GRIOTS

Fanta a griot singing at an engagement party

The griots are above all professionals who represent as a group, a well-defined social caste. Their role is multifaceted: as historians and genealogists, they are the chief repositories of the history of a region, its designated chroniclers. As musicians, their presence was traditionally required at all celebrations and rituals. Although the griot caste is among the lowest in the social hierarchy...griots are nevertheless much admired for their talent, and they can make a great deal of money. Among them, one find the most virtuosic of singers and instrumentalists. Their education and training, exclusively oral, necessitates a lenghty apprenticeship under the direction of a teacher-most often the father, or an uncle. It is necessary to study for many years in order to master the technique of an instrument or to learn all the songs and histories, and master the ensemble work indispensable to the activities of the professional. Some griots are more or less sedentary, and their renown is confined to the limits of their village or territory. (In this case, the griot will also work at another job: fisherman, farmer, etc.) Other griots are itinerants, and their reputation and income can vary considerably.

The husband-to-be brings cola beans to the family of the wife-to-be, and then goes off somewhere else. This is apparently always the procedure: the couple to be wedded are never present at the festivities. So also here. The men are somewhere else, and all the women are gathered to distribute the cola nuts. The griots sing pretty words about different people at the party, who then stick money in their hands.

Photo by arriving at the horizon

Griots hail from West African countries - Mali, the Gambia, Guinea, Western Sahara and Senegal, and are present among the Mande peoples (Mandinka, Malinké, Bambara, etc.), Fulɓe (Fula), Hausa, Songhai, Tukulóor, Wolof, Serer, Mossi, Dagomba, Mauritanian Arabs and many other smaller groups.

Griot term is said to derive from the French translation of "guiriot" of the Portuguese word "criado," which means "servant." In the local African languages, griots are referred to by a number of names: jeli in northern Mande areas, jali in southern Mande areas, guewel in Wolof, gawlo in Pulaar (Fula), and igiiw (or igawen) in Hassaniyya Arabic. Griots form an endogamous caste, meaning that most of them only marry fellow griots and that those who are not griots do not normally perform the same functions that they perform.

Griots either sing or speak







West African aristocrats patronized griots, a group that belongs to an endogamous caste of historians, musicians, praise-singers, and mediators. Their accomplishments include a body of epics, legends, and lyrical songs; sophisticated and virtuosic instrumental and vocal traditions; and detailed oral histories sometimes going back a thousand years. West Africans today know the names of such kings and warriors as Sunjata Keïta, Kelefa Sané, Albouri Ndiaye, and Omar Tall because all of these figures had griots who composed laudatory songs and histories about them that subsequent griots have passed down to us today. As modern political and economic systems replaced the aristocratic systems of pre-colonial days, griots found patronage in the general public and their art became popularized. Thus, whereas the most famous pre-colonial griots were royal heralds, court entertainers, and praise-singers, the most famous griots today are recording artists, television announcers, and stage actors.

Traditionally, griots' most important functions centered on the arts of speaking. Griots' supernatural facility with words makes them indispensable at all important social functions. Their nearly unlimited verbal license gives griots not only a unique power to influence and exploit, but also a deep-rooted stigma.

Many Senegalese find the places, values, and personalities of griotism foreign and irrelevant. Griots who have preserved their vocation as performers and artists have consequently adapted their art, emphasizing the art of entertainment above the traditional art of the word. This is not to say that griots have by any means abandoned their verbal function; however, other functions less salient to the traditional identity of griots have begun to rival and often to surpass the importance of words. Griots' principal occupation now is the art of song, and perhaps the most commonly recognized mark of a griot today is an obsession with money.

Source: cosaan.keemtaan

CONTEMPORARY GRIOTS

Toumani Diabaté



BAABA MAAL


SALIF KEITA



OUMOU SANGARE

YOUSSOU NDOUR

GRIOT MUSIC VIDEOS

A Griot, Her Mother, and Tiken Jah

Griot Lamin Saho

TEXT SOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION
Griots of West Africa

http://www.lclark.edu/~nicole/SENEGAL/MUSICAL.HTM

DOGON PEOPLE OF BANDIANGARA

This is the kind of place people visit when they want to discover a different world; when they realise that you can eat burgers in McDonald's in Paris and drink coffee in Starbucks in Beijing, and that computers, movies and cellphones are ubiquitous.

-Naomi Schwarz for CNN Traveller

The Dogon are a cliff-dwelling people who live in the south of Mali. The Dogon population is most heavily concentrated along a 200 kilometer (125 mile) stretch of escarpment called the Cliffs of Bandiagara, near Timbuktu. These sandstone cliffs run from southwest to northeast, roughly parallel to the Niger River are reported to have arrived on the scene in the 14, and attain heights up to 600 meters (2000 feet). The Dogonth or 15th century, after fleeing their lands along the Niger river, refusing to convert to Islam. In their quest for new lands to inhabit, they displaced the Tellem people, whose cave-like homes are still intact high on the cliffs above the Dogon villages. The lower plains are shared with the Fulani people.

Cliffs of Bandiangara

Tucked under Bandiangara escarpment no one is sure what attracted them to this remote and inhospitable place and why they stayed. The cliffs provide a spectacular physical setting for Dogon villages built on the sides of the escarpment. There are approximately 700 Dogon villages, most with fewer than 500 inhabitants. Local Dogon historians explain the first man who came here found paradise trees, rabbits, water everywhere. But they also found dangerous things here such as the crocodiles.

No one knows how the crocodiles got there because they are miles away from the nearest rivers. Some allege that is the work of god because they have been there since the time their ancestors got there. Perhaps god did put them there and indeed they did find a sympathetic home with the Dogon. Crocodiles and Dogon's have a unique understanding in Dogon. The Dogon's feed the crocodiles. They are the totem of the village and it is forbidden to harm them and kill them. During the rainy season when there is drought the Dogon shaman asks for the crocodiles blessing and 2-3 days later it rains. For the Dogon every rock plant and animal is powerful spirit that must be respected.

The Dogon culture has remarkably survived the onslaught of outside influence from the French, the Muslims, and others who have attempted to conquer them over the years.

Thousands of visitors travel here each year and Dogon villagers also have access to modern technology. The older generation says traditions are dying and some blame tourism. But members of the younger generation say they can benefit from these changes without losing their culture. As the modern world encroaches on once-isolated spots, many minority cultures face this dilemma: how to adapt while holding on to their unique traditions. The Dogon at least have had considerable practice in revitalising their history

Dogon villages are concentrated around water holes, usually in groups of five or six. These groups are referred to as 'cantons' or regions, each with their own distinct dialect. Villages are organised around family groups, which run through the father's lineage. Each household usually consists of the man, his wives, and their unmarried children. The Dogon are known to be a polygamous culture however, most men have only one wife; and it is rare for a man to have more than two wives. Formally, wives only join their husband's residence unit after the birth of their first child. Women may leave their husbands early in their marriage, before the birth of their first child. After having children, divorce is a rare and serious matter, and it requires the participation of the whole village. Members of the extended family collectively are called guinna.

The Togna -meeting 'room' where the village leaders/elders meet to discuss village affairs. It is impossible to stand in this area and that is done for a reason. The elders have learned that often times when a discussion heats up people will rise in anger to make their point or counter someone else's point. Being forced by the environment to keep one's seat often leads to cooler heads and more fruitful debates.

The Dogon villages are communities are tightly-knit. A grouping of family compounds make up a Togu. All villages have at least one Togu Na, a shelter where the men gather and where disputes are settled, and a Lebe shrine. The Togu Na roofing comprises of three layers of millet (representing the plateau, the cliffs, and the plains). They are rebuilt every 60 years as part of a larger ritual.The oldest living descendant of the common ancestor of the lineage is called the Gina Bana. It is his primary responsibility to conduct ceremonies, as well as presiding over a council of elders made up of the adult men of the Togu.

A Hogon inside A Togu Na

The oldest direct descendant of the village founder is called the Hogon. He is considered to be the chief of the region, and together with the council of elders made up of the Gina Bana, presides over the policing, tax levies, and justice in the region. The Hogon also provides the link between the villagers and their ancestors. The Dogon are an intensely spiritual tribe, and look to their ancestors for guidance. Ethnic unity derives from all members of the region claiming kinship with a common ancestor, who was responsible for founding the first village in the region.

DWELLINGS

Hogon's Residence

The Dogon construct exceptional mud buildings. The Bandiagara features a unique architecture, ranging from thatched flat-roofed huts to distinctive tapering granaries. There are a series of cemeteries along the cliff-face, reached by ladders, where the Dogon bury their dead. The Pays Dogon area of Bandiagara has been designated a World Heritage site due to its cultural significance.

The Dogon tribe are highly skilled agriculturalists, having developed a unique irrigation system in an area known to be infertile and inhospitable. Their principal crops are millet, rice, beans, sorghum, sorrel, tobacco, and onions (introduced to the Dogon by a Frenchman at the turn of the century). They also keep herds of goats and sheep, along with some cows and poultry.

The Dogon have a hierarchical series of occupational 'castes' consisting of smiths, leather workers and griots. The griots function as lineage genealogists, musicians and poets. Caste members are segregated from the agriculturalists, living on the outskirts of Dogon settlements in autonomous communities of strict clan lineage with a ban on intermarriage. The members do not participate in the common religious cults although they take part in the Dama dances.

The smith is respected, and is believed to have supernatural powers due to his ability to make tools from iron and sculpture from wood. This is regarded as being a 'creator' and as such they are reported to be looked upon with 'suspicion'. In Dogon society, the smith is the symbolic mediator between the supernatural world and the human world. Only he and the Hogon have the right to intervene in communal disputes. He is the intermediary between men and their ancestors. The tools and carved images he creates function as vehicles by which fertility and support are obtained from the supernatural world. The leather worker is an intermediary in his function as merchant. He is the one who has contact with foreigners.

Male and female associations are entrusted with the initiations that take place by age group, corresponding to groups of newly circumcised boys or girls. The Dogon believe these operations remove the female element from males and vice versa. Circumcision thus creates a wholly male or female person prepared to assume an adult role. The blacksmith performs the male circumcision. Afterwards, they stay for a few days in a hut separated from the rest of the village people, until the wound has healed. The circumcision is a reason for celebration and the initiated boys goes around the village to receive presents.

Initiation of boys begins after their circumcision, with the teaching of the myths annotated by drawings and paintings in caves. The young boys learn the place of humans in nature, society, and the universe.

Dogon initiation cave painting

RELIGION

The majority of the Dogon tribe are Animists, although there is a significant minority of Dogon who have converted to Islam, and a small number to Christianity. Allegedly, when the Dogon left Egypt, they brought with them sacred knowledge in the form of oral traditions, perhaps handed down by the ancient priests of Egypt. The Dogon creation tale is laced with metaphors that are similar to other legends of creation throughout the world. According to Dogon mythology, Nommo was the first living being created by Amma, the sky god and creator of the universe. He soon multiplied to become four sets of twins. To the Dogon all things come in pairs - the sky and the earth, the sun and the moon, and many of the villages are actually two villages, two halves of one. The Nommo founded the eight Dogon lineages and introduced weaving, smithing, and agriculture to their human descendants.

Ritual is an integral part of Dogon culture. The Dogon rites reflect awareness of the harmony between the human spirit and nature. Their religion includes the ancestral spirit Nommo and Sirian mythology, and has evolved over thousands of years. The beliefs are complex and knowledge of them varies within Dogon society.

FOX DIVINER

In the sacred earth spaces to the Dogon, the Shaman draws long rectangular bars and very carefully places small pieces of wood and stones around and on small mounds of earth. The Shaman works just like an artist creating a profound masterpiece never looking up from his trance like state of concentration and focus. Then he sprinkles seeds over his earth painting. During the night a fox would come and hopefully walk across the earth painting about individuals. In the morning the shaman would "read" his own work and how the fox had created it's own story about the individual on the earth painting "reading" the paw prints. For this service the individual is asked to leave a little something so he can buy more peanuts at the market for the fox. Foreigners who have visited the shaman claim that that shaman readings about themselves as having been true and dazzled after this revealing experience.

DAMA

The Dogon are well-known for their masks which are used in various ceremonies and rituals. The masks are known as inima, and are believed to contain the life force, nyama. There are over 75 different kinds of masks used for ceremonies. Dogon masks is reported to rank among the most respected within the world of tribal art collections and have influenced such Western 20th-century artists as Picasso and Braque, and even the Cubist movement.

The Dogon continue an ancient Dama tradition, which commemorates the origin of death. Dama memorial ceremonies are held to accompany the souls of the deceased into the ancestral realm and to restore order to the universe. These dance ceremonies often last for three days and involve dozens of dancers representing figures from the animal world, as well as male and female powers, and the afterworld. The timing, types of masks involved, and other ritual elements are often specific to one or two villages and may not resemble those seen in villages only a few miles away. The masks also appear during baga-bundo rites performed by small numbers of masqueraders before the burial of an elder male Dogon. Without the Dama dance, the dead cannot cross over into the after life in peace.

MORE INFORMATION
Mali Official Tourism Website
Dogon Tourism
Behind the Mask CNN Traveller

Crystalinks Dogon
Unique Dogon Culture Survives in West Africa
The Road to Timbuktu
Dogon Dama


(THIS POSTING HAS MORE TO COME STILL)

DOGON ASTRONOMICAL GENIUSES OR WAS IT THE ALIENS FROM SPACE THAT TOLD THEM THE SECRETS OF THE STARS?

The Brightest of all Stars-Sirius

The Dogon are reputed for their astronomical knowledge taught through oral tradition, dating back thousands of years, referencing the star system, Sirius. Sirius is the dog star. It is linked with the Egyptian goddess Isis. The astronomical information known by the Dogon since that time, was not discovered and verified until the 19th and 20th centuries, making one wonder how the Dogon came by this knowledge. Their oral traditions say it was given to them by the Nommo. The source of their information may date back to the time of the ancient Egyptian priests.

In the late 1930s, four Dogon priests shared their most important secret tradition with two French anthropologists, Marcel Griaule and Germain Dieterlen after they had spent an apprenticeship of fifteen years living with the tribe. These were secret myths about the star Sirius, which is 8.6 light years from the Earth. The Dogon priests said that Sirius had a companion star that was invisible to the human eye. They also stated that the star moved in a 50-year elliptical orbit around Sirius, that it was small and incredibly heavy, and that it rotated on its axis. Initially the anthropologists wrote it off publishing the information in an obscure anthropological journal, because they didn't appreciate the astronomical importance of the information. What they didn't know was that since 1844, astronomers had suspected that Sirius had a companion star.

Dogon sand drawing of the complete Sirius system, after Marcel Griaule and Germaine Dieterlen. A, Sirius; B, po tolo, the object equated with Sirius B, shown in two positions; C, emme ya, the sun of women, equated with Sirius C; D, the Nommo; E, the Yourougou, a mythical male figure destined to pursue his female twin; F, the star of women, a satellite of emma ya; G, the sign of women; H, the sex of women, represented by a womb shape. The whole system is enclosed in an oval, representing the egg of the world.

This was in part determined when it was observed that the path of the star wobbled. In 1862 Alvan Clark discovered the second star making Sirius a binary star system (two stars). In the 1920's it was determined that Sirius B, the companion of Sirius, was a white dwarf star. White dwarfs are small, dense stars that burn dimly. The pull of its gravity causes Sirius' wavy movement. Sirius B is smaller than planet Earth.



The Dogon name for Sirius B is Po Tolo. It means star - tolo and smallest seed - po. Seed refers to creation. In this case, perhaps human creation. By this name they describe the star's smallness. It is, they say, the smallest thing there is. They also claim that it is 'the heaviest star' and is white in color. According to the mythological explanation, Po Tolo was the seed of the Milky Way galaxy and 'navel' of the entire universe.



In seeking to account for the remarkable accord between ancient Dogon legends and modern astronomical fact, several western observers allege that the Dogon were told about Sirius by extraterrestrial visitors a.k.a. aliens. According to Ian Ridpath in critiquing Robert Temple book the "The Sirius Mystery" had this to say:

..."Dogon legend, similar to many other tales by primitive people of visits from the sky, speaks of an "ark" descending to the ground amid a great wind. Robert Temple in his book "The Sirius Mystery" interprets this as the landing of a rocket-powered spacecraft bringing beings from the star Sirius."
Perhaps one would forgive Robert Temple for believing that the Dogon had been visited by men from Sirius if their legend specifically stated so. But it does not! Nowhere in his 290-page book does Temple offer one specific statement from the Dogon to substantiate his ancient astronauts claim.

It is all too easy for Westerners to think of African tribes as isolated, uneducated, and ignorant. But the Dogon are not isolated. They live near an overland trade route, as well as close to the banks of the Niger River, an important channel of trade. Any number of travelers could have come into their midst, or Dogon tribesmen could have journeyed to the coast, where they might have met astronomically informed seamen. The Dogon have been in contact with Europeans since at least the late nineteenth century.

... The point is that there are any number of channels by which the Dogon could have received Western knowledge long before they were visited by Griaule and Dieterlen. We may never be able to reconstruct the exact route by which the Dogon received their current knowledge, but out of the confusion at least one thing is clear: they were not told by beings from the star Sirius."

MORE ON THIS ARTICLE
INVESTIGATING THE SIRIUS MYSTERY

WHAT DO OTHERS SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK

Well the best judge on this book is YOU after you have read it. However this review below was interesting.....:))

Except for a few tantalizing facts here and there, the author's arguments are far-fetched, unconvincing, and terribly long-winded. He also includes long sections of personal experiences and complaints about his treatment by others that contribute absolutely nothing to advancing his hypothesis and even sound gossipy and a bit paranoid. Reading this book was something like being stuck sitting next to some guy who won't shut up on a 15-hour flight to Timbuktu. I can't recommend this book.

-Gary Yu Seoul, Korea

DJENNE

Djenné Great Mosque a.k.a Konboro Mosque

Djenné, the oldest known city in sub-Saharan Africa is situated on the flood lands of the Niger and Bani rivers, 354 kilometers southwest of Timbuktu. Founded by Soninke merchants around 800 AD, Djenné flourished as a meeting place for traders from the deserts of Sudan and the tropical forests of Guinea.

Roof top views of the city of Djenne.

Djenné was a renowned market place and a base for trans-Saharan trade as it was situated at the head of trade routes leading to gold and salt mines. Djenné, despite its proximity, was never part of the Mali Empire. It existed as an independent city-state protected by walls and the geography of the inland delta. In addition to its commercial importance, Djenné, was also known as a center of Islamic learning and pilgrimage, attracting students and pilgrims from all over West Africa. According to legend, the Mali Empire attempted to conquer the city 99 times before giving up. Djenné would not be conquered until 1473 by the Songhai Empire under Sonni Ali. The siege of Djenné is said to have lasted 7 months and 7 days culminating in the death of the city's king and its capitulation. The widow of the city married Sonni Ali, and peace was restored.

Djenné is currently an agricultural trade center, with several Muslim architectural sites, including the Konboro Mosque.

Market day at the Djenné Konboro mosque

Djenne's Konboro Mosque is the largest mosque in the world made of mud. Unlike most Mosques, Konboro is closed to non-Muslims. It is alleged that the reason for its closure to non Muslim was as a result of a secret filming for a documentary by western foreigners.

Students having Koran lessons outside the Mosque

Konboro Mosque dominates the large market square of Djenné. Tradition has it that the first mosque was built in 1240 by the sultan Koi Kunboro, who converted to Islam and turned his palace into a mosque. Very little is known about the appearance of the first mosque, but it was considered too sumptuous by Sheikh Amadou, the ruler of Djenné in the early nineteenth century. The Sheikh built a second mosque in the 1830's and allowed the first one to fall into disrepair. The present mosque, begun in 1906 and completed in 1907, was designed by the architect Ismaila Traoré, head of Djenné's guild of masons. At the time, Mali was controlled by the French, who may have offered some financial and political support for the construction of the mosque and a nearby religious school.

Market scene by the mosque
Photo by Jorge Tutor

The Great Mosque is built on a raised plinth platform of rectangular sun-dried mud bricks that are held together by mud mortar and plastered over with mud. The walls vary in thickness between sixteen and twenty-four inches, depending upon their height. These massive walls are necessary in order to bear the weight of the tall structure and also provide insulation from the sun's heat. During the day, the walls gradually warm up from the outside; at night, they cool down again. This helps the interior of the mosque to stay cool all day long. The Great Mosque also has roof vents with ceramic caps. These caps, made by the town's women, can be removed at night to ventilate the interior spaces.

Inside the mosque

The repair or maintenance of the Great Mosque is carried out by the senior masons, who also coordinate the annual spring re-plastering. Many of the inhabitants of Djenné work to prepare banco (mud mixed with rice husks) for the event. It may be compared to a community fair.

Djenné's masons have integrated palm wood scaffolding into the building's construction, not as beams, but as supports for the workers who apply plaster during the annual spring festival to restore the mosque. In addition, the palm beams minimize the stress that comes from the extreme temperature and humidity changes that take place during the year. The facade of the mosque has the same structure and building materials as a traditional house in Djenné and includes three massive towers, each topped with a spire capped by an ostrich egg (these ostrich eggs symbolize fertility and purity).

Although the Great Mosque incorporates architectural elements found in mosques throughout the Islamic world, it reflects the aesthetics and materials used for centuries by the people of Djenné. Its use of local materials, such as mud and palm wood, its incorporation of traditional architectural styles, and its adaptation to the hot climate of West Africa are expressions of its elegant connection to the local environment. Such earthen architecture, which is found throughout Mali, can last for centuries if regularly maintained.

In 1988, the old Town of Djenné and its Great Mosque were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Welcome To Djenné

MORE INFORMATION
Official Mali Tourism Website