The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of the country of Mali, in the West of the African continent. They migrated to the region around the 14th century CE. They are best known for their religious traditions, wooden sculpture, architecture, and funeral masquerades. The past century has seen significant changes in the social organization, material culture, and beliefs of the Dogon, partly because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions. Dogon art is primarily sculptural and revolves around religious values, ideals, and freedoms. Dogon sculptures are not made to be seen publicly and are commonly hidden from the public eye within the houses of families, sanctuaries, or the hogon (a spiritual leader of the Dogon people). The importance of secrecy is due to the symbolic meaningbehind the pieces and the process by which they are made. Dogon sculptures are typically characterized by an elongation of form and a mix of geometric and figurative images. Themes found throughout Dogon sculpture consist of figures with raised arms, superimposed bearded figures, horsem*n, stools with caryatids, women with children, figures covering their faces, women grinding pearl millet, women bearing vessels on their heads, donkeys bearing cups, musicians, dogs, quadruped-shaped troughs or benches, figures bending from the waist, mirror-images, apron-wearing figures, and standing figures.
Dogon art is extremely versatile, although common stylistic characteristics—such as a tendency towards stylization—are apparent on the statues. Their art deals with Dogon myths, whose complex ensembles regulate the life of the individual. The sculptures are preserved in innumerable sites of worship and personal or family altars, and often render the human body in a simplified way, reducing it to its essentials. The Dogon style has evolved into a kind of cubism: ovoid head, squared shoulders, tapered extremities, pointed breasts, forearms and thighs on a parallel plane, and hair stylized by three or four incised lines. Dogon sculptures serve as a physical medium in initiations and as an explanation of the world. They serve to transmit an understanding to the initiated, who will decipher the statue according to the level of their knowledge. Carved animal figures, such as dogs and ostriches, are placed on village foundation altars to commemorate sacrificed animals, while granary doors, stools, and house posts are also adorned with figures and symbols. Kneeling statues of protective spirits are placed at the head of the dead to absorb their spiritual strength and to be their intermediaries with the world of the dead, into which they accompany the deceased before once again being placed on the shrines of the ancestors.
FAQs
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. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000.
What is the Dogon religion called? ›
The Binou (or Binou cult) is a Dogon totemic, religious order and secret ceremonial practice which venerates the immortal ancestors. It can also mean a water serpent or protector of a family or clan in Dogon.
What is unique about Dogon? ›
The Dogon people are known for their legends about their origins and knowledge about space and extraterrestrials. The Dogon people are also famous for their intricately carved wooden masks and dance rituals for the deceased, a ritual known as the dama.
What is the Dogon culture in Mali? ›
They are mainly an agricultural people; their few craftsmen, largely metalworkers and leatherworkers, form distinct castes. They have no centralized system of government but live in villages composed of patrilineages and extended families whose head is the senior male descendant of the common ancestor.
Who is the god Dogon? ›
Amma is the Dogon creator god. The oldest ancestor to which Dogon mythology refers, Lébé Séru (or Lebe Seru) gave birth to two sons. The eldest fathered the tribes: Dyon, Domno (or Domdo), and Ono.
What is the myth of the Dogon tribe? ›
Dogon religion and creation mythology says that Nommo was the first living creature created by the sky god Amma. Shortly after his creation, Nommo underwent a transformation and multiplied into four pairs of twins. One of the twins rebelled against the universal order created by Amma.
What is the spirituality of the Dogon people? ›
While some villages have adopted Islam or Christianity, a large percentage of Dogon are animists who believe in the importance of a synergy between the spiritual world of gods and ancestors, and the living world of plants, people, and animals.
What Dogon means? ›
Definition of 'Dogon'
1. a member of a group of indigenous people of the mountains of central Mali. 2. the Gur language of the Dogon.
How old are the Dogon people? ›
The Dogon people of Mali are believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, though they have stories of traveling from the Mande kingdom. What is known for sure is that they settled along the sandstone cliffs by the Bandiagara Escarpment probably during the 15th or 16th century.
What is the 60 year ritual in Dogon? ›
Members of the "Society of Masks" perform rituals to guarantee that a person's "life force" will flee from his or her corpse to a future relative of the same lineage. One of the most famous Dogon rituals is the Sigi -- a series of rituals performed once every 60 years.
The Dogon are farmers. Their main crop is millet, planted at the start of the rainy season. Other crops include rice, beans, peas, peanuts, and sesame. The Dogon divide the land into communal and private plots.
Why do the Dogon wear masks? ›
Following a death, Dogon peoples bury the dead immediately. They dance emina, masks carved from wood and woven from hibiscus fiber, as part of a sequence of rites that are conducted for men long after they are buried.
What astronomical knowledge did the Dogon tribe have? ›
The Dogon people have a rich astronomical knowledge which includes detailed descriptions of the stars and planets. They are said to have known about the existence of the planet Jupiter and its four major moons, as well as the planets Saturn, Mars and Venus.
What are the spiritual beliefs of Mali? ›
Religion in Mali is predominantly Islam with an estimated 95 percent of the population being Muslim, with the remaining 5 percent of Malians adhering to traditional African religions such as the Dogon religion, or Christianity.
What are Dogon houses? ›
Cliff Dwellings: One of the most iconic features of Dogon architecture is their cliff dwellings. The Dogon are known for constructing their homes on the face of cliffs and escarpments. These dwellings are made of mud and rock, often with multiple stories.
Did the Dogon tribe come from Egypt? ›
The Dogon people of Mali are believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, though they have stories of traveling from the Mande kingdom.
What language did the Dogon speak? ›
Dogon language, language of the Niger-Congo language family spoken by some 600,000 Dogon people in northeastern Mali to the east of Mopti and along the border between Mali and Burkina Faso.
Where is the land of Dogon? ›
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.
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