Mali. Part II. The DogonMap
May The east of Mali is inhabited by the Dogon, a people with a tradition of incredibly lengthy greetings. Two people can pass each other on their way and continue their greetings until they’re out of earshot and can no longer hear the other’s answers.
A short greeting: Then the person who has been answering the questions can ask a round in turn.  The Dogon way of life has remained unchanged for many centuries. The fruits of civilization are scarcely seen here.  Water is drawn up from a well by hand.  The first settlements in this area were established 1000 years ago.  Very little has changed since then.  The Dogon live in clay houses with thatched roofs which look like something out of a fairy tale.  The smaller houses are for grain storage.  The mosques are also made out of clay with distinctive protruding logs. Every year, the male population plasters the houses with a new layer of clay after the rainy season.  The village’s supply of brushwood and hay is stored above the ground to keep it out of goats’ reach. The space underneath is used by the men as an area to resolve disputes. The Dogon believe that all disputes must be resolved peacefully; if someone gets agitated and jumps up, they’ll hit their head on the low ceiling, which will quickly cool their temper. When there’s nothing to dispute, people simply lie in the shade.  A rural market.  A guy sleeping on a foosball table.  The street.  A jovial old woman with a bucket of water.  Preparations for a wake.  A souvenir shop which hasn’t seen a single customer in the past month.  There are baobabs growing everywhere.  A forked log with steps carved into it is used as a stepladder.  Girls pounding grain.  Children running in a cave.  Rural life.  All of life’s questions are answered with the help of a fox divination field. If Grandma Gladys has a problem, she goes to her local specialist, who asks her a series of detailed questions and sets up twigs on a rectangular field of sand to represent people, objects and so on. Then all of this is left out overnight. At night, the fox comes and makes a path through the sand. The following morning, the specialist interprets the tracks and explains what to do.  There’s a rumor in the village that the white man has paid a hundred dollars to see the traditional dance which requires fifty people in masks. People head towards the main square.  The music starts to play. The dance begins.  It’s very important for the dancers not to be identified. No one is allowed to take off their mask.  Some of the masks are three meters tall.  No one worked.  |
