hogon within the dogon culture

35 Issue 2. 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. The masqueraders dance on the rooftops of the deceased's compound, throughout the village, and in the area of fields around the village (Davis, 68). 15th19th century. Domestic slavery existed before colonization but is now forbidden by law. 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. Since the late 20th century, the Dogon have developed peaceful trading relationships with other societies and have thereby increased variety in their diets. 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). . Despite globalization, there are still a few places in the world which are home to cultures unlike any other. The Awa is a masked dance society that holds ritual and social importance. Question: Discuss why you would or would not like to be selected as the Hogan within the Dogon culture. The extensive escarpment runs for over 93 miles (150 km) and it is between 300 and 900 feet (100 - 500 meters) high. Hogon live alone and should be celibate, but a village girl may act as a maid. There are at least five distinct groups of dialects. Today, at least 35% of the Dogon practice Islam. During this time, new masks are carved and dedicated to their ancestors. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. WebMost Dogon sculptures are carved for personal or family use, to commemorate the founding of a community, or for community worship. It contained only about a quarter of the full vocabulary of "Dogo so", the Dogon language. ); Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture, probably an ancestor figure; 17th18th century; wood; height: 59cm (23 in. The circumcision is celebrated and the initiated boys go around and receive presents. Marriage is proscribed between members of the same clan or with first or second cousins of different clans. The human story begins in Africa. All the rites and ceremonies involve, in varying degrees of complexity, offerings and sacrifices, mock battles, and the prominent display of the carved masks (generally through their use in the elaborate dances of the masked society). Man in Peru Caught Out Drinking With an 800-year-old Mummy! The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. The concept of death and rebirth is also contained within Dogon mythology. Women are forbidden from joining and prohibited from learning sigi so. Identification. He has an armband with a sacred pearl that symbolises his function. 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. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. The newly circumcised youths, now considered young men, walk around naked for a month after the procedure so that their achievement in age can be admired by the tribe. He wears white clothes and nobody is allowed to touch him. "The jackal was alone from birth," said Ogotemmli, "and because of this he did more things than can be told. Division of Labor. Paulme, Denise (1940). They speak the Dogon languages, which are considered to constitute an independent branch of the 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. In the 7th century AD, the Byzantine Empire harnessed the power of fire with the creation of Greek fire, a weapon of destruction unlike any before its time. Their bodies are treated [50] An independent assessment is given by Andrew Apter of the University of California. In the event of a divorce, the woman takes only the youngest child with her, and the rest remain as a part of the husband's household. The Dogon are strongly oriented toward harmony, which is reflected in many of their rituals. The Dogon religion was centered on this loss of twinness or androgyny. Houses are built extremely close together, many times sharing walls and floors. 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. WebDiscuss why you would or would not like to be selected as the Hogan within the Dogon culture. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. After completion of the dama, the soul departs from the world of the living and goes to the great god Amma. The spread of Islam throughout Africa has brought about some degree of change in the basic religious orientation of the Dogon. ETHNONYMS: Kareang, Kariang, Kayin, Pwo, Sgaw, Yang Another 10% practices Christianity. They are Nommo, the "son of Amma," generally considered a water spirit; Lebe, the incarnation of the earth and its fertilizing properties; and Yurugu, the mythical representative of fallen man. From the mythical stroy of creation from the Dogon culture, hogon is seen as the spiritual leader of the Dogon social culture. From 1931 to 1956, Griaule studied the Dogon in field missions ranging from several days to two months in 1931, 1935, 1937 and 1938[39] and then annually from 1946 until 1956. 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. 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. & E.I.K. Durieux-Boon (2004). [40] In late 1946, Griaule spent a consecutive 33 days in conversations with the Dogon wiseman Ogotemmeli, the source of much of Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen's future publications. In addition to the priests and religious functionaries of the various cults, there are seers or visionaries (kumogu ) and diviners. They chose to migrate to the area, refusing to convert to Islam, and they still remain fiercely protective of their culture. WebThey have been identified with the hogon, the chief peacekeeper and supreme religious and political figure in Dogon society. Also regional and dialect group names: Chinbok, Chinbon, Dai, Kuku, Lai (s, Karen I have written a book and several peer reviewed journal articles. The cliffs and rocky terrain provided excellent protection from slave 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. The historical pattern included the murder of indigenous males by raiders and enslavement of women and children. WebAlthough the Dogon recognize the creator god Amma as the Supreme Being and address prayers and sacrifices to him, the core set of beliefs and practices focuses on ancestor Social Organization. ETHNONYMS: Chelofes, Galofes, Guiolof, Gyloffes, Ialofes, Iolof, Jalof, Jolof, Olof, Ouoloff, Valaf, Volof, Wollufs, Yaloffs, Yolof Unlike norms for the rest of society, parallel-cousin marriage is allowed within castes. 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. Linguistic Affiliation. The yingim consists of both the sacrifice of cows, or other valuable animals, and mock combat. 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. 16-19th century. A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire, New Moai Statue Found on Chiles Easter Island Excites Researchers, Curious Mussel Shell Arrowheads in Norways Mountains Confound Archaeologists, 2,000-Year-Old Roman Phallus Could Be Oldest Known Sex Toy, Huge Wari Empire Temple from 800 AD Unearthed in the Highlands of Peru, What is Shambhala? Each village is composed of one main lineage (occasionally, multiple lineages make up a single village) traced through the male line. Omissions? Dogon society is organized by a patrilineal kinship system. 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". The Dogon are In conjunction with the council of elders, he makes decisions concerning public affairs. He was eaten by another nommo, and their spirits merged; the nommo vomited out a new Lebe (part human and part spiritual), plus copious liquid which shaped the landscape.[7]. Dogon funeral rituals come in two parts. Dieterlen, G., 1955. The Beast with an insatiable Hunger for Human Flesh, Film Footage Provides Intimate View of HMS Gloucester Shipwreck, Top 8 Legendary Parties - Iconic Celebrations in Ancient History, The Spanish Inquisition: The Truth Behind the Black Legend (Part II), The Spanish Inquisition: The Truth behind the Dark Legend (Part I), Bloodthirsty Buddhists: The Sohei Warrior Monks of Feudal Japan, Caesars Savage Human Skewers Unearthed In German Fort. 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. Davis, Shawn R. Dogon Funerals in African Art; Summer 2002, Vol. The degree of complexity of the ceremonies depends upon the age and status of the deceased male. Dogon sculptures are not made to be seen publicly, and are commonly hidden from the public eye within the houses of families, sanctuaries, or kept with the Hogon (Laude, 20). There are over 200 Dogon villages across the escarpment and each village has a democratically elected headman (Hogon), who is also their spiritual leader. Gathering activities involve the collecting of wild fruits, nuts and berries, various seeds, leaves, tubers and roots, and honey. Encyclopedia of World Cultures. The problem of "twin births" versus "single births", or androgyny versus single-sexed beings, was said to contribute to a disorder at the beginning of time. Both sexes market, fish, and gather wild foods. African art and culture had been a driving inspiration to European modern artists like Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and Amedeo Modigliani, among others. Although this headman is considered to be the direct descendant in the senior male line of the traditional founder, all the other inhabitants of the village/district also bear patrilineal kinship ties to that traditional ancestor. It was held once every sixty years and allegedly celebrated the white dwarf star, Sirius B. WebThe 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 lineage is patrilineal, meaning The Cliff of Bandiagara (or Land of the Dogons) in Mali is an outstanding landscape and has earthen architecture that seems to defy the laws of nature and the passing of time. Griaule encouraged the construction of a dam near Sangha and persuaded the Dogon to cultivate onions. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In general, Dogon kinship terminology is characterized by a classificatory system of "vocatives," terms of reference based on politeness and respective age of the interlocutor, and a descriptive system expressed by "determinatives," by means of which a third person is apprised of the relationship that exists between the speaker and the individual addressed. Marriages are endogamous in that the people are limited to marry only persons within their clan and within their caste.[29]. They farm, as well as hunt occasionally, and many Dogon continue to practice an indigenous polytheistic African religion. 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. A hogon is a religious figure as well as a temporal authority;[1] the hogon may be hereditary or may be chosen from among the village elderscustom varies from place to place. "[24] Dogon males were primarily associated with the single-sexed male Jackal and the Sigui festival, which was associated with death on the Earth. WebThe hogon, the Dogons' spiritual elders and high priests, preside over Lebe ceremonies. Masks used during the yincomoli ceremony include the Yana Gulay, Satimbe, Sirige, and Kanaga. Each village celebrates for around a year before the 'sigi' moves to the next village. Each caste is endogamous, and members do not take part in any of the common religious cults. Migrate to the great god Amma practice an indigenous polytheistic African religion indigenous polytheistic African religion, lineages... Or visionaries ( kumogu ) and diviners loss of twinness or androgyny prohibited from learning sigi.. The Dogon language concerning public affairs so '', the chief peacekeeper supreme... Fruits, nuts and berries, various seeds, leaves, tubers and roots and! 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