Dogon country offers beautiful views of vast plains rolling into the rugged cliffs of the Bandiagara Escarpment.
The escarpment, a sandstone cliff, rises about 500 meters above the lower sandy Gonodo plains to the south. Approximately 150 kilometers long and the highest peak rising 1,115 meters, the escarpment offers shelter to the Dogon people as well as a unique cultural tourism experience.
The Nyame, the picturesque river, runs along the eastern side of the town of Bandiagara. Pink and orange sand dunes can be seen at the bottom of the escarpment on the way to Indeli. Trekking through the region one can spot onion fields, Baobab trees, and red rocks. Sacred crocodiles are harbored near the Amani village.
There are many beautiful species of birds in Dogon country. Please have a look at them in the following 4 documents: birds 1, birds 2, birds 3, birds 4.
Consult here the list of medicinal plants in Dogon Country.
(Informations gathered by the Mission culturelle of Bandiagara)
If there is one West African culture that has become legendary in the western world, it is the Dogon of Mali. Dogon country (Pays Dogon) has been classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its rich civilization. The Dogon are known for their art, especially their masks which are used in their complex rites and rituals. Their history is marked by the will and stubbornness to remain authentic and preserve their traditional way of life. Despite the diversity of their dialects, they are of great ethnic cohesion.
They believe in a God called Ama and remain faithful to their ancestral beliefs. The Dogon live in a mysterious world of symbols, signs, hieroglyphics, colors, and emblems. Objects - a language without words - lay down man’s relationship to the world: the reign of the sacred. Thanks to their adherence to their traditions (dialects, dance, music, worship, ritual practices,parties and so on), ancestor worship and animism are still very present among the Dogon people.
The Dogon are rich in their differences. However, they are linked to a single cultural heritage that provides a history with a very strong identity. Dogon country is not solely populated by Dogon: Bambara and Peul also live there. The official language remains French, although few people speak French well within Dogon country.
Bulo Festival
Every year between May and June, the people of Dogon country celebrate the animist New Year, or Bulo. The Bulo is an agrarian festival that launches the beginning of the rainy season and millet cultivation. This celebration is characterized by masked dances, traditional ceremonies, and overflowing canaries of millet beer.
During the months of February to April there are various funeral ceremonies, or damas, commemorating but also serving as an offering to ancestors, represented by extraordinary and elaborate masked dances during the day and by night women’s dances, songs, and rituals to demonstrate the magical powers possessed by some individuals.
Sigi Festival
Another extraordinary event of the Dogon people is the Sigi festival. It is a the most important animist ritual celebrated every sixty years. Given the Dogon’s cosmology, it has been considered to coincide with the apparition of the Sirius B or Dog star.
A particularly lucky Dogon person sees two Sigi in his or her lifetime, and hears a third sigi: the first in his/her mother’s womb, the second at middle age and the last in old age. The Sigi dance, called sigi melu, and music, are entrusted to the Initiatic Awa—a group that lifts mourning during central funeral rites. The next Sigi is anticipated in 2027, when the spirit of the Sigi unleashes itself from the village of Youga, the epicenter of the festivities that domino from village to village over the course of weeks.
According to the legend of the Tellem, the mysterious first inhabitants of the Dogon region were said to have magical flying powers. Some remains and artifacts of the Tellem are said to still be inaccessible high up on the cliffs of the escarpment.
Around the 15th century, the first Dogon families, the Dyon, Arou, Ono, and Dommo began to settle into the Bandiagara Escarpment. Led by a dog they settled near Kani Bonzon. Tourists can still visit the remains of this original site.
Another site marked by a Dogon legend is Ende Tourserele. Tou means ‘rock’ and Serele is the name of the 12 year-old girl who lost her sanity when the large baobab tree she was collecting wood from turned into solid rock. Ende Tourserele can be seen when leaving Ende in the direction of Bagourou.
Traditional Dogon architecture throughout a Dogon village consists of a series of unique and exceptional mud buildings. The granaries, or mud pillboxes, have distinctive thatch roofs shaped like a witch’s hat and are created to hold the owner’s possessions. The Dogon mosques are built in traditional Sudanese style, plastered with mud, and incorporate facades decked with stylistic features and triangular patterns.
The togu na, the center of the Dogon village, is a shelter for men that incorporates eight posts to symbolize the original Dogon ancestors. Small, orate one-chamber buildings called Binou shrines are used for keeping peace with the spiritual world. Cemeteries line the cliff-face of the escarpment and can be accessed by ladders.
The Dogon still practice an ancient dance tradition, called the Dama memorial, which marks the passing of village elders. Often lasting as long as three days, these ceremonies involve dozens of dancers representing spirits from the animal kingdom and underworld.
These days, examples of Dogon dance can be arranged (in much shorter form) by local tour operators, if given enough advance notice. Be prepared to pay for these command performances, as the cost of preparing the elaborate costumes and coordinating the dance can be quite substantial.
A special dance with masks takes place every two or three years after the harvest of millet, sorghum, cotton and onions. These dances also take place at the return of a successful hunt or when several people have died in a village.
The musical ensemble is composed of voices and various percussion instruments: the drum-gourd, the great drum, the small drum, armpit drum and the whistle. The voice is divided into several categories: the soloist who sings the song and the chorus that repeats in unison. One by one, wooden masks painted in bright colors and decorated with cowries, form into a circle. Then one by one the individuals occupy the center through an acrobatic dance. In turn, the hunters, antelope, rabbit, buffalo, kanaga, waders all enter the circle. It is one of the most impressive performances in the world.
The Dogon are widely renowned for the quality and artistic achievement of their arts and crafts, many of which have deep cultural significance.
Dogon masks, for example, are intricately carved works prized by collectors as quintessential examples of the West African artistic tradition. Dogon sculptures are mainly used as physical representations of the spiritual forces that make up Dogon mythology and belief system. Used to represent fertility, ancestry, and animal spirits, sculptures commonly adorn granaries, homes, and places of worship in contemporary society.
The most typical crafts found in Pays Dogon are the Dogon dance masks and sculptures. Traditional Dogon shutters and doors are also very interesting because they symbolic representation of village ancestors. The oldest statues in Dogon are recognizable by their elongated forms. These highly stylized figures represent a character that throws his arms skyward. The Dogon creator god is Ama. There are eight primary ancestors of Ama called Nommo. Sculptures of Nommo have a sinuous bodies and serpentine lower parts.