| Society-DOGON The Dogon are an ethnic group located mainly in the administrative districts of Bandiagara and Douentza in Mali, West Africa. Their territory extends from approximately lat. 13 1/2 degrees-15 degrees N by long. 1 1/2-4 degrees W. This area is composed of three quite distinct topographical regions: the plain, the cliffs, and the plateau. Within these regions the Dogon population of about 250,000 (ca. 1965) is most heavily concentrated along a 90-mile stretch of escarpment called the Cliffs of Bandiagara. This provides a rather spectacular physical setting for villages built up on the sides of the escarpment. The Dogon language has been classified within the Voltaic (or Gur) subfamily of the Niger-Congo language family (Greenberg 1966: 8, 162, 165). The people call themselves Dogon or Dogom (sing., Dogo), but in the older literature they are most often called Habe (sing., Kado), a Fulbe word meaning "stranger" or "pagan." The Dogon are primarily agriculturalists, their principal crops being millet, sorghum, rice, onions, beans, tobacco, and sorrel. They are also arboriculturalists. The Dogon keep herds of goats and sheep along with some cows and poultry. Hunting contributes little to the diet since game in the area is scarce. Fishing is done once a year as a collective venture. According to their traditional history, ancestors of the Dogon migrated to the area which they now inhabit some time around the tenth century. These ancestors were four brothers, Dyon, Ono, Arou, and Domno. Inhabitants of different regions claim kinship with one of these four brothers. The Dogon have a system of social stratification similar to numerous other societies of the West African Sudan. The distinctive feature is a hierarchical series of occupational "castes" or status groups consisting of workers in iron, wood, and leather, as well as the griots. The griots function as lineage genealogists, musicians, and poets and are evidently believed to be sorcerers as well. Caste members live apart from the agriculturalists in either a special quarter reserved for them, or outside of the village, or in villages of their own. Each caste is endogamous and the members do not participate in the common religious cults. Dogon villages, usually in groups of about 5 or 6, are concentrated around water holes and referred to as "cantons" or regions. Village organization is kin-based within the overall framework of exogamous patrilineal lineages (gina). The fundamental unit of Dogon social organization is the localized patrilineage or lineage segment. The basic residential unit is the conjugal family household (gina), usually composed of a polygynous family group (i.e., a man, his wives, and their unmarried children). It is not clear from the data whether or not these household groups are organized into extended patrilocal families. Paulme (1940: 246) simply says that marital residence is patrilocal in the village of the man's father, often within the same village quarter. According to Palau Marti (1957: 58), the larger gina (i.e., lineages) are divided into several tire togu, but it is ambiguous as to whether or not these are sublineages or extended patrilocal families. In any event, there is some clustering within villages of patrilineally-related households. The senior male of the local lineage group, who is called the gina bana, occupies a larger-than-ordinary house (also called gina), and houses of other lineage members are associated with his household. Several family compounds make up a quarter or togu. All villages have at least one togu na, a shelter where the men gather, and a Lebe shrine. The localized patrilineage (gina) owns houses and agricultural fields, has its own altars and ceremonialism, and its own burial place. The lineage head, gina bana, is the oldest living male descendant of the common ancestor of the lineage. The primary responsibility of the gina bana is to conduct ceremonies. In addition, he presides over a council of elders made up of all the adult men of the group. The council and the gina bana settle family disputes, administer the property, and send representatives to the village council. The region is an agglomeration of several villages which, according to Paulme (1940: 25), share "a unity of a triple order, at once geographic, linguistic, and ethnic." The geographic unity stems from the grouping of the villages around water holes. Each region has its own distinct dialect, some of which are considerably different from each other. Ethnic unity derives from the fact that all members of the region claim kinship with a common ancestor, who was responsible for founding the first village in the region. The oldest direct descendant of the founder is called the hogon. The hogon is the chief of the region and, along with a council of elders made up of the gina bana, rules over the affairs of the region. The regulatory functions of this group include policing, the levying of taxes, and the administration of justice. The hogon also has important priestly functions. There are age brotherhoods known as tumo among the Dogon. Initiations into the brotherhoods are conducted every three to four years. The most distinctive function of the tumo is the performance of the batono rite. This rite takes place during the sowing festival and the same-age brotherhood performs it 9 or 12 years in succession. Paulme states that although the importance of the age brotherhoods was decreasing, age as a status factor had always been and continued to be very important. The men's society among the Dogon controls the cult of the masks (Awa). The men's society is characterized by a strict etiquette, obligations, interdicts, and a secret language. All young men are instructed in the cult of the masks. Women and children are strictly excluded. In addition, selected young men, the olubaru, are given additional instruction. They are the ones who will have the life-time duty of preserving the traditions of the masks. The olubaru are initiated in a Sigi ceremony, which is celebrated once every 60 years. The masks perform every year during the 4 weeks which precede the sowing festival, at the Sigi ceremony, and during the preparation for a dama festival (the ceremony for lifting the mourning period). Besides the cult of the masks, there are three other principal cults among the Dogon. In the public plaza of every village there is an altar of Lebe. The Lebe cult is associated with the agricultural cycle and its chief priest is the hogon. The cult of Binu is often referred to as totemic. We observe it in the essential characteristics of this institution: existence of exogamous totemic clans, the members of the clan having the same name and respecting the same animal (or vegetable) prohibition. ...The prohibitions are transmitted in the paternal line and are in keeping with exogamy [Paulme 1940: 109]. The cult of Binu is also associated with the agricultural cycle, and sacrifices are offered at cult altars during the agricultural season. The cult of the ancestors is associated with gina. The purpose of the rituals is to establish and maintain good relations between the dead and the living. The gina bana is in charge of the ancestor cult. Culture summary by Marlene M. Martin and Robert O. Lagace Greenberg, Joseph H. The languages of Africa. Bloomington, Indiana University, 1966. Palau Marti, Montserrat. Les Dogon [The Dogon]. Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1957. 12, 122 p. illus., maps. Paulme, Denise. Organisation sociale des Dogon (Soudan francais) [Social organization of the Dogon (French Sudan)]. Paris, Editions Domat-Montchrestien, F. Loviton et Cie., 1940. 603 p. illus. 7840 | |
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