Being one of the oldest continents in the world, Africa is rich with history, and thousands of indigenous ethnicities. One of the latest discoveries is the secret tribe of Dogon in Mali, West Africa.
For almost a thousand years, the Masked tribe of Dogon settled in cliffs, hills, and small mountains because the people rejected a joint Islamic conversion after Muslim leaders fought and took control of their lands.
The Muslim jihads oppressed and killed many Dogon indigenes and the rest of them had to run for their lives. Some of them settled near the Niger River while others lived on Bandiagara cliffs. This period was terrible for Dogon indigenes and other West Africans because their men were killed every day and their women were assaulted and enslaved by invaders.
The people of Dogon, Mali have a very rich culture, mostly centered around art, masks, and sculptures. They keep their art sacred and only put it on display in their homes because of the meaning behind every piece. Dogon people recreate their experiences in their art.
Some Dogon pieces scattered across museums include a figure of a kneeling woman; c. 1500; wood; height: 35.2 cm kept in the New York City museum, the door of the hogon box of Sangha village, and the Kanaga 20th century mask in three pieces found in Brooklyn Museum.
The majority of the Dogon tribe worship a creator god, Amma who is believed to have designed the earth into the shape of a woman. Other religions practiced by the secret Dogon tribe include Christianity and Islam.
Dogon culture formally recognizes the wife of a man only after she has given birth to a child for her husband. She remains in her father's house and can only join her husband's household after she has given birth. If a woman does not enjoy being with her husband, she can choose to leave him before she gives birth to a child and moves to his house.
The Dogon tribe has a beautiful way of greeting one another. Once a person comes in contact with another Dogon indigene, he asks about every member of their family, one by one. The other person also does the same, asking about every family member he remembers.
Although the Dogon people are mainly farmers, the community upholds two major castes, the leather workers and the smiths. The boys in these castes do not get circumcised and you can only be a member by birth. The leather workers are the affluent members of society. The skin and trade quality leather in market exhibitions.
Typical Dogon boys only get circumcised between the ages of 9 - 12 years old. The community isolates them from other people till they are no longer sore. After their wounds heal, the villagers celebrate their circumcision, as it signifies the end of childhood and the beginning of their youthfulness. The newly initiated boys go around the village naked for a month to celebrate the strength of their youth.
A newly circumcised Dogon boy moves out of his father's house and stays in a dune with other young boys in the village. He leaves when he is ready to get married.
The Sigui mask dance is the biggest festivity of the Dogon tribe, and it is centered around a secret society filled with men called the Olubaru. Dogon people practice this ritual to honor the death of their first ancestor. The ritual is only conducted by the men after every 60 years, with the next one due in 2027. Before the masked procession, the olubaru isolate themselves from the villagers for three months and nobody is allowed to see them. They only come out at night.
During the ceremony, the olubaru holds the Great Mask, which does not cover anybody's face. The Sigui mask dance ritual can be carried out for years.
References:
The Dogon tribe, the most enigmatic in Africa (n.d) Last Places https://lastplaces.com/en/travel-is-knowledge/dogon-tribe-mali-africa/
Dogon People (2023, June 5, Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dogon
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