|
Click to recommend this page:
| |
The Dogon people moved to the Bandiagara Escarpment in the 15th century,
successfully escaping Muslim expansion and preserving their traditions
and culture. Dogon farmers have created green oases around their cliffside
villages by constructing irrigation channels. The contain are the Dogon
ancestral burial caves, which span over a thousand miles of the escarpment.
This construction appears identical to those found in the southwestern
United States, where the Anasazi Indians lived over a thousand years ago.
While the Anasazi ruins, like Hovenweep
or Mesa Verde, are few and abandoned long ago, the Dogon still occupy and
continue to build the same cliff dwellings today.
The Dogon have an ancient and complex cosmology based on a single god, Amma,
who created the sun, moon, and the stars. Interestingly, the Dogon always
believed that the Earth was round and circled the Sun. It has also been
found that they believed there are eleven planets in the solar system,
and that they originally came from the star cluster Sirius.
Their artistic designs in woodcarvings and masks had a major influence
on modern art, including Picasso. Their dances include over 80
varieties of masks, depending on the type of celebration.
Every three years, the Dogon round up all the boys over the age
of 12 who have not yet been circumcized, and begin the ritual of
passage to manhood. High in the cliffs, there is a special place
where boys are seated on a special stone where chop! and a
week-long tradition of teachings and exercizses prepares the
young men for adulthood. It is here where they are taught ancient
rules for social and all other forms of conduct in the village. They
also perform tasks, such as playing musical instruments, throwing
stones, and not crying during the big snip.
Click to recommend this page:
|
|
