We visited another village to see the famous paintings on the walls of its circumcision cave, high above the settlements. There the ritual is performed every three years, often in a mass ceremony. At the cave entrance, we were stopped and told that Judi, our sound engineer and a dark-complexioned black Briton, could not enter the sacred place. No African women are Read the rest of this entry »
DIARY: DOGON CIRCUMCISION CAVE
August 11th, 2009GRIOT : ORAL STORYELLING TRADITION
August 11th, 2009
Griots are a caste of people within Mande society who are responsible for the maintenance of oral traditions, both local and epic, in speech and song. Mande society (defined by a related group of languages) includes such modern ethnic groups as the Bozo, the Soninke, the Malinke, the Bambara, and many other peoples currently living in Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and neighboring countries. Within court structures, griots supply a legitimizing narrative of rulers’ genealogies and retain memorized records of their deeds. Today, many members of griot families have become pop stars both within West Africa and Read the rest of this entry »
WONDERS: THE DOGON PEOPLE
August 11th, 2009
According to oral tradition, the Dogon people of south-central Mali originated near the headwaters of the Niger River, and fled their homes sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries because they refused to convert to Islam. However, the Voltaic language of the Dogon suggests a more ancient presence in their present-day homeland. They inhabit a rugged and isolated environment where cliffs protected the group from outside invaders, including French colonialists and missionaries.
Traditionally, the extended patrilineal family forms the basic social Read the rest of this entry »