I View the full answer Previous question Next question Livestock, meat, onions, grain, various agricultural products, tobacco, cotton, pottery, and so forth are traded for milk and butter, dried fish, kola nuts, salt, sugar, and other European merchandise. Biographies - Hogon | African Religious Leader | Britannica 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. Wood, covered with sacrifical materials, Seated Couple, Dogon, Mali. Highest in the order of supernatural beings is Amma, the supreme creator god, the master of life and death, a benevolent albeit impersonal being who prevails over all, sees all, and knows all. The yingim consists of both the sacrifice of cows, or other valuable animals, and mock combat. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. One of its most distinctive features is the hierarchical series of occupational "castes" or status groups consisting of iron- and leatherworkers, griots (lineage genealogists), musicians, poets, and sorcerers. There are two endogamous castes in Dogon society: the smiths and the leather-workers. When a woman leaves her husband, she takes with her only the youngest childthe remaining children stay with the husband's family. Les dogon. The Animals are kept more as a symbol of wealth and prestige than for economic necessity. Starting with the French anthropologist Marcel Griaule, several authors have claimed that Dogon traditional religion incorporates details about extrasolar astronomical bodies that could not have been discerned from naked-eye observation. The Kanaga masqueraders, at one point, dance and sit next to the bundkamba, which represents the deceased. Other crops include sesame, maize, Archaeologists have been able to take a closer look at one of the United Kingdoms most famous shipwrecks. As sacred leader of the Lebe cult he oversees the important planting and 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. Among the Dogon, several oral traditions have been recorded as to their origin. 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. [23] They were symbolized by the colour red, a female symbol. Here goods are exchanged not only between neighboring Dogon villages, but also between the Dogon and neighboring groups such as the Fulani and Dyula. . The escarpment is rich in archaeological discoveries both from the Dogon and the earlier Tellem society. It is truly one of the most impressive regions in Sub-Saharan Africa . However, the date of retrieval is often important. It is likely that the Dogon of today are descendants of several groups of diverse origin who migrated to escape Islamization. The Dogon migrated after the empire's collapse to the cliffs of the Bandiagara plateau. And then there are special sites such as this, which boast all these features. This leads linguists to conclude that Dogon is likely to have diverged from NigerCongo very early.[when?] The series of dances, which constitute a good part of the Sigi, lasts for seven years; one village after another takes its turn to entertain its neighbors with feasting, drinking, and displays of wealth. Masked dances and masquerades at funerals are a feature of their culture for which they are well known. The danyim is held a couple of months later. About 10 percent of the Dogon are Christians. Every Dogon village or clan has its own totem. Such persons must submit to a number. 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. The Hogon is the spiritual and political leader of the village. Linguistic Affiliation. Orientation The wet season begins in June and continues through October, with cool and hot dry seasons the remainder of the year. [15] These jihadic expeditions formed themselves to force the Dogon to abandon their traditional religious beliefs for Islam. "Mythes et organisation sociale au Soudan franais". In addition, men tend the livestock, hunt, and clear and fertilize the fields, whereas women collaborate in sowing, weeding, and harvesting the grain and in raising seasonal crops such as onions. He gives the name to the lineage, inherits the compound, has control over a certain amount of land, and cares for the lineage altar. After initiation, he wears a red cap, and a pearl bracelet. European contact was first made in 1857. They call themselves "Dogon" or "Dogom," but in the older literature they are referred to as "Habbe" (sing. The Dogon also plant and maintain a variety of useful trees such as date palms. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Hogon live alone and should be celibate, but a village girl may act as a maid. After initiation, he wears a red cap, and a pearl bracelet. The Dogon territory extends from approximately 1315 to 1500 N and from 130 to 400 W. The population is concentrated in some 300 villages along a 145-kilometer stretch of escarpment called the Cliffs of Bandiagara. Women are forbidden from joining and prohibited from learning sigi so. Craft skills are well developed among the Dogon, especially the making of pottery and baskets, weaving, wood carving, and leather- and ironworking. The horse, symbolizing power and wealth, is In another case of natures wrath rearing its head, flash floods have struck the iconic world heritage site at Petra, Jordan, forcing the evacuation of 1,700 tourists . Current Anthropology, Vol. Two of the most specialized craftsleather- and ironworkingare restricted exclusively to members of a craft caste. [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. 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. 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. 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. The increase in the number of visitors to the area in recent years has done wonders for tourism, but has sadly damaged the environment and this special cultural landscape. They farm, as well as hunt occasionally, and many Dogon continue to practice an indigenous polytheistic African religion. Encyclopedia.com. Some of the most beautiful sights to see in China are the classical Suzhou gardens. The Dogon are primarily agriculturalists and cultivate millet, sorghum and rice, as well as onions, tobacco, peanuts, and some other vegetables. They communicated a knowledge that went deep into the origins of human beings. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Dogon moved into the region of the Bandiagara escarpment in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, probably as a result of the breakup of the Mali Empire at the beginning of the fifteenth century. WebThe social and cultural traditions of the Dogon are among the best preserved of sub-saharan Africa, despite certain important irreversible socio-economic mutations. The Dogon dialects are highly distinct from one another and many varieties are not mutually intelligible, actually amounting to some 12 dialects and 50 sub-dialects. Each caste is endogamous, and members do not take part in any of the common religious cults. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? [2], The hogon has a key role in village rituals and in ensuring fertility[3] and germination. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. [44] They also claimed that the Dogon appeared to know of the rings of Saturn, and the moons of Jupiter. On average, a village contains around 44 houses organized around the 'ginna', or head man's house. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! WebDogon or Tellem peoples (?) Death is conceived as the separation from the body of the two parts that make up the personalitythe nyama, or vital life force, and the kikinu say, or soul. Of the many fascinating fossil sites in Africa, an important one is the Cradle of Humankind outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. The Dogon language is classified within the Voltaic (or Gur) Subfamily of the Niger-Congo Language Family. Paulme, Denise (1940). 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. The fundamental unit of Dogon social organization is the patrilineage, or ginna. Each village celebrates for around a year before the 'sigi' moves to the next village. Houses are built extremely close together, many times sharing walls and floors. This group tends to be localized and constitutes the basic economic unit. 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. Then the Dogon who has entered the contact repeats the ritual, asking the resident how his or her whole family is. Palau Marti, Montserrat (1957). A. This announces the entrance of persons wearing the masks used in this ceremony, while the deceased's entrance to his home in the family compound is decorated with ritual elements (Davis, 7273). It is obvious to any astronomer that some of the brightest objects in the night sky are the planets. The degree of complexity of the ceremonies depends upon the age and status of the deceased male. Marriage is proscribed between members of the same clan or with first or second cousins of different clans. The yingim and the danyim rituals each last a few days. Due to the expense, the second traditional funeral rituals, or "damas", are becoming very rare. Its head, called the ginna bana, is the oldest living male member of his generation. In the shadowy world of ancient warfare, one weapon stood out as a true marvel: Greek fire. 16th-20th Century. The funerary ceremonies of the Dogon consist of two parts: the initial rites, which take place immediately following death and continue for about a week, and the more elaborate dama rites that terminate the mourning period after an indeterminate period of time. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). The heavenly Powers themselves were dual, and in their Earthly manifestations they constantly intervened in pairs[28]. Dogon lineage is patrilineal, meaning Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. 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". In 1995, gravitational studies indeed showed the possible presence of a brown dwarf star orbiting around Sirius (a Sirius-C) with a six-year orbital period. The ritual language, "Sigi so" or "language of the Sigui", which was taught to male dignitaries of the Society of the Masks ("awa"), was considered a poor language. 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]. The Dogon are best identified for their religious traditions, the mask dances, wooden Because of his solitary state, the first son of God acted as he did. The other factor influencing their choice of settlement location was access to water. . Religious Practitioners. Between 2010-2012 I worked in the Limerick City Archives. Interest in other seemingly falsifiable claims, namely concerning a red dwarf star orbiting around Sirius (not hypothesized until the 1950s), led him to entertain a previous challenge by Temple, asserting that "Temple offered another line of reasoning. WebThe Hogon must live alone in his house. The Dogon are 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. When Digitaria is closest to Sirius, that star brightens: when it is farthest from Sirius, it gives off a twinkling effect that suggests to the observer several stars. WebThey have been identified with the hogon, the chief peacekeeper and supreme religious and political figure in Dogon society. (February 23, 2023). "[46], More recently, doubts have been raised about the validity of Griaule and Dieterlen's work. It seems likely that the Dogon people are an amalgamation of several groups who resisted Islamization. Once a boy is circumcised, he transitions into young adulthood and moves out of his father's house. 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. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. This enigmatic figure is an ancestor figure from the Dogon people of Mali. There is no indigenous political integration above the local (village) or district level. "hogon | African religious leader | Britannica", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hogon&oldid=1122616271, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 November 2022, at 14:57. Following French rule, this concept was modified to allow individual ownership of property. Craft specialization is determined by gender and caste. Africa, 38(1), 16-25, Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/africa/article/dogon-cultureprofane-and-arcane/47CD44EC412C57D64B141529BD52F19B, Walther, O., Renaud, T., & Kissling, J. Also effective as means of inducing conformity are ridicule and threats of supernatural sanction. 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. ); Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture, probably an ancestor figure; 17th18th century; wood; height: 59cm (23 in. Thegoal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Dogon art consists primarily of sculptures. 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. Each Dogon village may differ in the designs of the masks used in the dama ritual. ." 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. The leather-workers engage in significant trade with other ethnic groups and accumulate wealth. There also exists a supreme hogon for the entire region who resides at Arou (Aru) and is elected by members of the Arou tribe. The virgin is replaced by one of his wives, and she also returns to her home at night. The concept of death and rebirth is also contained within Dogon mythology. Women may leave their husbands early in their marriage, before the birth of their first child. Divorce is not uncommon; it occurs most often in polygynous households. (2008). In referring to relatives, linguistic usage distinguishes between the forms of address and the specific relationship. 'Sigi' is a society-wide ritual to honor and recognize the first ancestors. 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. I have written a book and several peer reviewed journal articles. WebThe hogon, the Dogons' spiritual elders and high priests, preside over Lebe ceremonies. However, even in polygynous marriages, it is rare for a man to have more than two wives. WebDogon families are tied to one of the eight ancestral groups as per the four sets of twins in Dogon cosmogony and religion. Today, at least 35% of the Dogon practice Islam. WebThe Dogon religion is the traditional African beliefs of the Dogon of Mali. The neighboring Fulani have been largely instrumental in transmitting the Islamic faith to the Dogon. Medicine. Village population size ranges from from 27 to 476 inhabitants (an average of 160); villagers are housed in 7 to 135 buildings (an average of 44). 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. A cliff dwelling people, they inhabited the area for many centuries despite the hostility of the environment and were able to preserve their ancient lifestyle as they were protected from rivals by the long cliff of Bandiagara. 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). Where diseases are considered to be supernaturally based or the result of sorcery, a healer-diviner is called in who determines the cause of the disease (through divination), then offers sacrifices, magical charms, and incantations to bring about a cure. He has an armband with a sacred pearl that symbolises his function. This practice has been passed down for generations and is always followed, even during winter. Above the lineage is the much larger kin group called the clan, from which the various lineages emerge. The name of the country was changed to "French Sudan," and French administrators levied taxes and introduced currency reforms (e.g., French francs to replace the native cowrie shells). After his election, he has to follow a six-month initiation period, during which he is not allowed to shave or wash. There are two major events at which the Awa perform: the 'sigi' ritual and 'dama' funeral rituals.[35]. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. The "Sigi so" was used to tell the story of creation of the universe, of human life, and the advent of death on the Earth, during both funeral ceremonies and the rites of the "end of mourning" ("dama"). It was held once every sixty years and allegedly celebrated the white dwarf star, Sirius B. The Dogon are a wonderful and unique culture. Dogons originated for the first time from the West bank of Niger around 1490 The Chilling Mystery of the Octavius Ghost Ship, What is a Wendigo? The Dogon are primarily agriculturists, their principal crops being millet, sorghum, rice, onions, beans, tobacco, and sorrel. Their eyes were red, their tongues forked, and their arms flexible and unjointed.[21]. The clitoris is considered male, while the foreskin is considered female. [37] Women have no right to learn Sigui So. 35 Issue 2. Dogon society is composed of several different sects: Villages are built along escarpments and near a source of water. A younger brother is first in line to inherit all collective property, followed by the eldest son. During this time, new masks are carved and dedicated to their ancestors. Not on view. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? It is thus mysterious that there are so few references to the planets in ancient literature. Social Organization. In Dogon thought, males and females are born with both sexual components. A hogon is a spiritual leader in a Dogon village who plays an important role in Dogon religion. 32, No. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. The blacksmith, set apart by his caste, has no rights in the village and lives entirely on the proceeds of the sale of his goods to other villagers. [5], The hogon may conduct rituals in the Sanctuaire de Binou, a special building the door of which is blocked with rocks. Masks used during the yincomoli ceremony include the Yana Gulay, Satimbe, Sirige, and Kanaga.

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