, 2020)
  8. Haour, Anne; Manning, K.; Arazi, N.; Gosselain, O.; African Pottery Roulettes Past and Present: Techniques, Identification and Distribution, Oxbow Books (2010), p. 3, ISBN 9781842178737 (retrieved March 25, 2020)
  9. Insoll, Timothy, Archaeology, Ritual, Religion, Routledge (2004), p. 123–125, ISBN 9781134526444 (retrieved March 3, 2020)
  10. Masolo (1994), pp. 70-71
  11. Hackett, Rosalind, Art and Religion in Africa, A&C Black 1(998), pp. 35-36, ISBN 9780826436559 (retrieved March 3, 2020)
    • Griaule, Marcel (1970, (original 1965)), Conversations With Ogotemmêli: an Introduction To Dogon Religious Ideas , p. 97, ISBN 978-0-19-519821-8
  12. Davis, Shawn R., Dogon Funerals [in] African Art, vol. 35, Issue 2, JSTOR (Organization), University of California, Los Angeles. African Studies Center, African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles (2002), p. 68
  13. Griaule, Marcel (1970, (original 1965)), Conversations With Ogotemmêli: an Introduction To Dogon Religious Ideas , p. 198, ISBN 978-0-19-519821-8
  14. Hochstetler, J. Lee; Durieux, J. A.; Durieux-Boon, E. I. K., eds. (2004). "Sociolinguistic Survey of the Dogon Language Area" (PDF). SIL International. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  15. Heath, Jeffrey. "Practical identification guide to plants of northern and east-central Mali".
  16. Heath, Jeffrey. "Guide to birds of Dogon country and northern Mali".
  17. "Pays Dogon", « La nature et biodiversité » [in] Dogoncountry.com (retrieved 25-03-2020
  18. Heath, Jeffrey. "Guide to insects, arthropods, and molluscs of northern Dogon country".
  19. Christfried Naumann & Tom Güldemann & Steven Moran & Guillaume Segerer & Anne-Maria Fehn & Robert Forkel (eds.) 2020. Tsammalex: A lexical database on plants and animals. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Further reading

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