noun, plural Do·gons, (especially collectively) Do·gon for 1. a member of a group of Indigenous people of the mountains of central Mali. the Gur language of the Dogon.
What is the meaning of the word Dogon?
1 : a member of a people of Mali noted for their sculpture .
What do the dogons believe?
While some villages have adopted Islam or Christianity, a large percentage of Dogon are animists who believe in the importance of a synergy between the spiritual world of gods and ancestors , and the living world of plants, people, and animals.
Where do the Dogon originally come from?
The ancestors of the Dogon came from Mande, an area in southwest Mali and northeast Guinea that was home to the thirteenth-century Mali empire. The Dogon migrated after the empire's collapse to the cliffs of the Bandiagara plateau.
What is Dogon cosmology?
Dogon traditions describe the cosmos as two disks forming the sky and earth connected by a tree . The supporting figures represent the founding ancestors in their descent from sky to earth.
What religion are the Dogon tribe?
Fewer than half the Dogon are Muslim, and fewer still are Christian . Most practice traditional religion.
Is Dogon a religion?
Culture and religion. Today, at least 35% of the Dogon practice Islam . ... Dogon society is organized by a patrilineal kinship system. Each Dogon village, or enlarged family, is headed by one male elder.
Why did the Dogon leave Egypt?
Essentially untouched by outside cultures, they have been able to maintain independence from external influence and continue a civilization that is believed to have begun before 3000 B.C.. Evidence suggests that the Dogon migrated from ancient Egypt to their present location to escape a forced conversion to Islam in ...
What language does the Dogon tribe speak?
Dogon language, language of the Niger-Congo language family spoken by some 600,000 Dogon people in northeastern Mali to the east of Mopti and along the border between Mali and Burkina Faso.
How old are the Dogon?
Early history is informed by oral traditions, which claim that the Dogon originated from the west bank of the Niger River (10th to 13th centuries) . They emigrated west to northern Burkina Faso, where local histories describe them as kibsi.
Why is Sirius called the Dog Star?
Sirius is well known as the Dog Star, because it's the chief star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog . ... The early stargazers might have imagined the double-whammy of Sirius and the sun caused the hot weather, or dog days. In ancient Egypt, the name Sirius signified its nature as scorching or sparkling.
Is Sirius a 2 star?
Sirius is a binary star
What are Dogon masks made out of?
Following a death, Dogon peoples bury the dead immediately. They dance emina, masks carved from wood and woven from hibiscus fiber , as part of a sequence of rites that are conducted for men long after they are buried.
What do Dogon people wear?
Dogon masks , such as this one called kanaga, are worn primarily at dama, a collective funerary rite for Dogon men. The ritual's goal is to ensure the safe passage of the spirits of the deceased to the world of the ancestors.
How big is the Dogon tribe?
The Dogon number about 600,000 , and the majority of them live in the rocky hills, mountains, and plateaus of the Bandiagara Escarpment. They are mainly an agricultural people; their few craftsmen, largely metalworkers and leatherworkers, form distinct castes.
What is the significance of the masks and costumes of the Dogon dances?
The highly revered Dogon masks are worn to mark occasions throughout the year. The masks, according to the Dogon serve as a connection between heaven, which is the afterlife and earth . One of the most popular dance rituals is the “dama”.
