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]
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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
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.[citation needed]
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.
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]
^ abSilverman, Raymond, Museum as Process: Translating Local and Global Knowledges, Routledge (2014), p. 189, ISBN9781317661931 (retrieved March 25, 2020) [3]
^United States. Department of State, Niger, Post Report, U.S. Department of State (1985), p. 13, [4]
^St gelais, Remi; Landry, Denise; Mali : Culture mythique en pays Dogon à Youga Nah Falaise, Ulysse (2012), p. 6 ISBN9782765805458 (retrieved March 25, 2020) [5]
^ abBedaux, 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[6] (retrieved March 15, 2020)
^photos & texte : Huib Blom, esquisses : Arian & Anneke Blom, p.2 (PDF) dogon-lobi.ch (retrieved March 15, 2020)
^Haour, Anne; Manning, K.; Arazi, N.; Gosselain, O.; African Pottery Roulettes Past and Present: Techniques, Identification and Distribution, Oxbow Books (2010), p. 3, ISBN9781842178737 (retrieved March 25, 2020) [7]
^*Griaule, Marcel (1970, (original 1965)), Conversations With Ogotemmêli: an Introduction To Dogon Religious Ideas , p. 97, ISBN978-0-19-519821-8
^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
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