| Page Views: 1,438 Last Visit to Yougopiri: January, 2003 | DOGON by F_Meignant - last update: Oct 29, 2003 |
Geography and History | Map of the Dogon Country. |
The Dogon Country is made of 5 main regions : the Plateau, a very rocky and wild area ; the Cliffs and its mass of fallen rocks, which is the most famous part ; the Plain, where are the gardens and wells; the Dune, made of ochre sand; and then the Bush where the cattle stands.
The main villages are the famous Bandiagara, Sangha, Bankass in the Plain and, historically, Yougo.
This last village is where the masks start from for the major Dogon feast, the Sigui, that takes place every 60 years and lasts 7 years. Next Sigui will take place in 2027. Be ready to go… if you’re still alive…!
The village of Yougo is divided in 3 areas: Yougo-piri on the North side of the Yougo mountain; Yougo-dougourou on the South side; and Yougo-na in the plain below.
One peculiarity of Dogon: the name has no plural. Dogon are 350 000 and constitute an entity. |
| Crocodiles in the sacred pond of Amani. |
|  | The origin of the Dogon is still uncertain. They came from the North-West across the Niger River. A legend says that they crossed the large river on crocodiles’ backs. Since that time; crocodiles are sacred for the Dogon and some of them still live in ponds here and there. In the reality, they probably crossed the river with the help of Bozos… on long pirogues looking like crocodiles.
Dogon and Bozos consider themselves as brothers. A proverb says that a Bozo is at home in a Dogon village and vice-versa. And a rule says that they must never fight. |
| Tellem houses in the Fault of Yougo-dougourou. |
| | The Dogon arrived in the XIIIth century. According to the legend, they were pushed by warriors on horses. These warriors were probably Fulani who were promoting Islam in the region while the Dogon were Animists and initially refused Islam.
The Dogon found a shelter in the cliffs. Here, they met another people who was living there since the XIth century: the Tellems.
Dogon and Tellems cohabited at least 2 centuries. Then, the Tellems disappeared mysteriously… According to Dogon, they left the region, went South and became the Pygmies. According to some historians, they were exterminated by the Songhaïs in the XVIth century. According to others, they were simply absorbed by the Dogon population. |
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| Pros: | "Landscape, culture, people..." | | Cons: | "Maybe warmth..." | | In A Nutshell: | "Magical." |
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 Comments for F_Meignant about Yougopiri | | | | |
GillianMcLaughlin Wed Mar 31, 2004 17:32 UTC
Salut Francois... j'ai adore cette page! Quel voyage fascinant! | Ivan_Jimenez Wed Mar 10, 2004 19:56 UTC
Tourists... always trying to save pennies in the really important things and then wasting it on stupid souvenirs. .. | cadzand Thu Jan 22, 2004 21:55 UTC
Wonderful impressions of a wonderful people and their habits. You made me dream away...... and feeling "homesick" | ATLC Sat Dec 13, 2003 16:07 UTC
Truly an amazing page. I think this is the most exotic I have read so far on VT. |
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